I know a few guys that shave their pits. Most of them are competition cyclists and swimmers, so they shave their whole bodies. And then there's the time the local punk house contracted body lice (scabies?) and crabs from some SanFran crust punks passing through. That was amusing.:)
Man, don't apologize for how you think about things. Your perception and decisions are yours, so be proud of them. You don't like Firefly. I'm grown up enough to admit that Firefly isn't for everyone, just like Linux isn't for everyone. You know what I mean? But that's what makes the world go 'round: The little differences. You know, like how Quarter Pounders with Cheese are called "Royales w/cheese" in France, or how women don't shave their legs in Germany. So, stand up and be proud fellow geek! You're an individual!
My god, man. If "Everybody Loves Raymond" (lies! The title is a LIE! I hate that fucking show) can go on for how long now?, then Firefly deserves a run at least as long as Buffy.
But, what do you expect? Great show, great premise, nice twist on typical plotlines, great writing, great "settings", great girls er actors and actresses.. It had all the recipes to be axed.
"Hey, this show is too good. Gotta give it the axe."
Remember, America doesn't want quality. We want convenience and entertainment that doesn't require thinking. Hence, Jackass.
$12? Too expensive? Maybe for you, but I like my CD's in the $10-12 range. Dischord Records charges $10 for their CD's, pays their artists fairly, and puts out some really nifty stuff (although they also put out crap). If the other indies out there would adopt a similar business model, I'm sure the benefits of signing to majors will outweigh the importance of 1) getting paid 2) getting distributed and 3) getting exposure. Think about it: Would you rather sell 100k albums and make less than a buck each after your label "recoups" or CD's and make $5? You might make more money with the major, seemingly, but according to Albini in an oft-linked to article, more than likely you're still in the hole with the major. With the Indy, you're free and clear and you generally deal with people who love music. Also consider that one of the main benefits used to be distribution channels, I've found that most independents have very good distribution, and a lot of stuff can be special ordered for you. Here's another idea: fanzines. Fanzines have lots of reader reviews and can also help "point" you in the right direction. Find your local indie record shop. Hell, I think Tower even carries some of the bigger ones (MRR, Punk Planet, and Multiball cover it for me).
But I digress. $10-12 is perfectly A-OK for a CD for many people.
Great, now I can take a 2 week vacation and catch up on the 2 weeks of TV that I missed while the machine records the current 2 weeks of TV I'm missing while I catch up on the 2 weeks of TV that I missed while on vacation.
Something tells me that people watch too much TV and should get back to work
I've had broadband for 4 years. I've paid, dutifully, each month, for broadband which I thought I needed. And last month, I killed my cable modem. Why?
Where's the content that requires it?
I got tired of downloading pr0n from newsgroups. I don't warez or play games. I don't download movies, music, or anything. Other than the occasional Linux distro download, there's really no reason for broadband. (and if you think about it, if I download 2 linux distros a year, I would save a hell of a lot of money just by buying the boxed set rather than forking out the $40/month I pay for cable) Where's the streaming movies? Where's the free music (not "pirated", but legitimate)? Where's the *value*? As far as I'm concerned, once I realized that copyright violation was still copyright violation and "wrong", I had nothing left that I would need broadband for. If I'm just hitting ebay, slashdot, and a few other news sites, then really, what's the point of broadband?
Anyone get the feeling that Apple might be pulling a Be, Inc and is trying to pull off a focus-shift?
Remember Be, the "multimedia" OS turned "Internet Appliance". Remember the death of Be. (damn, that stings. I miss the BeOS.)
