One name immediately comes to mind. Itanium. I guess they wanted to recapture the glory of the Pentium name. They failed. It just doesn't have the same...oh, I don't know, it just sucks.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
It seems just a little odd to me that a "name" should carry this much weight. I guess in a way, it is similar to the three traditionally most important things in business: location, location and location. I suppose to some (at least eCompanies) this could be considered the "corner store on the busiest street in the world" but, $7.5 million? As the Internet continues to grow and become more of a standard way of doing business, how important will this "name" be? Is it important now? It seems to me that this is in line with the tremendous over-valuation of many new Internet companies. If a company has a.com in it's name BAM! here's $1 billion in market capital. Another instance of this hysteria is Microsoft's purchase of Hotmail. I forget the enormous amount they paid for it, but I remember thinking it was waaaaaay to much. I mean FREE email? Wooo-hooo! It's gonna take a lot of banner ads to pay that off. It will probably be quite sometime (if ever) before they can recoup that investment or maybe, just maybe, they did it for a tax write-off. I know if you end up with too much money at the end of the year, Uncle Sam comes callin' wanting (more than) his share.
Or, maybe I just have no foresight.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
I ordered OpenBSD at the beginning of October (then at version 2.5) and it still hasn't arrived. When I sent an email to see what the problem was, I was sent a reply stating they were have "production problems" and that they were 2 weeks behind schedule. I sent that email at least 2 weeks ago and still no software. This is somewhat understandable, but now they have released v. 2.6. This makes me more than a little angry considering that 2.6 seems to be a considerably better product. Yeah, I know that this release would still be out even if I had my 2.5 release right now, but it just adds to the adjitation a little. Oh well.
Anyone know where I can get an.ISO?? I tried to find one of 2.5, but it was virtually impossible. I know about helping to support the developers by purchasing. No problem with that. They have my $45 and change (I also bought one of their cool shirts) but, I still have no software. Wo is me:-(
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
"I personally get tired of constantly hearing people slam the various US Government agencies for past funding of regimes that (may) have had human rights abuses. It was/is, to put it mildly, unfortunate, but what were/are the alternatives?"
Exactly my sentiment. Who knows what the alternatives were to many of the actions that our government, or agents thereof, have taken? I seriously doubt we (the general public) could make any assumptions as to what our government has done and why. Certainly, there are many extraneous factors which have an influence which we cannot begin to comprehend and many times, I'm sure, it is choosing between the lesser of two or (possibly many more) evils. Which is the least evil? What a weighty decision, eh?
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Murder... hm... now what do murderers usually use to commit their murders? Could it be... guns?"
So, following your logic, we should also ban knives, baseball bats, hammers, screwdrivers, etc. etc. A gun is merely an implement, albeit and efficient one, which is probably why it is often used. People kill, not guns.
"Robbery... hm... now what do thieves usually use to commit their robberies? Could it be... guns?"
People commit robberies, not guns.
"Rape... hm... now what do rapists often use to restrain their victims? Could it be... guns?"
Pardon me while I attempt to restrain my laughter. Rapists use guns to restrain their victims? I would think a better answer would be rope or how about fear?
"Assault... hm... now what do thugs often use to injure their victims? Could it be... guns?"
See above.
Guns are blamed (wrongly so, in my opinion) for many of the ills of our (American) society. I think most logical people would agree that the problems of our society stem from much deeper issues than guns. How about lack of compassion for human life, clinical depression, alcoholism, drug addiciton, erosion of our values, ad infinitum. Please look at the source of the problem to solve it, not the result.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Me too. It seems levels would still be too high, even now. I thought there had to be a period of at least 25 years before levels were safe enough. Guess I'm wrong...or am I?
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Do you have any thoughts on what the "next" desktop environment might be like beyond a windowing environment? Would it be possible to have any other type of environment?
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
...with the ancillary things that may occur. If (not saying this will happen) some places lose electricity, it will be during one of the coldest months of the year. This could have many repurcussions. I'm also somewhat concerned about "cyberterrorists" planning attacks to coincide with Y2K. Isn't it a possibility that foreign terrorists could take advantage of the whole thing? This could add to the possible problems which may already occur only making Y2K seem more daunting than it is in itself. Also, what about other countries which are less advanced. Some third world countries that aren't as prepared may encounter some problems and these could have possibly serious repurcussions around the world food shortages and disease outbreaks are concerned.
Or am I stupid?
