If my life changes I want it to be for a reason other than I felt like believing in something that was nice
Very wise. Faith MUST be reasonable, not just feelings based. And I believe it IS reasonable. That book presents a lot of evidence, but there is plenty of other evidence as well.
hey, interesting. I live in the States so wasn't aware they do that kind of thing. But I have a co-located server in Vancouver, BC. When I lynx to google from there, it redirects to google.ca. Cool...
oh boy. That would be funny if you weren't so RIGHT ON. It's happened plenty of times before, after companies less powerful than Microsoft got ticked off by the "revolutionary" governments of Central America. United Fuit Company/Guatemala/1954 anyone?
I've been using Mozilla 1.0 since its release and upgraded to 1.1 yesterday.
I've had several crashes with 1.0 lately, and most or all seemed to result from openning a new tab and then loading a page with Java, especially if the browser has been running a while. www.attws.com usually crashed it in that way.
I have yet to have that happen with 1.1, but haven't pounded on it as hard yet.
The only time 1.1 crashed is when I pressed F11 to make it full screen (new to Linux in 1.1) and then clicked the little "restore" icon to restore it back to a window. The SECOND time I did that in a session, it crashed.
I used to watch some TV while living at my parents' place -- Peter Jennings, local news with Paul Linman (of exploding whale fame) and Steve Dunn, and then Jeopardy. Now I'm in my own apartment. I have a small TV and a tuner card, but reception is crap so I don't even watch that anymore. I've found that it's FAR quicker to read the news I'm interested in on the Internet than listen to those guys blather about things I'm not interested in, not to mention the commercials. I do miss Jeopardy a little, but can live without it.
Those things aren't worth $9.99/month for basic cable. I do kind of wish I had regular cable for FOX News and the Travel Channel. But $40/month for that is OUTRAGEOUS. No thanks, at least not until I have a roommate and/or more of an income.
$45/month, OTOH, for cable Internet is a no-brainer.:)
I do have an interest in linux's future, but linux on MY desktop already does eveything I want it to, and games are unimportant in the markets where I would hope to benifit from linux through my job. The linux I am looking for has a bright future already.
Same here. I just want it for everyone!:)
If you mean what I think you mean, then I feel sorry for you having an inability to accept some fantasy into your life. If your beliefs are strong enough you should be able to use your imagination without fear of betraying them. Video games aren't real.
I'm not saying it's a sin or anything (although some games can be) but I just choose not to get involved in that kind of thing. Besides, Loki's Railroad Tycoon II provides all the fantasy I need -- that I'm in charge of building the Trans-Siberian Railroad!:)
At who's benifit? Taking market share away from Microsoft just because you are opposed to them or what they do isn't a good enough reason in itself to convince other people to join you. There has to be a clear benifit to the user, which leads to my next point:
It will benefit others when computers cost less (no MS tax), when file formats are open so there can be more competition in productivity suites, when the productivity suites also cost nothing, when businesses can pay any consultant to fix a problem that Microsoft won't fix... etc etc. I'm sure I don't have to convince you of all the benefits. But for the masses to enjoy those benefits, they have to be convinced to choose to use Free Software.
Linux is not the only other choice, nor is it necissarily the best choice in all situations.
Right, I'd consider OS X a reasonable alternative. But a large part of it is still non-Free so if it got 95% market share, it could be a Microsoft type situation repeating itself. The only true long term solution is to get people to standardize on Free operating systems.
Sorry if I sound like RMS -- actually I like to think I'm quite a bit more level headed than he is. I don't mind proprietary software, I just want my OS Free!
I don't know about you, but I only buy games if I want to play them. I'm certainly not going to buy a game to "support the community."
That's a very good point, however, if you're at all interested in the future of Linux I suggest that you give them the benefit of the doubt and buy it even if you want it only a *little*. If you don't want it at *all*, then by all means don't buy it.
Having said that, will I buy it? No, for two reasons:
1. I don't have much of an income right now and buying more games would be irresponsible.
2. There is only One true Immortal Sovereign, and I'm not going to buy a game that pretennds to put anything in His place!:)
Is there even any benifit to playing games on linux instead of windows?
Technically, probably not. But I believe it is utterly crucial that we keep chinking away at Microsoft's market share. We need more games on Linux so that more users will be able to switch to Linux. If people don't switch to Linux, Microsoft will rule the computer industry with an iron fist for decades to come, and that thought makes me shudder!
I thought the BCast2000 author pulled it due to alleged liability problems with open source code. Yet when you click on the Cinelerra download link, it brings up the GPL license!
Sweetness, but what gives!
