I agree completely. I have no need for Firewire or Bluetooth. I don't need DVD authoring. A DVD burner without a reader is useless to me. No parallel or serial port? That means I'd have to throw out all of my hardware and buy new stuff. iTunes? I've got Winamp. It's free. The Apple laptops are full of cutting edge crap that I (and obviously, most people) don't need. Apple is designed for those with a LOT of disposable income and the hardcore geek. They have their niche, but that's all it is: a niche. Most peolpe don't want and/or need all of that stuff, and certainly don't want to pay for it.
There's a reason why commercial software is like this: the customer doesn't need to know or care who does what, so long as the product is done. The fighting and arguing makes OSS look like a joke in many cases. Stuff done by committee is often the *worst* way to get some job accomplished. That's common knowledge. With commercial software, there's ultimately a boss who says "I've heard everyone's opinions. It's going to be done THIS way. I said so". And ultimately, the product gets finished, and the customer doesn't know about any arguing. Public rants and raves are juvenile, and in no way help a project. How does it help, exactly?
you haven't installed Linux in the last year or two
In the real world, people don't install operating systems every few years. In fact, they generally *never* do it. That whole "well, just install the lastest version just for the hell of it" is something that hobbyists do. I'm personally not risking a single machine at my business to play with. Maybe I'll try again, but it won't be for years because what I have works now.
They're both cute, but neither one has usable payroll. In GNUCash, you have to figure out all of the formulas yourself for each employee? That's insane! If they don't do payroll well, they're useless to me. I'm sure that they're lacking in other features, too, but that's one reason why the poster would say that his wife, an accountant, doesn't have any useable OSS.
Windows XP is truly multi-user. I'm sure there's a little setting in there for multiple monitors. As is, multiple people can all be logged in at the same time, all running their own programs.
introduces the idea that risk is involved when using Linux.
And so who is going to guarantee my business that none of the code is copyrighted? You? Willing to go through each and every line of code, and document the source, and give me a concise report? It IS a real problem, and a real concern. Saying that it's not doesn't make it go away. There has got to be some kind of responsibility here. That's equivalent to me using a vacant lot for my business because all of my friends told me it's ok. Either you can pay for software, or you can use OS code and cross your fingers and hope that you're not breaking a law. Personally, I'd rather buy the code and not ever have to worry about it again.
I think that it also speaks to the usability of Linux as a desktop. People are willing to both buy and steal Windows, while Linux, very literally, cannot even be given away.
Yes, there's not real market for consumer-grade Linux desktop, for the good reason that the market doesn't exist yet, and someone needs to create it, and whoever will take the plunge stands a fair chance to reap huge benefits from it.
How, exactly, does one *create* a market? there's zero demand. Windows works fine. There aren't millions of users clamoring for something better or cheaper. Only geeks are interested, and geeks alone do not make a market (as we've seen countless times in the past... take the PDA "market" for example). Linux is filling a non-existent hole in the market. Anyone who has even an ounce of business sense (rarely will you find that amongst geeks... Gates was an anomoly) will tell you that trying to fix a non-existent problem will get you nowhere, fast.
Since the dawn of time, ctrl+C has been copy in each and every app. ctrl+x has been cut. ctrl+v has been paste. Windows have three icons in the upper right hand corner for minimizing, restoring/maximizing, and closing. There's a "File", "Edit", "Tools", and "Help" menu in almost every app. I don't know how you get more consistent than that.
It would cost me more the $50/month in books to read instead of watch TV. The average book i buy/read is $20-$30, and I could easily read 4-5 more books a month if I did not watch any TV
I'm 30, a former programmer, and I have no interest in learnign new shit either. My computers are just tools for my businesses now. Once you get a life (business/job, family, friends), unless that happens to be your interest, there's little point in "learning comptuers".
Hardware is a non-issue. It's all pretty standard. Receipt printers are standard parallel port printers, scanners are PS2 port devices that simple dangle off the keyboard connection, and type in the UPS numbers and press enter. The cash drawers also dangle off the PS2 port and have a single command... "open". Credit card swipes do the same thing... read the numbers, and press enter after each line (also PS2 port). There's nothing fancy about it.
I'm just saying that instead of having 1000 IM programs on sourceforge, or 1000 different newsreaders, web browsers, FTP clients, etc. what about something useful? Hell, I don't even care about an OS OS because Windows 2000 isn't expensive, and I don't deal with the OS. I need some useful, business apps that don't cost a mint and that are flexible. There are a few out there, but they don't do nearly enough to be useful. And yes, you're right... small retailers, as one example, don't have the $$ for a real POS system, and there aren't any viable OSS alternatives.
Bottom line though, good luck finding an ISP that will sell you a T1 without SPAM restrictions
There are tons of them. You just have to know where to look. I could find a spam-friendly ISP in about 5 minutes if I was interested. That being said, you definitely do pay *quite a bit* for this kind of service. *QUITE* a bit.
This is another example of the OSS community wasting time duplicating their efforts. IM? We've got at least 3 networks out there already, and hundreds of clients. File sharing? FTP, HTTP, Kazaa, Bit Torrent, etc. Who cares abuot yet ANOTHER of the same thing. Is there are OSS coders with free time on their hands (and there obviously are plenty), how about a usable Point of Sale system? How about wirting *anything* that hasn't been done 1000 times already?
Sure, my company can do it now! Assuming you come over and do it for me, and are available 24/7 with questions. Oh yeah, and you can port all of my Windows apps over for me.
You're out of your mind. I'd like to know how exactly I can afford to get my apps re-written, and why exactly I should do this. But then, you're an AC, so you're probably just making this all up.
What does the Department of Homelnad Security have to do with companies' networks? How could this *possibly* be related to "terrorism"? This is just another way for the Bush administration to gain even more control over the flow of information. Companies' networks are the responsibility of the companies, and the gov't has no place in it whatsoever. The "somebody" to do something about security problems should be the companies involved, not the gov't.
I dunno. Ask California. California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico really aren't fit for human consumption, nevertheless, the gov't dammed up most of the rivers out west to make it hospitible.
Slashdot Mirror
I agree completely. I have no need for Firewire or Bluetooth. I don't need DVD authoring. A DVD burner without a reader is useless to me. No parallel or serial port? That means I'd have to throw out all of my hardware and buy new stuff. iTunes? I've got Winamp. It's free. The Apple laptops are full of cutting edge crap that I (and obviously, most people) don't need. Apple is designed for those with a LOT of disposable income and the hardcore geek. They have their niche, but that's all it is: a niche. Most peolpe don't want and/or need all of that stuff, and certainly don't want to pay for it.
There's a reason why commercial software is like this: the customer doesn't need to know or care who does what, so long as the product is done. The fighting and arguing makes OSS look like a joke in many cases. Stuff done by committee is often the *worst* way to get some job accomplished. That's common knowledge. With commercial software, there's ultimately a boss who says "I've heard everyone's opinions. It's going to be done THIS way. I said so". And ultimately, the product gets finished, and the customer doesn't know about any arguing. Public rants and raves are juvenile, and in no way help a project. How does it help, exactly?
As a user, as soon as I saw those instructions my eyes would glaze over, and I'd throw the goddamned Linux CD's out the window.
you haven't installed Linux in the last year or two
In the real world, people don't install operating systems every few years. In fact, they generally *never* do it. That whole "well, just install the lastest version just for the hell of it" is something that hobbyists do. I'm personally not risking a single machine at my business to play with. Maybe I'll try again, but it won't be for years because what I have works now.
They're both cute, but neither one has usable payroll. In GNUCash, you have to figure out all of the formulas yourself for each employee? That's insane! If they don't do payroll well, they're useless to me. I'm sure that they're lacking in other features, too, but that's one reason why the poster would say that his wife, an accountant, doesn't have any useable OSS.
Well, I don't know of another place where I can get books for free, do you?
That's true, it could be. In which case, it's clear cut that MS or Intuit or whoever would be liable.
Windows XP is truly multi-user. I'm sure there's a little setting in there for multiple monitors. As is, multiple people can all be logged in at the same time, all running their own programs.
So what exactly does your family do in the hours between dinner and night time at home?
We get baked and talk. It's much more stimulating than sitting in front of a goddamned TV.
This was due to a Slashdotter hacking their server and changing their client. Their original client is clean.
introduces the idea that risk is involved when using Linux.
And so who is going to guarantee my business that none of the code is copyrighted? You? Willing to go through each and every line of code, and document the source, and give me a concise report? It IS a real problem, and a real concern. Saying that it's not doesn't make it go away. There has got to be some kind of responsibility here. That's equivalent to me using a vacant lot for my business because all of my friends told me it's ok. Either you can pay for software, or you can use OS code and cross your fingers and hope that you're not breaking a law. Personally, I'd rather buy the code and not ever have to worry about it again.