Wait, don't answer that last question.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Well, considering I don't really pray, or haven't in quite some time, yes. I also think that computers praying has about the same effect as when humans pray. Little to none.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Yeah and if the surface of the "track ball" were large enough, you wouldn't notice the slope very much at all. It would seem as though you were walking on "flat ground." Good idea.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
...have a "ring" that you stand within (so you don't lose your balance and fall, I presume.) This could also be used as a positional system, while the user wears a belt, which would contain a small transmitter where the "buckle" would be. The "ring" could have sensors within it to provide the system with coordinates for the direction of the user. Then the user could basically walk or run in place and turn as they would in the "real world." It wouldn't be the best simulator without some sort of variable speed treadmill that would be responsive to changes in speed by the user and would allow the user to rotate on an axis. This would be the real engineering feat.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
I don't know much about 3D on Linux (and 3D in general, actually) as I don't play games, but I'm curious. Will this make for more realistic (and/or better) 3D on Linux or do some things deeper in Linux (or X maybe?) need to be reworked? Like I said I haven't played games under Linux, but I've been under the impression that 3D under Linux wasn't spectacular because X wasn't a great platform (design-wise) for games. Just curious. It's one of those instances where I'm saying to myself, "I wonder...", so I thought I'd ask.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Rather than "celebrity worship" as you term it, I prefer to think of it as tremendous respect. I, for one, really appreciate what Linus has done. There is also some amount of pride involved. It's a great feeling to see something (Linux) that I have been using for over two years now, go from a small kernel to something so fantastic. (I like the saying "Big trees from little acorns grow.") In line with this sentiment, it's great to see someone like Linus (who most Linux users feel is one of us, so to speak) involved with a potentially revolutionary product. It's somewhat of a geeky trait, I suppose, to be excited about and look forward to the newest, latest, greatest, technology.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Some people may flame me saying, "You don't care anymore because Linux is losing." Wrong answer. Here's why: I LIKE LINUX I genuinely like it. Yeah, so these benchmarks say it is not as fast or as "good." What is good anyway? Good to me is: reliability, configurability, usability, extensibility, scalibility, inexpensiveness, fun, etc. Linux shines in all of these areas and more. Yes, that's right, I said Linux is FUN. Linux is plainly more fun to use. I don't care what any some benchmarks say. We all know that benchmarks are unrealistic. They don't test "real world" conditions and situations. I think we should use their criticisms (only if valid, of course) to help Linux be a better operating system, not to beat some other OS.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
I used to be like the person you describe. I had a "mentor" helping me to learn Linux. Sometimes, however, he would get this frustrated attitude and I gradually asked fewer and fewer questions and began seeking the answers myself. I am so thankful that I made this transition (I'm also very thankful he took the time to help me at all) as now I am much more of a "do-it-yourselfer" than before. BUT, I do think those who are more experienced, need to be a little more patient because obviously some learn at faster rates than others. Some people may never "get it" but, everyone who genuinely wants to learn should be given a good, honest chance. That is, of course, if you are willing to help "newbies." We should all remember where we came from when someone asks for help. At one time we were all "newbies."
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Did you stop to think that there may different kinds of nerds? Who says a nerd has to be ONLY a techno-nerd? What about "math nerds", "political nerds", "science nerds", "literary nerds", ad infinitum. I personally consider myself some of each of the above (and more.) Also, I like to think that other members of the Slashdot community have more on their minds than writing code, microprocessors and hard drives 100% of the time. Get a life!
As far as actually going to China, I'd love to. Unfortunately, I don't have the fundage. I don't suppose you would like to cough up the necessary plane fare and spending money, would you? I consider instances like this to be a large part of what Slashdot and the Internet are about. Finding out about things outside of our own experiences. Wouldn't you agree?
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Hey Roblimo, what would you (and the rest of the readership) say to an interview with Xiong Jiang? I'm very interested in China, it's culture and its current political/human rights climate. I would like to know if human rights have in any way improved recently and has the addition of Honk Kong done anything toward making China a more "open" country?
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Anybody have a Visor yet? How about battery life? This seems to be the weak link with most if not all portable/handheld devices. How does the Visor compare?
