Hmm...there is still a law on the books in Texas that says oral sex is illegal....perhaps my girlfriend and I can claim that we're technically in Oklahoma!
So what happens to the over-the-air local channels? I know just about everyone has cable/satelite tv these days but what about the poor college student who can't afford anything but free tv? Will he have to settle for getting all his news from Slashdot???
The System works???? Well probably not but I was wondering if this has anything to do with all the bitching that went on here last week about this law. It would be nice to think that letters to congress-persons from/.ers actually had some real tangible affect. But its probably just a coincidence:p
How do you expect me to make Linux install boot disks for my old non-CD-bootable computer...and no, there isn't a BIOS update, its just too old! Floppies are so cheap there is no reason not to have one as a just-in-case safety valve if you can't boot any other way. There are also several models of digital cameras that write directly to floppies...though I guess those would go out as well if floppies did.
Its hard enough to squeeze those books into a 2 hour movie, much less into a 2 minute trailer designed to show every interesting part of the movie before you go and see it.
because when it comes to computers most people feel like 10 year olds! The average user wants a nice friendly screen that looks as non-technical as possible. If it looks like its going to require thought (the opposite of most cartoons) its going to be frightening to those who don't feel comfortable with the inner workings of their computer. People want a black box...a big shiny, cutesy, cartoony, drop-everthing-right-in-my-lap black box. This is why people like MacOS and the newer versions of windows. Its a psychology thing...thats why Mac was considered more user-friendly for so long (and to some extent still is) despite being much harder to work with if you want to get into the guts of your system. Linux is of course the opposite of this....lots of power and little fluff...not what the average user wants! He doesn't want control he wants ease!!!
I know its heresy to even mention the two in the same sentence but after looking at the Lycoris website I couldn't help thinking....this is the XP version of linux! It looks great! The real question of course is, does it work? Well for things like browsing, checking email and playing preinstalled games this will be great for bringing JoeUser to Linux. The fact that it looks like his current "user friendly" (read: everything hidden) Windows XP machine is a good thing. It will help him to adjust. And the automatic install for many of the most popular and useful apps will help him along until he can learn to use rpms and the like. After that however, he's pretty much lost....oh and btw he doesn't want to use the command line...EVER! Though I personally love the console, the average user considers it far beyond his comprehension to type a line of text at a prompt. One would guess that this has to do with the fact that he wouldn't know what to do if something went horribly wrong....but then he wouldn't know what to do if that happened in the GUI either. So this needs improvement. There needs to be an equivalent to windows' Install Sheild that allows the ignorant user to install with a double-click and a few "Next"s....and he won't even have to reboot:-P.
Other than the fact that JoeUser won't be able to install BonziBuddy on his new Lycoris Linux box I see that he will have a fairly smooth transition....now the hard part, getting him to WANT to switch. He's apparently got no problem paying through the nose to MS for sub-par (but ubiquituous and usually automatic-if-not-preinstalled) software, so why put work into it (even if its free). We must strive to convience the average user that it somehow benefits him to learn things all over again when he'll only be saving about $100-$200 if he buys this off the shelf. How much is the time he spends learning everything again worth to him? Sure, he'll have to pay for the next "up"grade but he'll buy a new computer by that time and it will have the latest version of his favorite (and to his knowledge, probably the only) OS available for his computer. Frankly he doesn't care about DRM or "free as in freedom" when it comes to software, because he doesn't know anywhere and "free as in beer" doesn't affect him if it takes his "free as in time" to get it working and learn how to use a new system. What we need is a seamless XP-like experience for the new home user and it looks like Lycoris gives us that, at least on the surface. Most people don't like to learn for knowledge's sake, especially not when it comes to computers...they want their magic beiger box to do what they want before they know what they want and to tell them that they like it (see windows XP) and this is what Linux needs to have preinstalled on computers from DELL and Compaq and Gateway...unfortunately MS has it's claws so deep in those companies there isn't a foothold to get. Linux on the desktop is not dead, it simply hasn't been approached from the perspective of actually giving the average user what he wants and needs: simplicity....he doesn't want to know how it works and for the most part he doesn't even care about changing from default settings (execpt to install BonziBuddy of course - please don't let anyone port this to Linux).
I say GO LYCORIS! for at least they have the right idea....and I hope they are able to implement it correctly, for the fate of linux's future may rest in their hands.
that bit about the mouse was a bit of a joke actually..i've had several people tell me that the box their optical mouse came in said it uses a laser. Yes, as far as I know, they're all LEDs, but that doesn't stop stupid people from seeing red and thinking its a laser.
You mean we've already switched to the new Microsoft Exchange Rate XP where we all trade goods and services in M$ (thats Microsoft Dollars)? I know they're supposed to be changing the US dollar at some point soon but I didn't think M$ had that much control over things. I've heard of Microsoft Money, but this is ridiculous!
