Asking what tools are the best is a lot like asking lego users what bricks are better than other. The answer is it depends.
The three "tools" I can't live without are O'Reilly's "Unix Power Tools" and Limoncelli's "The Practice of System and Network Adminstration" and Google. Those two books have done more for me as a Systems Administrator than anything else I've used. And of course Google is...well, it's Google!
At the end of the day, your brain is the most valuable tool, and tools that help you find the right way to fix something are invaluable. Everything else is just syntax.
Gates' arguement makes about as much sense as saying Libraries will destroy Bookstores. I mean why would people pay money to buy a book if they can read it for free?
The reason is the same reason why Open and Closed Source software will always be around: value. Both software camps offer something of value.
The value proposition of close source generally offers idiot-proof installation with an army of monkeys taking support calls in case you get stuck.
Open source offers the opportunity to get your hands greasy under the hood, to make software do what you want. But you gotta have the time and desire to put into it.
Gates is not a fool, but he is a slave. He is forced to be the puppet that he is because Microsoft is a two trick pony (Windows and Office). His shareholders and his employees need him to defend the only solid revenue they got, because as history has shown he can't seem to make anything else work.
The K Desktop Environment project has come a long way to this, its eighth major release
Did I miss the memo? I though 'KDE' stood for the Kool Desktop Environment? Did the suits get involved and figure that acronym wasn't...uh...'cool sounding' enough for marketing purposes?
You started the fire, and now you complain about being burned. Hypocrites like you convince me of remaining an agnostic.
We will see who's right in 100 years. And no, I'm not a relativist, because that's an absolute certainty that 2104 will come, and one of us will be right and the other wishing they'd listened to the other.
You think you could scare me with Revelations? Uh, oh, the times that some (Catholic) drunkard can slap me around with Bible verses are over. How about trying to convince me of the good in your religion? But this is not going to happen. Like the school bully, you only have a club to wield, but no spirituality to enlighten us with. Luckily, not all Christians are like you. But still too many...
I quote one statement from a past president of the United States, and all of a sudden people start running their mouths about me being a bully, a hypocrite, and all other manner of nonsense.
Lighten up, man. Get outside and get some sunshine. I can express whatever opinion I want, as can you. As for the rest of your tranferring emotional statements - whatever. Believe whatever you want. If someone from a church hurt you, I'm sorry, but that guy ain't me.
Are you sure it was actually 4600 different programs? I find that hard to believe - It seems that the computer wouldn't run at all with that many programs running in the background.
Could the "4600" number have been the total number of spyware programs running, files found, and registry keys found?
I'm not sure, it's what he told me, however I think we can safely assume he meant over 4600 detected instances of spyware, whether they're actual executables, cookies, webbugs, registry entries, etc.
Either way, it's a lot of stuff. It something that (hopefully) legislation will address. It just seems asinine to me that the average computer user must run:
A Firewall
Anti-Virus program
One or more Anti-Spyware programs
And then on a regular basis:
Make sure they've downloaded the latest fixes for their operating system's defects
Regularily update and run their anti-virus
Frequently update and run their anti-spyware
I mean, for crying out loud, IT'S A COMPUTER! Weren't computers supposed to do these sorts of things on their own? The fact that human intervention is required is pure muda, a waste of time and energy.
Once installed, it can redirect web searches, install bookmarks or bombard a user with pop-up ads tailored to other search terms. It can also drain computing power, crash a machine and, in the case of the most malicious spyware, steal confidential information
A friend of mine works for a technical call center for a large US hardware manufacturer. The contract he works on is supporting notebook computers.
A customer recently called in because his computer was running slow. After installing and running ad-aware and spybot, the customer had over 4600 spyware programs. Yes, you read that right, over 4600 spyware programs. It's a miracle that thing ran at all.
Legislation to curtail spyware is long over due. An operating system that is resistant to spyware is already available, and it ain't Windows.
Microsoft is so proud, that they're becoming blind to the fact that their brand name is become a joke in pop culture.