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
I would second this and definitely emphasize the Internet somehow. In addition to the many people involved, we could not communicate as we have been able to and I don't think Linux would have grown as it has without it. This would also show that the growth of Linux has and is more of a worldwide effort.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Slashdot Mirror
FYI...it's "Gecko." Just so you know.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
One name immediately comes to mind. Itanium. I guess they wanted to recapture the glory of the Pentium name. They failed. It just doesn't have the same...oh, I don't know, it just sucks.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
It seems just a little odd to me that a "name" should carry this much weight. I guess in a way, it is similar to the three traditionally most important things in business: location, location and location. I suppose to some (at least eCompanies) this could be considered the "corner store on the busiest street in the world" but, $7.5 million? As the Internet continues to grow and become more of a standard way of doing business, how important will this "name" be? Is it important now? It seems to me that this is in line with the tremendous over-valuation of many new Internet companies. If a company has a .com in it's name BAM! here's $1 billion in market capital. Another instance of this hysteria is Microsoft's purchase of Hotmail. I forget the enormous amount they paid for it, but I remember thinking it was waaaaaay to much. I mean FREE email? Wooo-hooo! It's gonna take a lot of banner ads to pay that off. It will probably be quite sometime (if ever) before they can recoup that investment or maybe, just maybe, they did it for a tax write-off. I know if you end up with too much money at the end of the year, Uncle Sam comes callin' wanting (more than) his share.
Or, maybe I just have no foresight.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
I ordered OpenBSD at the beginning of October (then at version 2.5) and it still hasn't arrived. When I sent an email to see what the problem was, I was sent a reply stating they were have "production problems" and that they were 2 weeks behind schedule. I sent that email at least 2 weeks ago and still no software. This is somewhat understandable, but now they have released v. 2.6. This makes me more than a little angry considering that 2.6 seems to be a considerably better product. Yeah, I know that this release would still be out even if I had my 2.5 release right now, but it just adds to the adjitation a little. Oh well.
.ISO?? I tried to find one of 2.5, but it was virtually impossible. I know about helping to support the developers by purchasing. No problem with that. They have my $45 and change (I also bought one of their cool shirts) but, I still have no software. Wo is me :-(
Anyone know where I can get an
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Thanks for the reply. I enjoy reading the intelligently stated opinions of others whether I agree with the or not. It's what makes Slashdot so great.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
"I personally get tired of constantly hearing people slam the various US Government agencies for past funding of regimes that (may) have had human rights abuses. It was/is, to put it mildly, unfortunate, but what were/are the alternatives?"
Exactly my sentiment. Who knows what the alternatives were to many of the actions that our government, or agents thereof, have taken? I seriously doubt we (the general public) could make any assumptions as to what our government has done and why. Certainly, there are many extraneous factors which have an influence which we cannot begin to comprehend and many times, I'm sure, it is choosing between the lesser of two or (possibly many more) evils. Which is the least evil? What a weighty decision, eh?
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Murder... hm... now what do murderers usually use to commit their murders? Could it be... guns?"
So, following your logic, we should also ban knives, baseball bats, hammers, screwdrivers, etc. etc. A gun is merely an implement, albeit and efficient one, which is probably why it is often used. People kill, not guns.
"Robbery... hm... now what do thieves usually use to commit their robberies? Could it be... guns?"
People commit robberies, not guns.
"Rape... hm... now what do rapists often use to restrain their victims? Could it be... guns?"
Pardon me while I attempt to restrain my laughter. Rapists use guns to restrain their victims? I would think a better answer would be rope or how about fear?
"Assault... hm... now what do thugs often use to injure their victims? Could it be... guns?"
See above.
Guns are blamed (wrongly so, in my opinion) for many of the ills of our (American) society. I think most logical people would agree that the problems of our society stem from much deeper issues than guns. How about lack of compassion for human life, clinical depression, alcoholism, drug addiciton, erosion of our values, ad infinitum. Please look at the source of the problem to solve it, not the result.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Me too. It seems levels would still be too high, even now. I thought there had to be a period of at least 25 years before levels were safe enough. Guess I'm wrong...or am I?
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Do you have any thoughts on what the "next" desktop environment might be like beyond a windowing environment? Would it be possible to have any other type of environment?
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
...with the ancillary things that may occur. If (not saying this will happen) some places lose electricity, it will be during one of the coldest months of the year. This could have many repurcussions. I'm also somewhat concerned about "cyberterrorists" planning attacks to coincide with Y2K. Isn't it a possibility that foreign terrorists could take advantage of the whole thing? This could add to the possible problems which may already occur only making Y2K seem more daunting than it is in itself. Also, what about other countries which are less advanced. Some third world countries that aren't as prepared may encounter some problems and these could have possibly serious repurcussions around the world food shortages and disease outbreaks are concerned.
Or am I stupid?
Wait, don't answer that last question.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
"And stop spitting out the typical yankee "we are right, and whoever's different is wrong" opinion."
