Maybe I'm in a minority here, but I do expect my *operating system* to be lightweight.
There's your problem. You assume it's "your" operating system running on "your" computer. By installing Windows you are agreeing to let Microsoft decide how your computer gets used (i.e., it becomes, essentially, their computer), and they want most of it for themselves, and the media companies. Windows is all about serving Microsoft's wants and needs and none about yours. The only thing that matters about users is that they pay.
Regarding Windows 7, it was obvious in 2001 that this was the _only_ way to go. Fortunately for Apple, they didn't spend another 7 years going down the dead end road before they got it right. Of course, by the time Windows 7 comes around, Linux may have a real foothold on the desktop. You couldn't pay me to run Vista again, and I'm very happy with Ubuntu and a Windows 2000 VM (yes, Windows 2000, what a really nice reasonably lean OS that was... it was usable in 64MB of RAM, imagine that!) for those few Windows apps I can't live without (fancy that, I'm essentially running Windows 7 now). I'll be curious to see what Microsoft finally shoves out the door prematurely in late 2010 and whether it will be actually worth looking at, or if will be nothing but another meal for the ravenous hardware upgrade cycle. Microsoft has fallen off the relevancy cliff... it will take a while to hit bottom, but the only direction they're moving in right now is down.
Thanks for all the detail. I was deliberately being silly, since I took a year of French in high school I do know the difference. I guess it's a dangerous combination, being a spelling/grammar nazi but always wanting to have fun, and then
I used to have that problem too. I think every young reader does.
(Is it just me or do a lot of people waste an awful lot of time waiting for the stupid two-minute timer that/. insists on running between allowing comments? Sorry/., I'm not some kind of retard, it's possible for me to read a comment and compose a thoughtful response in less than 120 seconds. 60 seconds would make so much more sense.)
Somehow, Spanish has managed to solve the problem. It's a completely phonetic language with no exceptions. I'd really like to know how that came about.
If you're already past the hurdle, why not help the person over?
Well, my post is an implicit suggestion to read more, which is the best help there is. The only real way to help your spelling is to read books. I read one or two books a month on a slow month, sometimes a couple a week, including literature, science, math, politics, and plenty of fun stuff too, despite the fact that I spend time at places like/.. It's the best, and possibly the only effective, way to increase your vocabulary and improve your spelling. If you are well-read there are many, many other benefits, such as actually knowing what you are talking about. These benefits aren't just good things to have, they are necessary to be an educated person, which most people on places like/. purport to be. Despite the wealth of information around us, I get the impression people, as a whole, are becoming more ignorant, not less, and the spelling skills of the average person seem to show it.
While some people just don't have brains that adapt well to good spelling*, almost everyone will benefit from actually reading well-written material, especially material that was written fifty or more years ago. Language is very precise and if you misuse it, you are prone to being misunderstood. Effective communication requires proper use of the tools, namely language.
* One of the most well-read persons, and possibly the smartest person, I've ever met spells like a remedial fourth-grader, but people like him are uncommon, and he specifically blames his lack of ability to not being taught phonics as a kid.
Never use a word that you've heard in speech but have never seen in print, because you'll look like a fool when you spell it wrong.
Examples I've seen in real life: "Here, Here!", "gold dablooms", "prejudice" (meaning 'prejudiced', I see this a lot), "per say", "mideval" (meaning 'medieval'), "pnumonic" (meaning 'mnemonic')
OK, I've gotten it out of my blood for now... carry on.
You can automate the detection of fakes, but not the creation of fakes. That's the hard part. Besides, given the utter garbage quality of many faked pictures passed off as real, it's obvious a lot of people Just Don't Care to verify things.
1. Actually know anything about the law 2. Have any common sense 3. Miss an opportunity to be an asshole if he thinks it will get him votes
I think legislators should be fined for every law they propose that is obviously in violation of the Constitution, but then again that doesn't stop these crummy laws (e.g., McCain-Feingold) from being passed anyway.
Are you implying that Phorm is the exact opposite of what they claim to be? I'd never heard of them and would be wary of any company offering "privacy", but that charge is pretty strong (not that I would doubt it for a second).