The problem with this type of tactic is that it conflicts directly with the very nature of the service. People are not going to continue sharing bogus files they've found, they're going to delete them. The only effect this sort of attack will have is to increase the overall traffic with users downloading multiple copies of the same file so they can find a legitimate (by which i mean pirated:-P) file. Furthermore, the problems caused can be easily avoided by simply giving out a list of the usernames of the biggest sharers (those guys who have several hard drives full of shared files), you just search their shares and get it from them...thats what you do most of the time anyway!
This could not be more true...I remember, Calculus class, with Tetris games across the TI calc link and people getting cause playing DRUGWARS in English...Ah those were the days:)..But on a more important note: what teachers are advocating universal computer usage? If anything the number of computers in schools (at least in afluent areas) is overkill...At my highschool there were two computers to be given to any teacher who could show that he/she knew how to use Word. These computers just took up space in English and History classrooms and they were never used. Furthermore the district wouldn't allow the computers to be moved into the Math and Science classrooms which were stuck with the only two they were allowed. Though, in truth the only class I ever need to use a computer in (other than CS and Cisco certification classes of course:-P) was Physics and we ended up using old PowerPCs because they had the software we needed. Puting a computer in a classroom does not make learning faster or better...the computer is a tool just like a pencil and paper...you wouldn't use those to write your CS programs would you? no of course not...though I have done this at times:-P. There certainly should be computers available for word processing and the like for writing reports and such but they needn't be ubiquitous to achieve this...just open up the CS lab or put some computers in the library. Now certainly most teachers will advocate computer literacy but I know for a fact that many teachers are given computers they don't want and will never use simply because they don't have any use in the given subject.
I'm Soooooo glad that i like old music so i don't have to worry about the latest release being copy protected. hell, the latest release was something like 20 years ago. then again thats when at least some music was artistic and not just a money-making scheme. Its nice to see that no-talent hacks that make what passes for music today are showing their true colors. unfortunately the recording industry is still sapping billions of dollars a year from the public for providing a disservice to them. Just what we need, more restriction on what we can do with the things we have payed to own; Thanks RIAA, as your profits rise and your quality plummets, you charge us more and expect us to go along happily for the ride. Stop the world, I wanna get off.
does anybody else remember when music was about art and expression? when it didn't matter if you got paid?
I guess the quality (and i use that term as loosely as is humanly possible) of today's music is just another symptom of capitalism invading one of the few remaining sacred things in life.
Frankly i don't care about getting my music for free or not but with money driving everything the prerequisites for getting a record contract have shifted dramatically from those of talent to those of profitability, and frankly that sucks.
Slashdot Mirror
Hmm...there is still a law on the books in Texas that says oral sex is illegal....perhaps my girlfriend and I can claim that we're technically in Oklahoma!
AFLAC!
So what happens to the over-the-air local channels? I know just about everyone has cable/satelite tv these days but what about the poor college student who can't afford anything but free tv? Will he have to settle for getting all his news from Slashdot???
The System works???? Well probably not but I was wondering if this has anything to do with all the bitching that went on here last week about this law. It would be nice to think that letters to congress-persons from /.ers actually had some real tangible affect. But its probably just a coincidence :p
How do you expect me to make Linux install boot disks for my old non-CD-bootable computer...and no, there isn't a BIOS update, its just too old! Floppies are so cheap there is no reason not to have one as a just-in-case safety valve if you can't boot any other way. There are also several models of digital cameras that write directly to floppies...though I guess those would go out as well if floppies did.
Its hard enough to squeeze those books into a 2 hour movie, much less into a 2 minute trailer designed to show every interesting part of the movie before you go and see it.
because when it comes to computers most people feel like 10 year olds! The average user wants a nice friendly screen that looks as non-technical as possible. If it looks like its going to require thought (the opposite of most cartoons) its going to be frightening to those who don't feel comfortable with the inner workings of their computer. People want a black box...a big shiny, cutesy, cartoony, drop-everthing-right-in-my-lap black box. This is why people like MacOS and the newer versions of windows. Its a psychology thing...thats why Mac was considered more user-friendly for so long (and to some extent still is) despite being much harder to work with if you want to get into the guts of your system. Linux is of course the opposite of this....lots of power and little fluff...not what the average user wants! He doesn't want control he wants ease!!!
I know its heresy to even mention the two in the same sentence but after looking at the Lycoris website I couldn't help thinking....this is the XP version of linux! It looks great! The real question of course is, does it work? Well for things like browsing, checking email and playing preinstalled games this will be great for bringing JoeUser to Linux. The fact that it looks like his current "user friendly" (read: everything hidden) Windows XP machine is a good thing. It will help him to adjust. And the automatic install for many of the most popular and useful apps will help him along until he can learn to use rpms and the like. After that however, he's pretty much lost....oh and btw he doesn't want to use the command line...EVER! Though I personally love the console, the average user considers it far beyond his comprehension to type a line of text at a prompt. One would guess that this has to do with the fact that he wouldn't know what to do if something went horribly wrong....but then he wouldn't know what to do if that happened in the GUI either. So this needs improvement. There needs to be an equivalent to windows' Install Sheild that allows the ignorant user to install with a double-click and a few "Next"s....and he won't even have to reboot :-P.