Now witness Apple: For decades, seemingly the darling of the press-production (DTP) world, catering to artists of all magnitudes, it was the computer you used to create real, bona-fide art. It attracted the freaks, the hippies, the art chicks. For many people, this was unnerving. Different people get "different" looks. Now who's Apple targetting? With OS X, I'm thinking geeks. We're different people, too, but in a, well, different manner. Instead of the artists, Apple's going for traditional suits, the realm of IT. It may be a matter of sheer survival that Apple penetrates here, because they don't stand a chance in these days of "homogenous" work environments.. Out with Apple (even if it works) and in with Dell WinXP machines! Linux faces the same dilemna, although Linux has some other benefits/detriments for it's widespread adoption. If Apple can show it's worth in the server room (just like Linux is doing), then maybe, just maybe, they'll start looking at Apple on the corporate desktop (just like Linux is doing). Now, the idea of catering to suits is somewhat.. frightening. The whole damn market is different. They don't care about "look and feel", they care about numbers (see economic downturn, outsourcing to India, massive layoffs, H1B abuse, etc). This means Apple will have to change from being "cool" to utilitarian. But wait, I think I just painted myself into a corner here... Wasn't that the point of Apple? To be a tool and not an obstacle? Instead of creating computer art, we're now creating databases? Maybe Apple is on to something here...
I doubt that this means much. Just like the guy who was able to get $200 back from some major OEM for Windows XP by taking it to small claims, it's not going to change "business". It will take hundreds of those kind of lawsuits and the accompanying legal bills to make a difference. I mean, if you're spending $1 million in attorney's fees to represent a company for $100k in refunds, what do you think you're going to do? Look at how effective "our"/. boycott on the RIAA, Sony, Disney, et al is. A few loud mouth geeks don't mean anything in the real world. Remember high school? Remember how nobody listened to you because you were just a nerd and were "uncool"? What makes you think things have changed just because you're an adult? We can raise a stink, but no one cares. They're still writing the checks, consuming like mindless idiots, and the vocal minority still doesn't get what we want. You have to think to yourself that most of the Joe Consumer's out there will buy a defective product and if it doesn't work, are still too lazy to take it back (see Radar Jammers).
Have you heard the stories about the sysadmins whose systems rarely (if ever, and then usually it's hardware failure) crash because they do a lot of preventative maintainence, etc? The higher ups don't think they're doing anything and then give them the boot.
Same thing here, in a way. You set up their software for free (which is, for the most part, 99% of the support base. Upgrading (if necessary) is another hurdle). "OH great!" they say and write you a check.. NOT. If the software is working and they never have to call you, guess who stops receiving support checks? Unless you want to do a pay-per-incident, and then you're back to "Do you answer the question or do you do a "Pay up, sucker" first?" situation. Chances are, you're trying to make a living in support, but some bozo in a basement somewhere else is going to be appalled at the sheer gall someone would have in trying to support something he's willing to give away for free (he gets to abuse his users, but hey, it's not like he's charging for it.. (On another aside, I've noticed that quite a few "geeks" have some sort of superiority complex (unwarranted). They finally found something they have that everyone else needs (knowledge) and that becomes the excuse to be surly fucktards, even when they're wrong.) Let's face it, 99.9% of the idiots on/. who suggest selling SUPPORT have never had to deal with support, have never had to provide it and rely upon it for a living, or have any sort of clue as what support entails. Support (paid for) does not entail shouting "RTFM!" or forwarding emails to/dev/null or calling your users "lus3r5". If you've ever been a telephone technician, you understand that support is like sales: Both fucking suck. Now imagine that your livlihood DEPENDS upon providing that support to people (no just up and quitting, you've now got CONTRACTS, man). You can't just ignore questions like you can on IRC. To reiterate above, you can't just shout "RTFM!", you now have to provide that manual or, hey, guess what? You ARE the manual.
I sometimes wonder if the people that think support is a viable option (and it is for some) for every project even lives on this planet.
Duty? Fuck that. Nazi Germany was full of "duty" and look where that got us. The "PATRIOT" act is full of duty and look where we're headed. I'd prefer people to keep their idealogies OUT of my software and trying to impose some sort of "civic duty" upon users of OSS software would be disasterous. A lot of people (including myself) work on OSS because we enjoy it, not because we feel a commitment to any sort of movement or to any sort of "duty".
If people started making it a DUTY to contribute back to an OSS product, I'll just start adding/* this is my mother fucking contribution to your mother fucking project */ to the code. Think I'll get CVS commit access?