Doom runs on my Sansa e260 with RockBox for cryin' out loud. That's why I don't bother buying new games any more. I want something that will run on my HP lappy with "nVidia something-or-other that was the hotness about 3 years ago" video. I want a good _game_, the extra fancy graphics are cool, but don't really make the game, although you wouldn't believe it if you listened to marketing-types or hotrodder gamers.
given that many MALE scientists believe in imaginary superbeings that were made up by some random illiterate guy some thousands of years ago
There's a big difference. Astrology, Christian fundamentalism (at least the Bible literalist kind), Scientology, Mormonism all require believing things that have been empirically disproven by science and/or history. Most religions don't clash with reality, regardless of what you think of them. As a Catholic who is very interested in keeping up with the latest in science, there is no conflict between my beliefs and the evidence of the world around me. The same can generally be said for (most) Christians, Jews, Buddhists and many other religions. When I was dating, astrology would have been a deal-breaker, along with smoking, liking Hillary Clinton, rap, American Idol, and other things I personally find abhorrent. Religious belief in general would not be a problem, although obviously I would prefer (and indeed married) someone with the same beliefs.
Well, since so many patents seem to fail on the few criteria that are available (e.g., novelty and non-obviousness) that there more problems than just redefining what can be patented.
Slashdot Mirror
Maybe I'm in a minority here, but I do expect my *operating system* to be lightweight.
There's your problem. You assume it's "your" operating system running on "your" computer. By installing Windows you are agreeing to let Microsoft decide how your computer gets used (i.e., it becomes, essentially, their computer), and they want most of it for themselves, and the media companies. Windows is all about serving Microsoft's wants and needs and none about yours. The only thing that matters about users is that they pay.
I know it's a cliche, but YMBNH!
Regarding Windows 7, it was obvious in 2001 that this was the _only_ way to go. Fortunately for Apple, they didn't spend another 7 years going down the dead end road before they got it right. Of course, by the time Windows 7 comes around, Linux may have a real foothold on the desktop. You couldn't pay me to run Vista again, and I'm very happy with Ubuntu and a Windows 2000 VM (yes, Windows 2000, what a really nice reasonably lean OS that was... it was usable in 64MB of RAM, imagine that!) for those few Windows apps I can't live without (fancy that, I'm essentially running Windows 7 now). I'll be curious to see what Microsoft finally shoves out the door prematurely in late 2010 and whether it will be actually worth looking at, or if will be nothing but another meal for the ravenous hardware upgrade cycle. Microsoft has fallen off the relevancy cliff... it will take a while to hit bottom, but the only direction they're moving in right now is down.
Maybe it's because Angelina Jolie is really strange and has a mouth like a trout. Plus she could probably beat most of us guys here up.
N00bs indeed. Now leave me alone while I play ADVENT, read DECwars, and hang up my ASCII Snoopy calendars.
Thanks for all the detail. I was deliberately being silly, since I took a year of French in high school I do know the difference. I guess it's a dangerous combination, being a spelling/grammar nazi but always wanting to have fun, and then
vee-oh-lah
I look like an idiot too.
When your mind starts drawing a connection superliminally, then you've got something to talk about.
I used to have that problem too. I think every young reader does.
/. insists on running between allowing comments? Sorry /., I'm not some kind of retard, it's possible for me to read a comment and compose a thoughtful response in less than 120 seconds. 60 seconds would make so much more sense.)
(Is it just me or do a lot of people waste an awful lot of time waiting for the stupid two-minute timer that
Hmmm. It could be worse. They could have said, "Peace is of hate."
Somehow, Spanish has managed to solve the problem. It's a completely phonetic language with no exceptions. I'd really like to know how that came about.
YES! That was a great example I couldn't think of. The person who said "valar" must have been from Bahstahn... or maybe is a Tolkien fan.
;-)
And for those of you that are unfamiliar with the term, "voila" is French for "Ta da!" (at least according to "The Simpsons").
Not to be confused with "voici" which is French for "Check me out!"
As they say in Latin, "E Pluribus Uranium"
If you're already past the hurdle, why not help the person over?