Thanks guys! Now if only I had a use for it... will have to think of one.:) oh wait I only have an athlon 700.:(
easier to install than any version of Windows I have ever installed! I mean BY FAR! Not trying to be a troll, I'm serious.
Windows makes you reboot two or three times. RH doesn't (only once at the end, then you boot into a ready-to-go system).
Windows often doesn't install drivers for video/sound cards, or even Ethernet cards. But assuming the card has a driver for Linux, RH has always set it up for me during the install, no problem.
Software -- with a fresh RH installation, you already have most of the software you need, ready to go. Office suite, e-mail programs, servers, plenty of games (far more than come with Windows).
The ONLY particularly difficult part of installing RH is the partitioning, and even that is getting easier with each version.
Also OpenOffice DOES have a very extensive API, so I'm pretty sure you could do a similar thing as you're doing in Office. It supports Java and C++ plugins, so they could interact with your engine and create the documents.
I don't see what the problem is here. I *DO* see it as absolutely essential that we find ways to dump the MS monopoly for open standards, and OpenOffice is one of the best ways we can do that. The long term benefits are enormous.
If I HAD to use 'Doze, I'd probably take 2000, or 98SE if it had to be a DOS based version.
Really, the biggest problem I have with people willingly choosing Windows is that they're willingly giving Microsoft the ability to screw them and others. If we're going to break the bondage, which has plagued the whole computer industry for over a decade, a lot of people have to say NO to Microsoft and start using something else, even if it means a bit of temporary inconvenience! When people do that, the software vendors will follow. Of course, the software vendors have a lot to gain too, since they'll no longer have the threat of competition from the company that makes the de-facto OS!
I use RH 7.3 with KDE and it's also quite stable. I've had X hangs and crashes before, but IIRC not since I upgraded to 7.3.
It has come a LONG way since RH6, but I'm sure you knew that!
Hopefully one has come far enough that I can actually use it myself, even if it's not yet to where I can use it for my clients.
Well obviously you have to use what they want you to use, but hopefully you'll be able to recommend Linux soon. As far as the desktop goes, it simply is NOT harder to use than Windows. The only real issue is the number of business applications (many of which are custom and could easily be developed with Kylix). Then there's the fact that Linux system administration is different -- not harder, just different.
Stock: Ok, it's probably safe to assume it will spike up to $60 again at some point. In early 1999, I remember specifically predicting that it would reach its all time peak, past and future, in the second half of the year. Well it peaked just a couple days before the end of the year and hasn't seen that level since. And I still hold to the prediction -- I don't think it ever will see that level again! My advice if you don't want to sell now: put in a GTC limit order to sell at $60.:)
Agreed, and a major part of getting Linux into the mainstream (actually probably THE most important part) is convincing corporate IT depts of the importance of openness. We need to make them WANT Linux (or Mac OS X) instead of shoving it down their throats.
And remember, linux doesn't have forever to become viable for the average user. Once restrictive systems like Palladium become entrenched, options such as linux may well be *effectively* illegal, unless they've already become sufficiently established that their users' voices cannot be ignored or silenced.
EXACTLY, and that's a point I make elsewhere on eradicatewindowsnow.com. If we sit on our arses long enough for MS to get this palladium crap on everyone's computer, then alternative operating systems, freedom, and innovation in the computer industry are SCREWED. It is of utmost importance that Linux be made a viable alternative NOW. And we have to do that 1) by appealing to corporate users and governments the importance of openness (in APIs and file formats) and 2) appealing to home users by creating a Linux system that they would WANT to own (hence my proposal).
I am primarily a Windows user, *and* am a M$ shareholder
Ack! Ok, you're a knowledgeable person. Why don't YOU switch to Linux? You just like Windows better or does Linux not do something you need to do? Could a system like I proposed help you switch?
And as for being an MS shareholder -- I'd encourage you to re-think that one! MSFT's PE is quite high right now (yes, even after the stuck fell to under $50) and STILL assumes that it will keep a strong revenue GROWTH over the next several years. As Linux and OpenOffice continue to eat into its cash cows, and as its stock and therefore options don't increase (forcing them to pay employees more cash), I think MSFT's stock future is NOT bright. I predict that in a year or two MSFT will be in the $20 range. Seriously. Sell!
*If* linux on the desktop was suitable for ALL users, this entire dilemma would vanish, and the OEMs would have M$ over a barrel instead.
It *is*, today, and I'm completely convinced of that! It just needs to be pre-installed with a nice friendly distro and lots of good free software. (Exception: Admittedly some users need software that isn't yet available on Linux, but that group is smaller than you think, and as more and more start to switch that problem will be remedied in a couple years.)