Who are you referring to with this remark? I don't believe I said anything of the sort.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Well, considering I don't really pray, or haven't in quite some time, yes. I also think that computers praying has about the same effect as when humans pray. Little to none.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Yeah and if the surface of the "track ball" were large enough, you wouldn't notice the slope very much at all. It would seem as though you were walking on "flat ground." Good idea.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
...have a "ring" that you stand within (so you don't lose your balance and fall, I presume.) This could also be used as a positional system, while the user wears a belt, which would contain a small transmitter where the "buckle" would be. The "ring" could have sensors within it to provide the system with coordinates for the direction of the user. Then the user could basically walk or run in place and turn as they would in the "real world." It wouldn't be the best simulator without some sort of variable speed treadmill that would be responsive to changes in speed by the user and would allow the user to rotate on an axis. This would be the real engineering feat.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Me too.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
I don't know much about 3D on Linux (and 3D in general, actually) as I don't play games, but I'm curious. Will this make for more realistic (and/or better) 3D on Linux or do some things deeper in Linux (or X maybe?) need to be reworked? Like I said I haven't played games under Linux, but I've been under the impression that 3D under Linux wasn't spectacular because X wasn't a great platform (design-wise) for games. Just curious. It's one of those instances where I'm saying to myself, "I wonder...", so I thought I'd ask.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
What a comedian! (Don't quit the day job ;-)
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Rather than "celebrity worship" as you term it, I prefer to think of it as tremendous respect. I, for one, really appreciate what Linus has done. There is also some amount of pride involved. It's a great feeling to see something (Linux) that I have been using for over two years now, go from a small kernel to something so fantastic. (I like the saying "Big trees from little acorns grow.") In line with this sentiment, it's great to see someone like Linus (who most Linux users feel is one of us, so to speak) involved with a potentially revolutionary product. It's somewhat of a geeky trait, I suppose, to be excited about and look forward to the newest, latest, greatest, technology.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Gibson from Neuromancer.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Some people may flame me saying, "You don't care anymore because Linux is losing." Wrong answer.
Here's why: I LIKE LINUX
I genuinely like it. Yeah, so these benchmarks say it is not as fast or as "good." What is good anyway? Good to me is: reliability, configurability, usability, extensibility, scalibility, inexpensiveness, fun, etc. Linux shines in all of these areas and more. Yes, that's right, I said Linux is FUN. Linux is plainly more fun to use. I don't care what any some benchmarks say. We all know that benchmarks are unrealistic. They don't test "real world" conditions and situations. I think we should use their criticisms (only if valid, of course) to help Linux be a better operating system, not to beat some other OS.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
I used to be like the person you describe. I had a "mentor" helping me to learn Linux. Sometimes, however, he would get this frustrated attitude and I gradually asked fewer and fewer questions and began seeking the answers myself. I am so thankful that I made this transition (I'm also very thankful he took the time to help me at all) as now I am much more of a "do-it-yourselfer" than before. BUT, I do think those who are more experienced, need to be a little more patient because obviously some learn at faster rates than others. Some people may never "get it" but, everyone who genuinely wants to learn should be given a good, honest chance. That is, of course, if you are willing to help "newbies." We should all remember where we came from when someone asks for help. At one time we were all "newbies."
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Did you stop to think that there may different kinds of nerds? Who says a nerd has to be ONLY a techno-nerd? What about "math nerds", "political nerds", "science nerds", "literary nerds", ad infinitum. I personally consider myself some of each of the above (and more.) Also, I like to think that other members of the Slashdot community have more on their minds than writing code, microprocessors and hard drives 100% of the time. Get a life!
As far as actually going to China, I'd love to. Unfortunately, I don't have the fundage. I don't suppose you would like to cough up the necessary plane fare and spending money, would you? I consider instances like this to be a large part of what Slashdot and the Internet are about. Finding out about things outside of our own experiences. Wouldn't you agree?
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Hey Roblimo, what would you (and the rest of the readership) say to an interview with Xiong Jiang? I'm very interested in China, it's culture and its current political/human rights climate. I would like to know if human rights have in any way improved recently and has the addition of Honk Kong done anything toward making China a more "open" country?
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Anybody have a Visor yet? How about battery life? This seems to be the weak link with most if not all portable/handheld devices. How does the Visor compare?
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
I would second this and definitely emphasize the Internet somehow. In addition to the many people involved, we could not communicate as we have been able to and I don't think Linux would have grown as it has without it. This would also show that the growth of Linux has and is more of a worldwide effort.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein