I bought a complete Cyrix P150+ system w/32MB of memory for $50. It upgraded my AMD 5x85 133MHz server (mind you, I'm running a tiny network in my bedroom, and basically use the server as an FTP archive and dialup IP masq host). It is one heck of a machine, although it does run a bit on the warm side, but nothing too bad. It keeps up with requests from my PIII-500, P2-450, P2-233 and the 5x86-133 just fine (although I wish I had a cable modem). They might have been better off if they found a way to run their processors cooler and with a faster FPU. A little bit of marketing might have helped too! Sad to see them leave....
"So why didn't all those computer professionals do the ethical thing and prevent or blow the whistle on the year 2000 computer problem... "
They DID! But, at the time, it was considered an acceptable trade off. Even now, with as cheap as memory/disk space is, consider this. On mainframe computer systems, with programs written in COBOL and charged with the task of sorting though, say 40-50 million records a day, 2 bytes can add up quite quickly. 2 * 40,000,000 = 80,000,000 EXTRA bytes of data. Harddrives and tape drives for, say Tandem mainframes, aren't near as cheap as they are for PC's. It's a whole different ballgame. And because of this, people carried these habits from the mainframe world to the PC world. Would certification of programmers early on helped avoid the current Y2K "design flaws"? Nope. The programmers did the most sensible thing (at the time, of course). No one predicted that these systems would still be in use today.
I say take your idea a bit further. Disregard benchmarks altogether. Very rarely have I seen a benchmark that comes close to actual production performance. Is the K7 faster than the PIII? I dunno. Wait until it comes out and evaluate it yourself.
Well, yes and no. From what I've read, this exploit (however u spell it) relies on some ActiveX program running on your local machine. AFAIK, there is little ActiveX support for Netscape (there are commerical plug-ins, but I'll be damned if I pay money just to use ActiveX docs). The "virus" may have to be integrated into the Flash BIOS to fake out the ID. That would mean the "virus" would be BIOS specific, perhaps even machine specific (definately a roll-your-own-virus program:) ). Anyone got an easier idea?
No time investment for Windows?
on
Linux on CNN
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· Score: 1
Interesting point. But you did leave out one major point. Rebooting doesn't take long (on my 460MHz P2:) ), but there is a possibily of damage to the filesystem (especially the flaky FAT16/32) that can corrupt drivers/system files/ect if they were in use when Windows croaked. I've had the registry get wacked because of a blue-screen reboot, which caused me to reinstall all of Win95 over again. How much time was REALLY wasted there!
The time I've spent on Linux, learning the insides of the operating system, how everything works, ect. has been anything but worthless. In fact, It's been quite enjoyable, and from the knowledge I've gained, actually lead to higher paying salaries and job advancements.
I would be interested to know what you consider to be "time well spent"...
"Linux isn't even free... Add up the costs of installation, testing, support, training and the political infighting that comes with any new technology in an IT shop, and your total cost of running Linux is about the same as NT..."
Uh, okay. Last time I checked, Windows NT and other OS's also required installation, testing, support, training, ON TOP OF a hefty price tag. I believe that it definately DOES save money, and quite a bit too.
"Should you let your in-house developers make changes to the source code? (Probably not, unless you love version-control hell.) "
I don't see this as a negative, if you have competent programmers at work:)
"Should I really consider software written piecemeal by thousands of programmers in an anarchic development setting?"
This is funny. The author would rather run software developed by power-hungry, greedy, market orientated software giants that care little for the end user, than software written BY the end user for the end user and tested on thousands of different machines under thousands of different real-life scenarios. Go ahead, be my guest..! I'll trust Linus's decision making over the "how much richer can I be today" Gates any day.
"Linux simply isn't something TV and radio can explain to a mainstream audience in three minutes of sound bites."
Linux is not for the mainstream audience. It is for A) The techincal hacker who enjoys a complete control and customization of his/her machine. B) The moderately skilled user who WANTS to know more, and C) The network IT professionals who want to run a stable and secure network. All three of these types of people know what's going on, they are not the "mainstream home user". For the average Joe, that's what Windows is designed for.
"Frank Hayes...has been looking for a good way to explain source code for 20 years."
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I like this one:
"My ego likes it. It's the ego trip of the century to write your own operating system. Highly recommended, two thumbs up!"