Isn't CVS almost by definition experimental? If it wasn't experimental it would be released as 4.3.0!
And then there's mod_perl, which is also apparently in beta for Apache 2. I'd upgrade if I could reliably run Slashcode under that.
Re:Why is this a Good Thing (tm)?
on
Penguin Airlines
·
· Score: 2
Why is using one platform, regardless of it's appropriateness, just for the sake of using it, a good idea?
It's not, necessarily (yeah, I realize it was rhetorical)
What IS a good idea is that they're basing their entire system on Open Source Software. If I was setting up a new business, I would try like crazy to avoid using proprietary software for anything important unless there was really no choice.
Anyway, the applications they use (which are probably custom written anyway) are far more important than the OS. We all know that Linux is good enough to handle this stuff!
Re:Get it out of the way
on
Penguin Airlines
·
· Score: 4, Funny
or she could just refer him to the Peanut-HOWTO.html
People need to pay at least as much attention to ads on the Net as they do to TV and newspaper ads, but good Net ads should not be annoying.
My proposal: Net ads should be good sized -- maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of the screen area, and mostly text with an image or two. The content of the page should be partly above the ad and partly under it, so you have to scroll past it. The advertiser should be able to specify CSS info for the ad to make it unique. Ads should be informative and interesting. No Flash or Java, just use Web standards.
It might be slightly annoying, but at least you don't have to use your mouse to click on a tiny area to close a window. Just scroll the wheel or press PgDn. And you don't have to have an annoying animated GIF in the corner of your eye when you're reading an article!
This kind of ad *should* be sufficient to support good content. I suggested it to the LWN folks but I'm not sure if they went for it. The problem with LWN's ads right now is they're too easy to miss, and that's probably why they're not getting much ad income.
Re:How to think like a computer scientist
on
Think Python
·
· Score: 2
my local community college puts stuff like Introduction to Microsoft Word under Computer Science! gaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
In addition to the other (correct) reply, I recall reading that their bandwidth has been donated for quite a while, by Rackspace. So it's not a b/w issue at all.
Slashdot Mirror
This book is a VERY good start!
If my life changes I want it to be for a reason other than I felt like believing in something that was nice
Very wise. Faith MUST be reasonable, not just feelings based. And I believe it IS reasonable. That book presents a lot of evidence, but there is plenty of other evidence as well.
hey, interesting. I live in the States so wasn't aware they do that kind of thing. But I have a co-located server in Vancouver, BC. When I lynx to google from there, it redirects to google.ca. Cool...
LGPL software can be relicensed under the GPL at any time. No problem.
oh boy. That would be funny if you weren't so RIGHT ON. It's happened plenty of times before, after companies less powerful than Microsoft got ticked off by the "revolutionary" governments of Central America. United Fuit Company/Guatemala/1954 anyone?
I've been using Mozilla 1.0 since its release and upgraded to 1.1 yesterday.
I've had several crashes with 1.0 lately, and most or all seemed to result from openning a new tab and then loading a page with Java, especially if the browser has been running a while. www.attws.com usually crashed it in that way.
I have yet to have that happen with 1.1, but haven't pounded on it as hard yet.
The only time 1.1 crashed is when I pressed F11 to make it full screen (new to Linux in 1.1) and then clicked the little "restore" icon to restore it back to a window. The SECOND time I did that in a session, it crashed.
AAAAAAAA freeking MEN!!!!
:)
I used to watch some TV while living at my parents' place -- Peter Jennings, local news with Paul Linman (of exploding whale fame) and Steve Dunn, and then Jeopardy. Now I'm in my own apartment. I have a small TV and a tuner card, but reception is crap so I don't even watch that anymore. I've found that it's FAR quicker to read the news I'm interested in on the Internet than listen to those guys blather about things I'm not interested in, not to mention the commercials. I do miss Jeopardy a little, but can live without it.
Those things aren't worth $9.99/month for basic cable. I do kind of wish I had regular cable for FOX News and the Travel Channel. But $40/month for that is OUTRAGEOUS. No thanks, at least not until I have a roommate and/or more of an income.
$45/month, OTOH, for cable Internet is a no-brainer.
So if you only read half as much as you watch television, you'd probably be looking at 15 books a month, or $135.
dOOd, that's what your local library is for!
I do have an interest in linux's future, but linux on MY desktop already does eveything I want it to, and games are unimportant in the markets where I would hope to benifit from linux through my job. The linux I am looking for has a bright future already.
:)
:)
Same here. I just want it for everyone!
If you mean what I think you mean, then I feel sorry for you having an inability to accept some fantasy into your life. If your beliefs are strong enough you should be able to use your imagination without fear of betraying them. Video games aren't real.