Is that really true? I would imagine the brand name of Microsoft is extremely strong in popular culture. It strikes me that Microsoft's brand may have a very poor image here at Slashdot, but Slashdot doesn't exactly equate to popular culture
I recently saw "The Stepford Wives". In it, a robot named "Mike" (named after his employer Microsoft) gets his head whacked off by a pretty weak blow. I quipped to my wife in a not-so-quiet-voice "yeah, that about what you'd expect from Microsoft products". The surrounding audience members heard me and laughed, with a lot of "yeah, you got that right".
Microsoft is popular, but people don't look at computers the way the Slashdot crowd does. They see their computer as just another appliance, like washing machines or refridgerators. People were fooled for awhile that Windows was good, but people are starting to expect more from PC's, thanks in part to Apple & Linux's success. Windows is just an OS; it's the applications people want.
Microsoft's brand recognition is to computer what McDonald's is to fast food. Bill Gates may try and pretent they produce the greatest technology in the world, but audiences in a movie theatre wouldn't be getting big laughs if that were the case.
In other words, studios are being asked to invest in next-generation R&D two years before it's required for PS3, and to spend more money developing an Xbox 2 version of a cross platform title - for an audience of a few million people - than they'll spend developing all three current-generation versions of the game - for an audience of well over a hundred million...
...Herein lies the arrogance; Microsoft isn't used to making decisions as an industry small-fry, and it's trying to act like an industry leader in an industry it simply doesn't lead.
Microsoft is so proud, that they're becoming blind to the fact that their brand name is become a joke in pop culture. Add that to the fact that Sony's PS3 will be a revolutionary CPU design, whereas Xbox2 will only be cutting edge.
Pride comes before a fall, guys (Prov 16:18). Just keep focussed on making something great and forget about the competition; Sony did.
Well, I respect your right to believe whatever you want. Of course, I expect the same respect in return.
Just don't assume you know what I believe because you have some knowledge or experience in a Church setting.
We will see who's right in 100 years. And no, I'm not a relativist, because that's an absolute certainty that 2104 will come, and one of us will be right and the other wishing they'd listened to the other.
Yes! There should be religious tests for public office and citizenship! Finally someone who gets it. Don't believe in god? Then Bush I and John Adams and Ridglift think you shouldn't be a citizen. God bless their souls.
Oh can it you cynic! You tell me what the solution? More laws? People are basically "good"? Most large nations used to be Judeo-Christian in their main belief systems. If people have no inner sense of "ought", then why do good? Why not blow away your neighbour and take his stuff?
Freedom is expensive, but it's something worth fighting and dying for.
That sounds extremely noble in writing, but I doubt many people including yourself would actually be willing to die in order to prevent a law such as this one from being passed.
First of all, it ain't about one law, it's about living in a country that believes in freedom and democracy. In order for people to be truly free and for democracy to work, people must be able to express their opinions, no matter how vile they may seem.
And second of all, I was commenting on freedom being something worth fighting and dying for. If you doubt that people are willing to give their lives to live free, then I have a couple of elderly veterans who would beg to differ with you.
The greatest threat to democracy is not Al Qaeda. It's not terrorism. It's not fascism, socialism, communism, or any other 'ism you can conjure. the greatest threat to democracy is apathy.
A sticking point was whether the United States, which has championed nearly unfettered free speech, would line up with European countries that have banned racist or anti-Semitic speech in public.
The problem is once you ban racist speech in public, you immediately open the door for more laws that do nothing to actually curtail the problem, but rather limit the rights and freedoms of everyone. Once you do that, it just opens the door for large powerful bodies of people (governments, corporations, SIG's) to pass more laws to limit more rights and freedoms.
Freedom is expensive, but it's something worth fighting and dying for.
The SCO Group has produced a new-product road map and an aggressive marketing plan to try and recharge its flagging core Unix business.
SCO actually produces a product?
How to make a million dollars
on
Spammer Apologizes
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
Wow, now I know how to get rich:
1) Setup massive spamming operation 2) Make millions 3) Get sued and settle for a mere six figures 4) Stop spamming operation 5) Tell world you going to help children
So within the scope of a year or two, everyone will forget how this man made his fortune, and revere him for his good works helping children.