Also, what happens when the software does everything I need and I don't need to contribute? And what do you mean by contributing?
Finally, do you really think Enron (or any major international corporation) gives a flying FUCK about their "civic duty"?
LOL. That sounds exactly like Tier One support from Dell. --old timer mode So, I get this call. A guy just got his modem replaced, but it's a different model/manufacturer than his previous winmodem. No floppy or CD containing driver, driver not available on the Win98 CD. M'kay.. "Now sir, you're going to have to, uh, download the drivers for your new modem from our support site.."
It was calls like that that made me not want to be a call-tech anymore. I truly felt sorry for the bastards.
Heck, I was thinking something similar, too. Have a real battery (think those little "hinge" batteries on Sony Vaio's) as backup (so you don't have to power off to hot-swap the cells.. Maybe you can swap the cells, but I didn't RTFA because someone on/. told me I wasn't allowed to do that..:( ), slide in new ones, away you go. I've found that on a VAIO 505FX, the battery life was only like 45 minutes, but that would be more than sufficient for maintaining state during a cell swap out.
Let's not also forget to figure in the cost of actually subscribing to the cable service to begin with. Around here, you have to pay $39/month for "decent" cable, then add in those $3.95's and wow..
For people like me, who don't subscribe to cable ($39/month for Roncoman adverts? no thanks), I'd rather spend the time pedaling my bike to Blockbuster or Hollywood video or one of the smaller rental venues around, thus helping stay in somewhat better shape and meeting my entertainment needs. Also, think of it this way: If you never leave the house, you'll never meet members of the opposite sex. No, everqeust doesn't count. You'd be surprised at what kind of conversation you can strike up while looking for a movie. If anything, maybe you garner yourself a new friend.:)
(another thought: I've also cancelled my ISP at home. I've found that if I don't have TV or Internet at home, I actually ride my bike, go outside, meet new people.. you know.. I have a life. Odd. What would happen to the OSS community if everyone did the same?;) )
Because the consumer doesn't even know the damn things are running Linux. The manufacturers are doing a great job of taking Linux and producing custom interfaces (when needed) for their products so the average user doesn't even know they're running Linux. Maybe the desktop Linux folks should take notice...
What's wrong with a "Donate via Paypal" link? I mean, seriously, how else do you think an independent webcomic makes money? Sure not those obnoxious banner ads you block in Mozilla? If anything, the "Donate via Paypal" link is one of the most UNOBTRUSIVE funding methods a webcomic could use (and maybe, just maybe, have a PO Box or something if you wish to send a Money Order). You're free to "ignore" the link, but it's a reminder that "Yes Virginia, bandwidth, hardware, and electricity costs money."
Indeed. And with increases in technology and programming API's, even independent developers can get more done with less "effort". Stuff like DirectX and OpenGL help free up some of the resources that would normally be used in creating custom API's, and, as you mentioned, various 3rd party engines are available to use so the developer can concentrate on gameplay, storyline, or even art-look.
Consider Puppygames.com's Alien Flux. They produced a full-on arcade style game in 6 months, with just 2 guys working mostly part-time. It's written in Java, using OpenGL and a wrapper library they happily "give away" (lwjgl), and runs under Windows and Linux, and soon MacOS X (they seem to have troubles finding and keeping a MacOS X person with the expertise/time to keep the library up-to-date as the primary developers are x86 only). Is it Doom 3? No. Is it fun? Yes. Definately so. It's proof that you don't need a 10 million dollar budget to produce a good game.
Other areas for small-time developers: Mindless action games. Puzzle games (see popcap.com). I'm even toying with the idea of a small, episodic RPG's (think monthly-bimonthy episodes at low cost (say, $5-10 module or use some sort of subscription).
Anyway, I don't think the days of the independent developer are over. In fact, I think with the wider acceptance of Flash, J2ME, etc, the barrel has opened even wider.