I'm not saying it's a sin or anything (although some games can be) but I just choose not to get involved in that kind of thing. Besides, Loki's Railroad Tycoon II provides all the fantasy I need -- that I'm in charge of building the Trans-Siberian Railroad!
At who's benifit? Taking market share away from Microsoft just because you are opposed to them or what they do isn't a good enough reason in itself to convince other people to join you. There has to be a clear benifit to the user, which leads to my next point:
It will benefit others when computers cost less (no MS tax), when file formats are open so there can be more competition in productivity suites, when the productivity suites also cost nothing, when businesses can pay any consultant to fix a problem that Microsoft won't fix... etc etc. I'm sure I don't have to convince you of all the benefits. But for the masses to enjoy those benefits, they have to be convinced to choose to use Free Software.
Linux is not the only other choice, nor is it necissarily the best choice in all situations.
Right, I'd consider OS X a reasonable alternative. But a large part of it is still non-Free so if it got 95% market share, it could be a Microsoft type situation repeating itself. The only true long term solution is to get people to standardize on Free operating systems.
Sorry if I sound like RMS -- actually I like to think I'm quite a bit more level headed than he is. I don't mind proprietary software, I just want my OS Free!
I don't know about you, but I only buy games if I want to play them. I'm certainly not going to buy a game to "support the community."
:)
:)
That's a very good point, however, if you're at all interested in the future of Linux I suggest that you give them the benefit of the doubt and buy it even if you want it only a *little*. If you don't want it at *all*, then by all means don't buy it.
Having said that, will I buy it? No, for two reasons:
1. I don't have much of an income right now and buying more games would be irresponsible.
2. There is only One true Immortal Sovereign, and I'm not going to buy a game that pretennds to put anything in His place!
Is there even any benifit to playing games on linux instead of windows?
Technically, probably not. But I believe it is utterly crucial that we keep chinking away at Microsoft's market share. We need more games on Linux so that more users will be able to switch to Linux. If people don't switch to Linux, Microsoft will rule the computer industry with an iron fist for decades to come, and that thought makes me shudder!
Eradicate Windows Now -- my new site that answers the question for you.
I thought the BCast2000 author pulled it due to alleged liability problems with open source code. Yet when you click on the Cinelerra download link, it brings up the GPL license!
:) oh wait I only have an athlon 700. :(
Sweetness, but what gives!
Thanks guys! Now if only I had a use for it... will have to think of one.
if you don't configure it with DHCP (like I'm not set up to do), then you have to enter all your own numbers
uh, that's the case for configuring ANY TCP/IP stack! DHCP or manual!
easier to install than any version of Windows I have ever installed! I mean BY FAR! Not trying to be a troll, I'm serious.
Windows makes you reboot two or three times. RH doesn't (only once at the end, then you boot into a ready-to-go system).
Windows often doesn't install drivers for video/sound cards, or even Ethernet cards. But assuming the card has a driver for Linux, RH has always set it up for me during the install, no problem.
Software -- with a fresh RH installation, you already have most of the software you need, ready to go. Office suite, e-mail programs, servers, plenty of games (far more than come with Windows).
The ONLY particularly difficult part of installing RH is the partitioning, and even that is getting easier with each version.
Also OpenOffice DOES have a very extensive API, so I'm pretty sure you could do a similar thing as you're doing in Office. It supports Java and C++ plugins, so they could interact with your engine and create the documents.
I don't see what the problem is here. I *DO* see it as absolutely essential that we find ways to dump the MS monopoly for open standards, and OpenOffice is one of the best ways we can do that. The long term benefits are enormous.
Win95 stable??? Yikes, you must be REALLY lucky!
:)
If I HAD to use 'Doze, I'd probably take 2000, or 98SE if it had to be a DOS based version.
Really, the biggest problem I have with people willingly choosing Windows is that they're willingly giving Microsoft the ability to screw them and others. If we're going to break the bondage, which has plagued the whole computer industry for over a decade, a lot of people have to say NO to Microsoft and start using something else, even if it means a bit of temporary inconvenience! When people do that, the software vendors will follow. Of course, the software vendors have a lot to gain too, since they'll no longer have the threat of competition from the company that makes the de-facto OS!
I use RH 7.3 with KDE and it's also quite stable. I've had X hangs and crashes before, but IIRC not since I upgraded to 7.3.
It has come a LONG way since RH6, but I'm sure you knew that!
Hopefully one has come far enough that I can actually use it myself, even if it's not yet to where I can use it for my clients.