/.. It's the best, and possibly the only effective, way to increase your vocabulary and improve your spelling. If you are well-read there are many, many other benefits, such as actually knowing what you are talking about. These benefits aren't just good things to have, they are necessary to be an educated person, which most people on places like /. purport to be. Despite the wealth of information around us, I get the impression people, as a whole, are becoming more ignorant, not less, and the spelling skills of the average person seem to show it.
Well, my post is an implicit suggestion to read more, which is the best help there is. The only real way to help your spelling is to read books. I read one or two books a month on a slow month, sometimes a couple a week, including literature, science, math, politics, and plenty of fun stuff too, despite the fact that I spend time at places like
While some people just don't have brains that adapt well to good spelling*, almost everyone will benefit from actually reading well-written material, especially material that was written fifty or more years ago. Language is very precise and if you misuse it, you are prone to being misunderstood. Effective communication requires proper use of the tools, namely language.
* One of the most well-read persons, and possibly the smartest person, I've ever met spells like a remedial fourth-grader, but people like him are uncommon, and he specifically blames his lack of ability to not being taught phonics as a kid.
"site:" predates Google. Altavista and Yahoo used to have it before Google existed.
Corollary to Tiller's Rule:
Never use a word that you've heard in speech but have never seen in print, because you'll look like a fool when you spell it wrong.
Examples I've seen in real life: "Here, Here!", "gold dablooms", "prejudice" (meaning 'prejudiced', I see this a lot), "per say", "mideval" (meaning 'medieval'), "pnumonic" (meaning 'mnemonic')
OK, I've gotten it out of my blood for now... carry on.
You can automate the detection of fakes, but not the creation of fakes. That's the hard part. Besides, given the utter garbage quality of many faked pictures passed off as real, it's obvious a lot of people Just Don't Care to verify things.
Besides, the only real way to stop botnets is at the source. Kill Microsoft, or to be more precise, Windows.
Because stupid people agree with it? ;-)
You don't expect a legislator to:
1. Actually know anything about the law
2. Have any common sense
3. Miss an opportunity to be an asshole if he thinks it will get him votes
I think legislators should be fined for every law they propose that is obviously in violation of the Constitution, but then again that doesn't stop these crummy laws (e.g., McCain-Feingold) from being passed anyway.
Since it's never happened, which is what I said in the first place, there's no problem.
Replying to self:
It seems you are right. I'm not surprised as this kind of cynical lying, but it really is sad nonetheless.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080309-bad-phorm-uk-isps-to-sell-clickstream-data-to-advertisers.html
http://www.badphorm.co.uk/
Are you implying that Phorm is the exact opposite of what they claim to be? I'd never heard of them and would be wary of any company offering "privacy", but that charge is pretty strong (not that I would doubt it for a second).
Doom runs on my Sansa e260 with RockBox for cryin' out loud. That's why I don't bother buying new games any more. I want something that will run on my HP lappy with "nVidia something-or-other that was the hotness about 3 years ago" video. I want a good _game_, the extra fancy graphics are cool, but don't really make the game, although you wouldn't believe it if you listened to marketing-types or hotrodder gamers.
given that many MALE scientists believe in imaginary superbeings that were made up by some random illiterate guy some thousands of years ago
There's a big difference. Astrology, Christian fundamentalism (at least the Bible literalist kind), Scientology, Mormonism all require believing things that have been empirically disproven by science and/or history. Most religions don't clash with reality, regardless of what you think of them. As a Catholic who is very interested in keeping up with the latest in science, there is no conflict between my beliefs and the evidence of the world around me. The same can generally be said for (most) Christians, Jews, Buddhists and many other religions. When I was dating, astrology would have been a deal-breaker, along with smoking, liking Hillary Clinton, rap, American Idol, and other things I personally find abhorrent. Religious belief in general would not be a problem, although obviously I would prefer (and indeed married) someone with the same beliefs.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who wonders why a dual core 1.8GHz processor should be pegged running games like we used to play on a 386.
Not too many people unless it's really true to the comic.
Well, since so many patents seem to fail on the few criteria that are available (e.g., novelty and non-obviousness) that there more problems than just redefining what can be patented.