To grow corn with some success and in any sort of really "usable" quantity (a stalk of corn gets you fed for what, a day?), it requires considerable effort, thought, and planning. Obviously you've never been a farmer if you think that all there is to growing corn is dropping a kernel into the ground and watching it grow.
For example, what kind of soil are you trying to grow corn in? Try planting that kernel in the desert. Or in a peat-bog. So, if you live in a desert and you want corn, you're going to have to make considerable effort to bring water to your corn, not to mention fix any deficiencies in the soil using fertilizer (feces, manure, whatever), all of which requires thought and effort. But what happens even when you get the corn to grow? You're going to have to put a lot of effort into eliminating things like competition: identifying pests and devising elimination methods, identifying competing plants and pulling them up, shooing off birds and what not. All of that requires thought and effort. And then, once your corn is ready for harvest, you then have to go harvest it. What's the best way to pick it? Store it? Hell, what's the best way to turn it into edible goodness: steam, boil, ground into meal and baked? You could just eat it off the husk, I suppose, but I hope you enjoy it. Preparation of the crop into usable food requires, hey, thought, and effort.
Placing "return to sender" labels on the CD's is completely NONEFFECTIVE (as has been covered ad naseum here before). The Postal Worker takes the CD back to the sorting facility and dumps it in the facility garbage can. Those CD's don't go anywhere close to AOL.
I started off an infrequent ICQ user in the late 90's and while it was kinda nifty, I ended up ditching it once I got ahold of AIM. Instead of worrying about "ICQ ID #'s", I could now just remember a "Screen Name" (whatever happened to "Handle"?). Not to mention that the interface was simpler, easier to navigate, etc.
Hrm, anyone else thinking that this database will be used by Skynet so that it can help identify John Connor's lietenants (and potential replacements) so that the femme-bot can come back to destroy them? Of course, looking at my/. posting history, I've nothing to worry about. I think we've all established that/. posters have nothing of value to offer anyone.
/* laid out my arguments for why death penalty is bad policy (it's costly, unfairly applied, and imperfect). */
Okay, I can accept points 2 and 3. But 1?
One of the biggest "things" out of Columbine and the drug wars is the fact that guns are cheap. Ammunition is cheap. A $150 pistol with a $5 box of ammo (and the piston can be reused!) is rather cheap. And if you don't kill him with one shot, well, you can keep shooting! I'm sure that eventually that he'll be dead sooner or later.
OR: Put your deathrow inmates in a pit. With weapons. On Pay Per View. Last man standing gets a "pardon" (in reality, like Running Man the movie (not the book), he's simply taken out back and shot).
Turn the death penalty into a profit making venture!/sarcasm
I'd go along with that. After reading RMS's various rants, I get the impression (mistaken?) that 1) he thinks programmers are highly overpaid for what they do (he seems to think "programmers grow on trees", and seeing the monster.com ads for vb programmers, I'm inclined to agree) and really aren't doing much more than what an average person could do (the highly skilled programmers should be working on tools to make it easier for the average person to produce the tools they need to work) 2) Once the equilibrium of supply/demand and barriers-of-entry into application production come down (VB has done a lot for this, btw. As much as I hate to admit it..), programmer salaries will probably be more on par with other skilled trades (plumbers, carpenters, etc). 3) People are waaaay too concerned with money. There's nothing intrinsically valuable about software except for the fact that so few people were able to do it. As the tools progress, the barriers are lifted, dropping the value of the product. I think we can see that today in that the salaries of the late 90's will probably never be reached without the help of inflation-based raises (in terms of strictly dollars).
I think it can also be said, however, that without GPL software as a reasonable alternative to proprietary commercial software, the vendors could collaborate on prices (price-fixing. "illegal", right?) and we'd still be looking at $1k+ for x86 proprietary *NIX.