Other than the fact that JoeUser won't be able to install BonziBuddy on his new Lycoris Linux box I see that he will have a fairly smooth transition....now the hard part, getting him to WANT to switch. He's apparently got no problem paying through the nose to MS for sub-par (but ubiquituous and usually automatic-if-not-preinstalled) software, so why put work into it (even if its free). We must strive to convience the average user that it somehow benefits him to learn things all over again when he'll only be saving about $100-$200 if he buys this off the shelf. How much is the time he spends learning everything again worth to him? Sure, he'll have to pay for the next "up"grade but he'll buy a new computer by that time and it will have the latest version of his favorite (and to his knowledge, probably the only) OS available for his computer. Frankly he doesn't care about DRM or "free as in freedom" when it comes to software, because he doesn't know anywhere and "free as in beer" doesn't affect him if it takes his "free as in time" to get it working and learn how to use a new system. What we need is a seamless XP-like experience for the new home user and it looks like Lycoris gives us that, at least on the surface. Most people don't like to learn for knowledge's sake, especially not when it comes to computers...they want their magic beiger box to do what they want before they know what they want and to tell them that they like it (see windows XP) and this is what Linux needs to have preinstalled on computers from DELL and Compaq and Gateway...unfortunately MS has it's claws so deep in those companies there isn't a foothold to get. Linux on the desktop is not dead, it simply hasn't been approached from the perspective of actually giving the average user what he wants and needs: simplicity....he doesn't want to know how it works and for the most part he doesn't even care about changing from default settings (execpt to install BonziBuddy of course - please don't let anyone port this to Linux).
I say GO LYCORIS! for at least they have the right idea....and I hope they are able to implement it correctly, for the fate of linux's future may rest in their hands.
Why is the only image on the DjVu site a .gif and not their own image format they are using the site to tout?
Actually its probably because most browsers don't currently support their format, but its still funny
that bit about the mouse was a bit of a joke actually..i've had several people tell me that the box their optical mouse came in said it uses a laser. Yes, as far as I know, they're all LEDs, but that doesn't stop stupid people from seeing red and thinking its a laser.
Will I ever get the bang for my MS buck?
You have MS bucks? Where did you get them?
You mean we've already switched to the new Microsoft Exchange Rate XP where we all trade goods and services in M$ (thats Microsoft Dollars)? I know they're supposed to be changing the US dollar at some point soon but I didn't think M$ had that much control over things. I've heard of Microsoft Money, but this is ridiculous!
The problem with this type of tactic is that it conflicts directly with the very nature of the service. People are not going to continue sharing bogus files they've found, they're going to delete them. The only effect this sort of attack will have is to increase the overall traffic with users downloading multiple copies of the same file so they can find a legitimate (by which i mean pirated :-P) file. Furthermore, the problems caused can be easily avoided by simply giving out a list of the usernames of the biggest sharers (those guys who have several hard drives full of shared files), you just search their shares and get it from them...thats what you do most of the time anyway!
This could not be more true...I remember, Calculus class, with Tetris games across the TI calc link and people getting cause playing DRUGWARS in English...Ah those were the days :)..But on a more important note: what teachers are advocating universal computer usage? If anything the number of computers in schools (at least in afluent areas) is overkill...At my highschool there were two computers to be given to any teacher who could show that he/she knew how to use Word. These computers just took up space in English and History classrooms and they were never used. Furthermore the district wouldn't allow the computers to be moved into the Math and Science classrooms which were stuck with the only two they were allowed. Though, in truth the only class I ever need to use a computer in (other than CS and Cisco certification classes of course :-P) was Physics and we ended up using old PowerPCs because they had the software we needed. Puting a computer in a classroom does not make learning faster or better...the computer is a tool just like a pencil and paper...you wouldn't use those to write your CS programs would you? no of course not...though I have done this at times :-P. There certainly should be computers available for word processing and the like for writing reports and such but they needn't be ubiquitous to achieve this...just open up the CS lab or put some computers in the library. Now certainly most teachers will advocate computer literacy but I know for a fact that many teachers are given computers they don't want and will never use simply because they don't have any use in the given subject.
I'm Soooooo glad that i like old music so i don't have to worry about the latest release being copy protected. hell, the latest release was something like 20 years ago. then again thats when at least some music was artistic and not just a money-making scheme. Its nice to see that no-talent hacks that make what passes for music today are showing their true colors. unfortunately the recording industry is still sapping billions of dollars a year from the public for providing a disservice to them. Just what we need, more restriction on what we can do with the things we have payed to own; Thanks RIAA, as your profits rise and your quality plummets, you charge us more and expect us to go along happily for the ride. Stop the world, I wanna get off.
choose a religion
:)
how about scientology
does anybody else remember when music was about art and expression? when it didn't matter if you got paid? I guess the quality (and i use that term as loosely as is humanly possible) of today's music is just another symptom of capitalism invading one of the few remaining sacred things in life. Frankly i don't care about getting my music for free or not but with money driving everything the prerequisites for getting a record contract have shifted dramatically from those of talent to those of profitability, and frankly that sucks.