I think that it also speaks to the usability of Linux as a desktop. People are willing to both buy and steal Windows, while Linux, very literally, cannot even be given away.
I run a business with 6 machines that are up 24/7. I have zero problems. I have no interest in replacing them. The $100/machine is a nominal cost.
Yes, there's not real market for consumer-grade Linux desktop, for the good reason that the market doesn't exist yet, and someone needs to create it, and whoever will take the plunge stands a fair chance to reap huge benefits from it.
How, exactly, does one *create* a market? there's zero demand. Windows works fine. There aren't millions of users clamoring for something better or cheaper. Only geeks are interested, and geeks alone do not make a market (as we've seen countless times in the past... take the PDA "market" for example). Linux is filling a non-existent hole in the market. Anyone who has even an ounce of business sense (rarely will you find that amongst geeks... Gates was an anomoly) will tell you that trying to fix a non-existent problem will get you nowhere, fast.
Since the dawn of time, ctrl+C has been copy in each and every app. ctrl+x has been cut. ctrl+v has been paste. Windows have three icons in the upper right hand corner for minimizing, restoring/maximizing, and closing. There's a "File", "Edit", "Tools", and "Help" menu in almost every app. I don't know how you get more consistent than that.
It would cost me more the $50/month in books to read instead of watch TV. The average book i buy/read is $20-$30, and I could easily read 4-5 more books a month if I did not watch any TV
Library.
I actually like torrentz.com, but yup, that's how I get the TV that I watch. I agree 100%. Movies come via Netflix and books come from the library.
I'm 30, a former programmer, and I have no interest in learnign new shit either. My computers are just tools for my businesses now. Once you get a life (business/job, family, friends), unless that happens to be your interest, there's little point in "learning comptuers".
A. GnuPOS is a dead project.
B. GnuPOS isn't written in a language that I know.
I'm gonna see if the guy from XTremePOS needs help, since I can code in VB really well.
Hardware is a non-issue. It's all pretty standard. Receipt printers are standard parallel port printers, scanners are PS2 port devices that simple dangle off the keyboard connection, and type in the UPS numbers and press enter. The cash drawers also dangle off the PS2 port and have a single command... "open". Credit card swipes do the same thing... read the numbers, and press enter after each line (also PS2 port). There's nothing fancy about it.
I'm just saying that instead of having 1000 IM programs on sourceforge, or 1000 different newsreaders, web browsers, FTP clients, etc. what about something useful? Hell, I don't even care about an OS OS because Windows 2000 isn't expensive, and I don't deal with the OS. I need some useful, business apps that don't cost a mint and that are flexible. There are a few out there, but they don't do nearly enough to be useful. And yes, you're right... small retailers, as one example, don't have the $$ for a real POS system, and there aren't any viable OSS alternatives.
Bottom line though, good luck finding an ISP that will sell you a T1 without SPAM restrictions
There are tons of them. You just have to know where to look. I could find a spam-friendly ISP in about 5 minutes if I was interested. That being said, you definitely do pay *quite a bit* for this kind of service. *QUITE* a bit.
This is another example of the OSS community wasting time duplicating their efforts. IM? We've got at least 3 networks out there already, and hundreds of clients. File sharing? FTP, HTTP, Kazaa, Bit Torrent, etc. Who cares abuot yet ANOTHER of the same thing. Is there are OSS coders with free time on their hands (and there obviously are plenty), how about a usable Point of Sale system? How about wirting *anything* that hasn't been done 1000 times already?
Other small companies can do this and do it now.
Sure, my company can do it now! Assuming you come over and do it for me, and are available 24/7 with questions. Oh yeah, and you can port all of my Windows apps over for me.
You're out of your mind. I'd like to know how exactly I can afford to get my apps re-written, and why exactly I should do this. But then, you're an AC, so you're probably just making this all up.
What does the Department of Homelnad Security have to do with companies' networks? How could this *possibly* be related to "terrorism"? This is just another way for the Bush administration to gain even more control over the flow of information. Companies' networks are the responsibility of the companies, and the gov't has no place in it whatsoever. The "somebody" to do something about security problems should be the companies involved, not the gov't.
I dunno. Ask California. California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico really aren't fit for human consumption, nevertheless, the gov't dammed up most of the rivers out west to make it hospitible.