Learn Sales. Geeks tend to have difficulty with the whole salesman game, but without sales there is no business.
I used to be a typical techno geek. I also used to detect salesmen, seeing them all as lying, cheating scum. Then I started my own business, and nearly went bankrupt because I was great at fixing computer and software problems, but I didn't have any customers because I coudn't SELL people on the fact I was great at fixing THEIR computer problems.
So go to school, learn the mechanics of business, but on the side run a small business or take a sales job that doesn't rely on your intelligence but rather on your ability to sell.
This is the age-old fight for commoditization. When consumers can choose from a choice of similar products, that product becomes a commodity. For example, hard drives are a commodity. Operating systems for the desktop are not a commodity.
IBM's support of Linux is not so much a noble pursuit as much as it's an attempt to commoditize Linux so they can producte unique, high end hardware that will run any number of flavours on it.
In contract, Microsoft's attempt to commoditize hardware to the point that it can be given away is a result of their unique monopoly of the desktop operating system market. They want hardware to remain a commodity, so they must continue to monopolize software. Sun is simply parroting this position because the know it's the end of the line for them.
I don't know about you, but I still prefer the tactile feel of real products. I also prefer to own rather than rent my products.
I remember when consoles were all the rage (Atari, Intellivision, Colecovision). When PC's became more affordable, consoles died out.
That's why Nintendo was a bit of a mystery to me (and the ensuing Sega, Playstation, etc). But the reason was simple; if you wanted to play games, they were cheap, and did the job well.
I think the better combo would be console/media TV device, like the XBox Media PC. It's cheap, and does the job well.
Slashdot Mirror
Asking what tools are the best is a lot like asking lego users what bricks are better than other. The answer is it depends.
The three "tools" I can't live without are O'Reilly's "Unix Power Tools" and Limoncelli's "The Practice of System and Network Adminstration" and Google. Those two books have done more for me as a Systems Administrator than anything else I've used. And of course Google is...well, it's Google!
At the end of the day, your brain is the most valuable tool, and tools that help you find the right way to fix something are invaluable. Everything else is just syntax.
Gates' arguement makes about as much sense as saying Libraries will destroy Bookstores. I mean why would people pay money to buy a book if they can read it for free?
The reason is the same reason why Open and Closed Source software will always be around: value. Both software camps offer something of value.
The value proposition of close source generally offers idiot-proof installation with an army of monkeys taking support calls in case you get stuck.
Open source offers the opportunity to get your hands greasy under the hood, to make software do what you want. But you gotta have the time and desire to put into it.
Gates is not a fool, but he is a slave. He is forced to be the puppet that he is because Microsoft is a two trick pony (Windows and Office). His shareholders and his employees need him to defend the only solid revenue they got, because as history has shown he can't seem to make anything else work.
The K Desktop Environment project has come a long way to this, its eighth major release
Did I miss the memo? I though 'KDE' stood for the Kool Desktop Environment? Did the suits get involved and figure that acronym wasn't...uh...'cool sounding' enough for marketing purposes?
You started the fire, and now you complain about being burned. Hypocrites like you convince me of remaining an agnostic.
We will see who's right in 100 years. And no, I'm not a relativist, because that's an absolute certainty that 2104 will come, and one of us will be right and the other wishing they'd listened to the other.
You think you could scare me with Revelations? Uh, oh, the times that some (Catholic) drunkard can slap me around with Bible verses are over. How about trying to convince me of the good in your religion? But this is not going to happen. Like the school bully, you only have a club to wield, but no spirituality to enlighten us with. Luckily, not all Christians are like you. But still too many...
I quote one statement from a past president of the United States, and all of a sudden people start running their mouths about me being a bully, a hypocrite, and all other manner of nonsense.
Lighten up, man. Get outside and get some sunshine. I can express whatever opinion I want, as can you. As for the rest of your tranferring emotional statements - whatever. Believe whatever you want. If someone from a church hurt you, I'm sorry, but that guy ain't me.
I'm Canadian. That's the correct spelling.
Could the "4600" number have been the total number of spyware programs running, files found, and registry keys found?