Well obviously you have to use what they want you to use, but hopefully you'll be able to recommend Linux soon. As far as the desktop goes, it simply is NOT harder to use than Windows. The only real issue is the number of business applications (many of which are custom and could easily be developed with Kylix). Then there's the fact that Linux system administration is different -- not harder, just different.
Stock: Ok, it's probably safe to assume it will spike up to $60 again at some point. In early 1999, I remember specifically predicting that it would reach its all time peak, past and future, in the second half of the year. Well it peaked just a couple days before the end of the year and hasn't seen that level since. And I still hold to the prediction -- I don't think it ever will see that level again! My advice if you don't want to sell now: put in a GTC limit order to sell at $60.
Agreed, and a major part of getting Linux into the mainstream (actually probably THE most important part) is convincing corporate IT depts of the importance of openness. We need to make them WANT Linux (or Mac OS X) instead of shoving it down their throats.
And remember, linux doesn't have forever to become viable for the average user. Once restrictive systems like Palladium become entrenched, options such as linux may well be *effectively* illegal, unless they've already become sufficiently established that their users' voices cannot be ignored or silenced.
EXACTLY, and that's a point I make elsewhere on eradicatewindowsnow.com. If we sit on our arses long enough for MS to get this palladium crap on everyone's computer, then alternative operating systems, freedom, and innovation in the computer industry are SCREWED. It is of utmost importance that Linux be made a viable alternative NOW. And we have to do that 1) by appealing to corporate users and governments the importance of openness (in APIs and file formats) and 2) appealing to home users by creating a Linux system that they would WANT to own (hence my proposal).
I am primarily a Windows user, *and* am a M$ shareholder
Ack! Ok, you're a knowledgeable person. Why don't YOU switch to Linux? You just like Windows better or does Linux not do something you need to do? Could a system like I proposed help you switch?
And as for being an MS shareholder -- I'd encourage you to re-think that one! MSFT's PE is quite high right now (yes, even after the stuck fell to under $50) and STILL assumes that it will keep a strong revenue GROWTH over the next several years. As Linux and OpenOffice continue to eat into its cash cows, and as its stock and therefore options don't increase (forcing them to pay employees more cash), I think MSFT's stock future is NOT bright. I predict that in a year or two MSFT will be in the $20 range. Seriously. Sell!
*If* linux on the desktop was suitable for ALL users, this entire dilemma would vanish, and the OEMs would have M$ over a barrel instead.
It *is*, today, and I'm completely convinced of that! It just needs to be pre-installed with a nice friendly distro and lots of good free software. (Exception: Admittedly some users need software that isn't yet available on Linux, but that group is smaller than you think, and as more and more start to switch that problem will be remedied in a couple years.)
I even put together a proposal for a Linux system for end users done right and would love to see a few computer makers take a look at this!
Isn't CVS almost by definition experimental? If it wasn't experimental it would be released as 4.3.0!
And then there's mod_perl, which is also apparently in beta for Apache 2. I'd upgrade if I could reliably run Slashcode under that.
Why is using one platform, regardless of it's appropriateness, just for the sake of using it, a good idea?
It's not, necessarily (yeah, I realize it was rhetorical)
What IS a good idea is that they're basing their entire system on Open Source Software. If I was setting up a new business, I would try like crazy to avoid using proprietary software for anything important unless there was really no choice.
Anyway, the applications they use (which are probably custom written anyway) are far more important than the OS. We all know that Linux is good enough to handle this stuff!
or she could just refer him to the Peanut-HOWTO.html
ok, so I assume you'd like to pay for every little thing you go to on the Internet?
People need to pay at least as much attention to ads on the Net as they do to TV and newspaper ads, but good Net ads should not be annoying.
My proposal: Net ads should be good sized -- maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of the screen area, and mostly text with an image or two. The content of the page should be partly above the ad and partly under it, so you have to scroll past it. The advertiser should be able to specify CSS info for the ad to make it unique. Ads should be informative and interesting. No Flash or Java, just use Web standards.
It might be slightly annoying, but at least you don't have to use your mouse to click on a tiny area to close a window. Just scroll the wheel or press PgDn. And you don't have to have an annoying animated GIF in the corner of your eye when you're reading an article!
This kind of ad *should* be sufficient to support good content. I suggested it to the LWN folks but I'm not sure if they went for it. The problem with LWN's ads right now is they're too easy to miss, and that's probably why they're not getting much ad income.
my local community college puts stuff like Introduction to Microsoft Word under Computer Science! gaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Dunno, but I wrote a Classifieds plugin for Slashcode. Never really got around to using it or releasing it though...
In addition to the other (correct) reply, I recall reading that their bandwidth has been donated for quite a while, by Rackspace. So it's not a b/w issue at all.