Slashdot Mirror
I know a few guys that shave their pits. Most of them are competition cyclists and swimmers, so they shave their whole bodies. And then there's the time the local punk house contracted body lice (scabies?) and crabs from some SanFran crust punks passing through. That was amusing. :)
My friend's wife doesn't. Nor does she shave her pits. She said it was pretty common. Maybe she's just dirty? ;)
Man, don't apologize for how you think about things. Your perception and decisions are yours, so be proud of them. You don't like Firefly. I'm grown up enough to admit that Firefly isn't for everyone, just like Linux isn't for everyone. You know what I mean? But that's what makes the world go 'round: The little differences. You know, like how Quarter Pounders with Cheese are called "Royales w/cheese" in France, or how women don't shave their legs in Germany. So, stand up and be proud fellow geek! You're an individual!
My god, man. If "Everybody Loves Raymond" (lies! The title is a LIE! I hate that fucking show) can go on for how long now?, then Firefly deserves a run at least as long as Buffy.
But, what do you expect? Great show, great premise, nice twist on typical plotlines, great writing, great "settings", great girls er actors and actresses.. It had all the recipes to be axed.
"Hey, this show is too good. Gotta give it the axe."
Remember, America doesn't want quality. We want convenience and entertainment that doesn't require thinking. Hence, Jackass.
$12? Too expensive? Maybe for you, but I like my CD's in the $10-12 range. Dischord Records charges $10 for their CD's, pays their artists fairly, and puts out some really nifty stuff (although they also put out crap). If the other indies out there would adopt a similar business model, I'm sure the benefits of signing to majors will outweigh the importance of 1) getting paid 2) getting distributed and 3) getting exposure. Think about it: Would you rather sell 100k albums and make less than a buck each after your label "recoups" or CD's and make $5? You might make more money with the major, seemingly, but according to Albini in an oft-linked to article, more than likely you're still in the hole with the major. With the Indy, you're free and clear and you generally deal with people who love music. Also consider that one of the main benefits used to be distribution channels, I've found that most independents have very good distribution, and a lot of stuff can be special ordered for you. Here's another idea: fanzines. Fanzines have lots of reader reviews and can also help "point" you in the right direction. Find your local indie record shop. Hell, I think Tower even carries some of the bigger ones (MRR, Punk Planet, and Multiball cover it for me).
But I digress. $10-12 is perfectly A-OK for a CD for many people.
Great, now I can take a 2 week vacation and catch up on the 2 weeks of TV that I missed while the machine records the current 2 weeks of TV I'm missing while I catch up on the 2 weeks of TV that I missed while on vacation.
/.)
Something tells me that people watch too much TV and should get back to work
(as I sit here at work, posting on
I've had broadband for 4 years. I've paid, dutifully, each month, for broadband which I thought I needed. And last month, I killed my cable modem. Why?
Where's the content that requires it?
I got tired of downloading pr0n from newsgroups. I don't warez or play games. I don't download movies, music, or anything. Other than the occasional Linux distro download, there's really no reason for broadband. (and if you think about it, if I download 2 linux distros a year, I would save a hell of a lot of money just by buying the boxed set rather than forking out the $40/month I pay for cable) Where's the streaming movies? Where's the free music (not "pirated", but legitimate)? Where's the *value*? As far as I'm concerned, once I realized that copyright violation was still copyright violation and "wrong", I had nothing left that I would need broadband for. If I'm just hitting ebay, slashdot, and a few other news sites, then really, what's the point of broadband?
Anyone get the feeling that Apple might be pulling a Be, Inc and is trying to pull off a focus-shift?
Remember Be, the "multimedia" OS turned "Internet Appliance". Remember the death of Be. (damn, that stings. I miss the BeOS.)
Now witness Apple:
For decades, seemingly the darling of the press-production (DTP) world, catering to artists of all magnitudes, it was the computer you used to create real, bona-fide art. It attracted the freaks, the hippies, the art chicks. For many people, this was unnerving. Different people get "different" looks.
Now who's Apple targetting?