I'm not sure, it's what he told me, however I think we can safely assume he meant over 4600 detected instances of spyware, whether they're actual executables, cookies, webbugs, registry entries, etc.
Either way, it's a lot of stuff. It something that (hopefully) legislation will address. It just seems asinine to me that the average computer user must run:
A Firewall
Anti-Virus program
One or more Anti-Spyware programs
And then on a regular basis:
Make sure they've downloaded the latest fixes for their operating system's defects
Regularily update and run their anti-virus
Frequently update and run their anti-spyware
I mean, for crying out loud, IT'S A COMPUTER! Weren't computers supposed to do these sorts of things on their own? The fact that human intervention is required is pure muda, a waste of time and energy.
Once installed, it can redirect web searches, install bookmarks or bombard a user with pop-up ads tailored to other search terms. It can also drain computing power, crash a machine and, in the case of the most malicious spyware, steal confidential information
A friend of mine works for a technical call center for a large US hardware manufacturer. The contract he works on is supporting notebook computers.
A customer recently called in because his computer was running slow. After installing and running ad-aware and spybot, the customer had over 4600 spyware programs. Yes, you read that right, over 4600 spyware programs. It's a miracle that thing ran at all.
Legislation to curtail spyware is long over due. An operating system that is resistant to spyware is already available, and it ain't Windows.
Microsoft is so proud, that they're becoming blind to the fact that their brand name is become a joke in pop culture.
Is that really true? I would imagine the brand name of Microsoft is extremely strong in popular culture. It strikes me that Microsoft's brand may have a very poor image here at Slashdot, but Slashdot doesn't exactly equate to popular culture
I recently saw "The Stepford Wives". In it, a robot named "Mike" (named after his employer Microsoft) gets his head whacked off by a pretty weak blow. I quipped to my wife in a not-so-quiet-voice "yeah, that about what you'd expect from Microsoft products". The surrounding audience members heard me and laughed, with a lot of "yeah, you got that right".
Microsoft is popular, but people don't look at computers the way the Slashdot crowd does. They see their computer as just another appliance, like washing machines or refridgerators. People were fooled for awhile that Windows was good, but people are starting to expect more from PC's, thanks in part to Apple & Linux's success. Windows is just an OS; it's the applications people want.
Microsoft's brand recognition is to computer what McDonald's is to fast food. Bill Gates may try and pretent they produce the greatest technology in the world, but audiences in a movie theatre wouldn't be getting big laughs if that were the case.
In other words, studios are being asked to invest in next-generation R&D two years before it's required for PS3, and to spend more money developing an Xbox 2 version of a cross platform title - for an audience of a few million people - than they'll spend developing all three current-generation versions of the game - for an audience of well over a hundred million...
...Herein lies the arrogance; Microsoft isn't used to making decisions as an industry small-fry, and it's trying to act like an industry leader in an industry it simply doesn't lead.
Microsoft is so proud, that they're becoming blind to the fact that their brand name is become a joke in pop culture. Add that to the fact that Sony's PS3 will be a revolutionary CPU design, whereas Xbox2 will only be cutting edge.
Pride comes before a fall, guys (Prov 16:18). Just keep focussed on making something great and forget about the competition; Sony did.
Well, I respect your right to believe whatever you want. Of course, I expect the same respect in return.
Just don't assume you know what I believe because you have some knowledge or experience in a Church setting.
We will see who's right in 100 years. And no, I'm not a relativist, because that's an absolute certainty that 2104 will come, and one of us will be right and the other wishing they'd listened to the other.
Yes! There should be religious tests for public office and citizenship! Finally someone who gets it. Don't believe in god? Then Bush I and John Adams and Ridglift think you shouldn't be a citizen. God bless their souls.
Oh can it you cynic! You tell me what the solution? More laws? People are basically "good"? Most large nations used to be Judeo-Christian in their main belief systems. If people have no inner sense of "ought", then why do good? Why not blow away your neighbour and take his stuff?
People should know about that stuff, not have it hidden from them so they can pretend no one thinks that way.
I agree. The solution to solving hate crimes, obscenity, and all other evils is not a legal one. It's a moral and religious problem.