I bought a complete Cyrix P150+ system w/32MB of memory for $50. It upgraded my AMD 5x85 133MHz server (mind you, I'm running a tiny network in my bedroom, and basically use the server as an FTP archive and dialup IP masq host). It is one heck of a machine, although it does run a bit on the warm side, but nothing too bad. It keeps up with requests from my PIII-500, P2-450, P2-233 and the 5x86-133 just fine (although I wish I had a cable modem). They might have been better off if they found a way to run their processors cooler and with a faster FPU. A little bit of marketing might have helped too! Sad to see them leave....
I second that. I have one, and it rocks. Congrats!
"So why didn't all those computer professionals do the ethical thing and prevent or blow the whistle on the year 2000 computer problem... "
They DID! But, at the time, it was considered an acceptable trade off. Even now, with as cheap as memory/disk space is, consider this. On mainframe computer systems, with programs written in COBOL and charged with the task of sorting though, say 40-50 million records a day, 2 bytes can add up quite quickly. 2 * 40,000,000 = 80,000,000 EXTRA bytes of data. Harddrives and tape drives for, say Tandem mainframes, aren't near as cheap as they are for PC's. It's a whole different ballgame. And because of this, people carried these habits from the mainframe world to the PC world.
Would certification of programmers early on helped avoid the current Y2K "design flaws"? Nope. The programmers did the most sensible thing (at the time, of course). No one predicted that these systems would still be in use today.
I say take your idea a bit further. Disregard benchmarks altogether. Very rarely have I seen a benchmark that comes close to actual production performance. Is the K7 faster than the PIII? I dunno. Wait until it comes out and evaluate it yourself.
Well, yes and no. From what I've read, this exploit (however u spell it) relies on some ActiveX program running on your local machine. AFAIK, there is little ActiveX support for Netscape (there are commerical plug-ins, but I'll be damned if I pay money just to use ActiveX docs). :) ). Anyone got an easier idea?
The "virus" may have to be integrated into the Flash BIOS to fake out the ID. That would mean the "virus" would be BIOS specific, perhaps even machine specific (definately a roll-your-own-virus program
No. The sr. model for $699 does.
Interesting point. But you did leave out one major point. Rebooting doesn't take long (on my 460MHz P2 :) ), but there is a possibily of damage to the filesystem (especially the flaky FAT16/32) that can corrupt drivers/system files/ect if they were in use when Windows croaked. I've had the registry get wacked because of a blue-screen reboot, which caused me to reinstall all of Win95 over again. How much time was REALLY wasted there!
Yes, you are correct. I also believe it was said during the last decade or so of the 19th century (please correct me if I'm wrong...:-)
The time I've spent on Linux, learning the insides of the operating system, how everything works, ect. has been anything but worthless. In fact, It's been quite enjoyable, and from the knowledge I've gained, actually lead to higher paying salaries and job advancements.
I would be interested to know what you consider to be "time well spent"...
"Linux isn't even free ... Add up the costs of installation, testing, support, training and the political infighting that comes with any new technology in an IT shop, and your total cost of running Linux is about the same as NT ..."
:)
Uh, okay. Last time I checked, Windows NT and other OS's also required installation, testing, support, training, ON TOP OF a hefty price tag. I believe that it definately DOES save money, and quite a bit too.
"Should you let your in-house developers make changes to the source code? (Probably not, unless you love version-control hell.) "
I don't see this as a negative, if you have competent programmers at work
"Should I really consider software written piecemeal by thousands of programmers in an anarchic development setting?"
This is funny. The author would rather run software developed by power-hungry, greedy, market orientated software giants that care little for the end user, than software written BY the end user for the end user and tested on thousands of different machines under thousands of different real-life scenarios. Go ahead, be my guest..! I'll trust Linus's decision making over the "how much richer can I be today" Gates any day.
"Linux simply isn't something TV and radio can explain to a mainstream audience in three minutes of sound bites."
Linux is not for the mainstream audience. It is for A) The techincal hacker who enjoys a complete control and customization of his/her machine. B) The moderately skilled user who WANTS to know more, and C) The network IT professionals who want to run a stable and secure network. All three of these types of people know what's going on, they are not the "mainstream home user". For the average Joe, that's what Windows is designed for.
"Frank Hayes...has been looking for a good way to explain source code for 20 years."
And this guy is writing a column on Linux? Geez!