With OS X, I'm thinking geeks. We're different people, too, but in a, well, different manner. Instead of the artists, Apple's going for traditional suits, the realm of IT. It may be a matter of sheer survival that Apple penetrates here, because they don't stand a chance in these days of "homogenous" work environments.. Out with Apple (even if it works) and in with Dell WinXP machines! Linux faces the same dilemna, although Linux has some other benefits/detriments for it's widespread adoption. If Apple can show it's worth in the server room (just like Linux is doing), then maybe, just maybe, they'll start looking at Apple on the corporate desktop (just like Linux is doing).
Now, the idea of catering to suits is somewhat.. frightening. The whole damn market is different. They don't care about "look and feel", they care about numbers (see economic downturn, outsourcing to India, massive layoffs, H1B abuse, etc). This means Apple will have to change from being "cool" to utilitarian. But wait, I think I just painted myself into a corner here... Wasn't that the point of Apple? To be a tool and not an obstacle? Instead of creating computer art, we're now creating databases? Maybe Apple is on to something here...
I doubt that this means much. Just like the guy who was able to get $200 back from some major OEM for Windows XP by taking it to small claims, it's not going to change "business". It will take hundreds of those kind of lawsuits and the accompanying legal bills to make a difference. I mean, if you're spending $1 million in attorney's fees to represent a company for $100k in refunds, what do you think you're going to do? Look at how effective "our" /. boycott on the RIAA, Sony, Disney, et al is. A few loud mouth geeks don't mean anything in the real world. Remember high school? Remember how nobody listened to you because you were just a nerd and were "uncool"? What makes you think things have changed just because you're an adult? We can raise a stink, but no one cares. They're still writing the checks, consuming like mindless idiots, and the vocal minority still doesn't get what we want. You have to think to yourself that most of the Joe Consumer's out there will buy a defective product and if it doesn't work, are still too lazy to take it back (see Radar Jammers).
Exactly. It's like the IT downsize syndrome.
/. who suggest selling SUPPORT have never had to deal with support, have never had to provide it and rely upon it for a living, or have any sort of clue as what support entails. Support (paid for) does not entail shouting "RTFM!" or forwarding emails to /dev/null or calling your users "lus3r5". If you've ever been a telephone technician, you understand that support is like sales: Both fucking suck. Now imagine that your livlihood DEPENDS upon providing that support to people (no just up and quitting, you've now got CONTRACTS, man). You can't just ignore questions like you can on IRC. To reiterate above, you can't just shout "RTFM!", you now have to provide that manual or, hey, guess what? You ARE the manual.
Have you heard the stories about the sysadmins whose systems rarely (if ever, and then usually it's hardware failure) crash because they do a lot of preventative maintainence, etc? The higher ups don't think they're doing anything and then give them the boot.
Same thing here, in a way. You set up their software for free (which is, for the most part, 99% of the support base. Upgrading (if necessary) is another hurdle).
"OH great!" they say and write you a check..
NOT.
If the software is working and they never have to call you, guess who stops receiving support checks? Unless you want to do a pay-per-incident, and then you're back to "Do you answer the question or do you do a "Pay up, sucker" first?" situation. Chances are, you're trying to make a living in support, but some bozo in a basement somewhere else is going to be appalled at the sheer gall someone would have in trying to support something he's willing to give away for free (he gets to abuse his users, but hey, it's not like he's charging for it..
(On another aside, I've noticed that quite a few "geeks" have some sort of superiority complex (unwarranted). They finally found something they have that everyone else needs (knowledge) and that becomes the excuse to be surly fucktards, even when they're wrong.)
Let's face it, 99.9% of the idiots on
I sometimes wonder if the people that think support is a viable option (and it is for some) for every project even lives on this planet.
Duty? Fuck that. Nazi Germany was full of "duty" and look where that got us. The "PATRIOT" act is full of duty and look where we're headed. I'd prefer people to keep their idealogies OUT of my software and trying to impose some sort of "civic duty" upon users of OSS software would be disasterous. A lot of people (including myself) work on OSS because we enjoy it, not because we feel a commitment to any sort of movement or to any sort of "duty".
/* this is my mother fucking contribution to your mother fucking project */ to the code. Think I'll get CVS commit access?