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for a government of any other."
John Adams, Second President of the United States, 1797-1801
Freedom is expensive, but it's something worth fighting and dying for.
That sounds extremely noble in writing, but I doubt many people including yourself would actually be willing to die in order to prevent a law such as this one from being passed.
First of all, it ain't about one law, it's about living in a country that believes in freedom and democracy. In order for people to be truly free and for democracy to work, people must be able to express their opinions, no matter how vile they may seem.
And second of all, I was commenting on freedom being something worth fighting and dying for. If you doubt that people are willing to give their lives to live free, then I have a couple of elderly veterans who would beg to differ with you.
The greatest threat to democracy is not Al Qaeda. It's not terrorism. It's not fascism, socialism, communism, or any other 'ism you can conjure. the greatest threat to democracy is apathy.
A sticking point was whether the United States, which has championed nearly unfettered free speech, would line up with European countries that have banned racist or anti-Semitic speech in public.
The problem is once you ban racist speech in public, you immediately open the door for more laws that do nothing to actually curtail the problem, but rather limit the rights and freedoms of everyone. Once you do that, it just opens the door for large powerful bodies of people (governments, corporations, SIG's) to pass more laws to limit more rights and freedoms.
Freedom is expensive, but it's something worth fighting and dying for.
The SCO Group has produced a new-product road map and an aggressive marketing plan to try and recharge its flagging core Unix business.
SCO actually produces a product?
Wow, now I know how to get rich:
1) Setup massive spamming operation
2) Make millions
3) Get sued and settle for a mere six figures
4) Stop spamming operation
5) Tell world you going to help children
So within the scope of a year or two, everyone will forget how this man made his fortune, and revere him for his good works helping children.
Sounds a lot like the Carnegie Legacy
Learn Sales. Geeks tend to have difficulty with the whole salesman game, but without sales there is no business.
I used to be a typical techno geek. I also used to detect salesmen, seeing them all as lying, cheating scum. Then I started my own business, and nearly went bankrupt because I was great at fixing computer and software problems, but I didn't have any customers because I coudn't SELL people on the fact I was great at fixing THEIR computer problems.
So go to school, learn the mechanics of business, but on the side run a small business or take a sales job that doesn't rely on your intelligence but rather on your ability to sell.
Novell's Gaines, for one, isn't concerned. "It's good news. [The road show] validates Linux as a platform."
So, how many of you single-people can afford to take some time off to follow the bus and form an opposition during the presentations?
If enough people were polite, prepared and persistent in following up the talks to give the other side, maybe it could be de-railed?
Of course the Novell rep is right: the tour will only validate Linux as Microsoft's greatest threat.
And as per usual switch to Mozilla as your primary browser, or the lean and mean Firefox if all you need is the browser.
I don't use Windows anymore because Linux is more fun.
I wonder what the main Operating System is that RBC depends on?
Are Linux Today's readers too stupid to think for themselves?
No, it's purely a matter of respect.
What Operating System does it primarily use?
This is the age-old fight for commoditization. When consumers can choose from a choice of similar products, that product becomes a commodity. For example, hard drives are a commodity. Operating systems for the desktop are not a commodity.
IBM's support of Linux is not so much a noble pursuit as much as it's an attempt to commoditize Linux so they can producte unique, high end hardware that will run any number of flavours on it.
In contract, Microsoft's attempt to commoditize hardware to the point that it can be given away is a result of their unique monopoly of the desktop operating system market. They want hardware to remain a commodity, so they must continue to monopolize software. Sun is simply parroting this position because the know it's the end of the line for them.
I don't know about you, but I still prefer the tactile feel of real products. I also prefer to own rather than rent my products.
I remember when consoles were all the rage (Atari, Intellivision, Colecovision). When PC's became more affordable, consoles died out.
That's why Nintendo was a bit of a mystery to me (and the ensuing Sega, Playstation, etc). But the reason was simple; if you wanted to play games, they were cheap, and did the job well.
I think the better combo would be console/media TV device, like the XBox Media PC. It's cheap, and does the job well.