If people started making it a DUTY to contribute back to an OSS product, I'll just start adding
Also, what happens when the software does everything I need and I don't need to contribute? And what do you mean by contributing?
Finally, do you really think Enron (or any major international corporation) gives a flying FUCK about their "civic duty"?
LOL. That sounds exactly like Tier One support from Dell.
--old timer mode
So, I get this call. A guy just got his modem replaced, but it's a different model/manufacturer than his previous winmodem. No floppy or CD containing driver, driver not available on the Win98 CD. M'kay..
"Now sir, you're going to have to, uh, download the drivers for your new modem from our support site.."
It was calls like that that made me not want to be a call-tech anymore. I truly felt sorry for the bastards.
Heck, I was thinking something similar, too. Have a real battery (think those little "hinge" batteries on Sony Vaio's) as backup (so you don't have to power off to hot-swap the cells.. Maybe you can swap the cells, but I didn't RTFA because someone on /. told me I wasn't allowed to do that.. :( ), slide in new ones, away you go. I've found that on a VAIO 505FX, the battery life was only like 45 minutes, but that would be more than sufficient for maintaining state during a cell swap out.
Man, it would be sweet if you could just plug in a zippo...
Let's not also forget to figure in the cost of actually subscribing to the cable service to begin with. Around here, you have to pay $39/month for "decent" cable, then add in those $3.95's and wow..
:)
;) )
For people like me, who don't subscribe to cable ($39/month for Roncoman adverts? no thanks), I'd rather spend the time pedaling my bike to Blockbuster or Hollywood video or one of the smaller rental venues around, thus helping stay in somewhat better shape and meeting my entertainment needs. Also, think of it this way: If you never leave the house, you'll never meet members of the opposite sex. No, everqeust doesn't count. You'd be surprised at what kind of conversation you can strike up while looking for a movie. If anything, maybe you garner yourself a new friend.
(another thought: I've also cancelled my ISP at home. I've found that if I don't have TV or Internet at home, I actually ride my bike, go outside, meet new people.. you know.. I have a life. Odd. What would happen to the OSS community if everyone did the same?
Because the consumer doesn't even know the damn things are running Linux. The manufacturers are doing a great job of taking Linux and producing custom interfaces (when needed) for their products so the average user doesn't even know they're running Linux. Maybe the desktop Linux folks should take notice...
What's wrong with a "Donate via Paypal" link? I mean, seriously, how else do you think an independent webcomic makes money? Sure not those obnoxious banner ads you block in Mozilla? If anything, the "Donate via Paypal" link is one of the most UNOBTRUSIVE funding methods a webcomic could use (and maybe, just maybe, have a PO Box or something if you wish to send a Money Order). You're free to "ignore" the link, but it's a reminder that "Yes Virginia, bandwidth, hardware, and electricity costs money."
Indeed. And with increases in technology and programming API's, even independent developers can get more done with less "effort". Stuff like DirectX and OpenGL help free up some of the resources that would normally be used in creating custom API's, and, as you mentioned, various 3rd party engines are available to use so the developer can concentrate on gameplay, storyline, or even art-look.
Consider Puppygames.com's Alien Flux. They produced a full-on arcade style game in 6 months, with just 2 guys working mostly part-time. It's written in Java, using OpenGL and a wrapper library they happily "give away" (lwjgl), and runs under Windows and Linux, and soon MacOS X (they seem to have troubles finding and keeping a MacOS X person with the expertise/time to keep the library up-to-date as the primary developers are x86 only). Is it Doom 3? No. Is it fun? Yes. Definately so. It's proof that you don't need a 10 million dollar budget to produce a good game.
Other areas for small-time developers: Mindless action games. Puzzle games (see popcap.com). I'm even toying with the idea of a small, episodic RPG's (think monthly-bimonthy episodes at low cost (say, $5-10 module or use some sort of subscription).
Anyway, I don't think the days of the independent developer are over. In fact, I think with the wider acceptance of Flash, J2ME, etc, the barrel has opened even wider.
Also don't forget:
Transmeta Crusoe (x86 "compat")
VIA C3 and allies
Almost, but not even close...
To grow corn with some success and in any sort of really "usable" quantity (a stalk of corn gets you fed for what, a day?), it requires considerable effort, thought, and planning. Obviously you've never been a farmer if you think that all there is to growing corn is dropping a kernel into the ground and watching it grow.
For example, what kind of soil are you trying to grow corn in? Try planting that kernel in the desert. Or in a peat-bog. So, if you live in a desert and you want corn, you're going to have to make considerable effort to bring water to your corn, not to mention fix any deficiencies in the soil using fertilizer (feces, manure, whatever), all of which requires thought and effort. But what happens even when you get the corn to grow? You're going to have to put a lot of effort into eliminating things like competition: identifying pests and devising elimination methods, identifying competing plants and pulling them up, shooing off birds and what not. All of that requires thought and effort. And then, once your corn is ready for harvest, you then have to go harvest it. What's the best way to pick it? Store it? Hell, what's the best way to turn it into edible goodness: steam, boil, ground into meal and baked? You could just eat it off the husk, I suppose, but I hope you enjoy it. Preparation of the crop into usable food requires, hey, thought, and effort.
Farming is not some kind of joke.
Placing "return to sender" labels on the CD's is completely NONEFFECTIVE (as has been covered ad naseum here before). The Postal Worker takes the CD back to the sorting facility and dumps it in the facility garbage can. Those CD's don't go anywhere close to AOL.
It's sad, but true.
I started off an infrequent ICQ user in the late 90's and while it was kinda nifty, I ended up ditching it once I got ahold of AIM. Instead of worrying about "ICQ ID #'s", I could now just remember a "Screen Name" (whatever happened to "Handle"?). Not to mention that the interface was simpler, easier to navigate, etc.
Hrm, anyone else thinking that this database will be used by Skynet so that it can help identify John Connor's lietenants (and potential replacements) so that the femme-bot can come back to destroy them? /. posting history, I've nothing to worry about. I think we've all established that /. posters have nothing of value to offer anyone.
Of course, looking at my
/* laid out my arguments for why death penalty is bad policy (it's costly, unfairly applied, and imperfect). */
/sarcasm
Okay, I can accept points 2 and 3. But 1?
One of the biggest "things" out of Columbine and the drug wars is the fact that guns are cheap. Ammunition is cheap. A $150 pistol with a $5 box of ammo (and the piston can be reused!) is rather cheap. And if you don't kill him with one shot, well, you can keep shooting! I'm sure that eventually that he'll be dead sooner or later.
OR:
Put your deathrow inmates in a pit. With weapons. On Pay Per View. Last man standing gets a "pardon" (in reality, like Running Man the movie (not the book), he's simply taken out back and shot).
Turn the death penalty into a profit making venture!
I'd go along with that. After reading RMS's various rants, I get the impression (mistaken?) that
1) he thinks programmers are highly overpaid for what they do (he seems to think "programmers grow on trees", and seeing the monster.com ads for vb programmers, I'm inclined to agree) and really aren't doing much more than what an average person could do (the highly skilled programmers should be working on tools to make it easier for the average person to produce the tools they need to work)
2) Once the equilibrium of supply/demand and barriers-of-entry into application production come down (VB has done a lot for this, btw. As much as I hate to admit it..), programmer salaries will probably be more on par with other skilled trades (plumbers, carpenters, etc).
3) People are waaaay too concerned with money. There's nothing intrinsically valuable about software except for the fact that so few people were able to do it. As the tools progress, the barriers are lifted, dropping the value of the product. I think we can see that today in that the salaries of the late 90's will probably never be reached without the help of inflation-based raises (in terms of strictly dollars).
I think it can also be said, however, that without GPL software as a reasonable alternative to proprietary commercial software, the vendors could collaborate on prices (price-fixing. "illegal", right?) and we'd still be looking at $1k+ for x86 proprietary *NIX.