Long battery life: I wonder how Centrino will affect this?
I also see a potential market in "smart" charge racks, either by proximity (as seen on/. recently) or by insertion (charge when not in immediate use, place chargers in various locations.. what would be nifty would be networked chargers so if you're looking for someone's tablet, if it's in a charger, the location of which charger its in would be found quickly.. granted, it has to be *in* the charger..:) ).
It's not just software. I like to make the comparison of software *as* art.
For example: I write music because it scratches an itch. I have a need and desire to crank out lots of obnoxious, 4-chord hardcore and the intended audience is me. If other people like it and listen to it, then so much the better, but ultimately, I write music for me and only me. (This also means I have had to find other means of supporting myself) If I were a commercial (studio) musician, then typically someone is telling me what to play, how to play it, because the intended audience (end user?) is NOT me. The intermediary (or idealist) would be the artist who gets paid to play what he wants to play.
I think the corollary can be extended to the typical "bedroom" programmer (who doesn't have to be OpenSource, btw), and the typical Corporate Code Monkey (um, like me). The bedroom programmer can afford to pick and choose what interests him and code on what he wants to work on, or not to code at all. It scratches his itch. The Commercial Programmer typically writes code to satisfy his bosses' requirements. There are the exceptions (I'm sure Alan Cox really enjoys working on the kernel, and he's probably paid pretty nicely by Redhat to do so).
/* I'm telling you guys -- stock up on fast systems now, while you can. Get all your computer purchasing out of the way this year, and skip the whole DRM thing entirely. If you're *really* forced to, you can always buy a cheapo, 500.00 box/appliance down the road (just for DRM purposes) and code on your *good* pre-Palladium machines. */
And thank you, Mr. Grove. Trying to get your volumes up this quarter?;)
I had a Sony Vaio 505FX, with P266MMX and 96megs of RAM. Win98 was dog slow. Gnome + KDE were *slower*. However, with linux, I had the option of running entirely in the command-line or a lighter-weight wm (windowmaker ran excellently on this). Where's the "lightweight" Win98 option? you won't find one.
While I'm not saying that Linux is perfect for every situation (far from it), it does fit a particular niche (reusing old hardware efficiently and cheaply). Granted, I sometimes wonder what the power costs of running a headless mini-tower vs. a small linksys router would be, but that's besides the point.
And as to your linux "problems", I've had them, too, and the community response was generally "PEBCAK". "My floppy gives me errors when I try to write to it." "Your floppy drive controller is bad." "Huh? YOu know, if I boot to windows and write to the floppy, it writes and reads just fine." "Then you must be doing something wrong!" Uh.. okay....
And they still come down to: Little Johnny won't let me play with his ball and I'm going to whine about it. It's Linux. There's no GNU in front of it. If Stallman wants it to be called GNU/Linux, then he should get his development team into gear and get Hurd ready. I don't care if the tools used for Linux were GNU. At my job, we use MSVC++, but you don't hear us calling our stuff MSVCC++/Project name. Personally, I think it's time for someone to rewrite the GNU stuff and make Linux GNU-free just so he can get off his stupid agenda./* Extremism, blah blah */
Free software IS marginal today. Open Source software is, as well, but it enjoys higher mindshare. Free Software != Open Source, see RMS vs. ESR upon the distinction. One is a religion, the other is a development model./* Argument #3 */
Stallman *is* biased towards the GPL and would prefer to see everything to be licensed using his babies L/GPL. He begrudgingly accepts the other licences because to deny them (that fit his definition of "free software") would make him a hypocrite instead of a whining little baby./* #4 */ It's called putting your money where your mouth is. If he's so intent in creating a totally free OS, then get on it. Invest the money, invest the time, whatever, quit talking, let's see what you've got.
I understand the PHILOSOPHY behind free software, it's altruism (unlike Open Source). Free Software presupposes some kind of "right" to source code (if the FSF had their way, anyway), a "betterment of mankind" kind of arguement (we heard that with Marx, Jesus, and whatnot). OpenSource leaves behind the rotten philosophy and says "Hey, look, here's a really good model for development", but does not villify the developers from controlling their software if they choose not to release the source.
If history shows anything, if left to a completely democratic system, 51% of the population will vote to enslave the other 49%. Does that make it right? We ourselves in the US don't live in a democracy, we live in a Republic.
I find that remark to be shallow, callous, and very very horrible. To wish death upon a person simply because her viewpoints are different from yours is completely barbaric.
Maybe someone will throw a jar of acid in her face, instead.
/* But imagining that Microsoft, Intuit, Sun, Apple, etc., will ever "cater to your whims" is to hinge your business on a fantasy. */
WHoops! I made a mistake there. What I meant to say is that those guys have done a good job in anticipating my needs and generally that's all I need. You're right, I severely doubt I could call up Steve or Bill and demand a feature. (Hey, at least I own up to my mistakes..:) )
I generally don't reply to stuff like this, but take a gander at my user ID. I'm definately not new here.
Second, Just because Free Software can be charged for, just about every post here criticizing MoneyDance will be based on "It's not Free (in beer)" and "it's java! Java sux0r5!". I chose to provide an alternative viewpoint to the first (and let someone else handle the java part).
Third, I'm a desktop user. If I were running a business, GnuCash may or may not meet my needs. Can you tell the IRS to hang on for awhile while your team of crack programmers code in the features you need to do your taxes? Or tell your customers that "We're currently implementing new features in our Accounting software, sorry, come back later!"
I assure you, I'm quite aware that there are people that cater to my whims for a price. Microsoft, Intuit, Sun, Apple...
Again for all the "free software people" and the million and one "JUST USE GNUCASH!" folks, here is something for you:
Free software may be fine and dandy, but some of us don't actually mind *paying* for software if said software does the job well. Shocking, isn't it? Free is not the end all, all encompassing criteria for a great majority of computer users out there. I know, you're trying to change that, but face it: Commercial software is not inherently evil, Proprietary software is not evil, RMS be damned.
Here's something to ponder: With OpenSource software, I get the source and I can tweak the software any which way I want! Yay! So, after I spend a few weeks poking my way around the source code and finally figuring out where and how to make the changes I need, I could've just gone down to BestBuy and bought another copy of Money or Quicken and have been done with it. What I'm buying is *convenience*. Ever notice that the QuickEMart on the corner sells stuff at quite a premium over the grocery store down the street? Convenience. Sometimes convenience costs money, and I'm willing to pay the "tax" to get something now, not 3 weeks from now.
You could pick up an older Powermac (beige).. We have a G3 350 here at work that runs OS X reasonably well (certainly not any worse than our P166 OS2 machine).
Interestingly enough, notice that the new "Centrino"'s are running at whopping 1.2, 1.3, and 1.6 ghz for most applications? Heck, Transmeta is just now getting to the 1Ghz range, too. A quick cursory examination at the CompUSA tonight revealed 1.8 ghz Celerons and 2.4 ghz P4's, but I'd love to see their battery life compared to the typical Apple offering, not to mention form-factor (I like my portables to be, well, portable). If you really want to get technical, I just my Sony Vaio 505FX 3 weeks ago. That's a P266MMX. Not a PII. P266. That laptop is approximately 5 years old. Now, imagine, Moore's law, double every 18 months (and that's a fallacy, too, he just said transistor density would double, nothing about Mhz ratings):(5*12)/18 = 3.33 ghz. Hell, even the Alienware Area51m isn't running that fast. Again, it's all relative and if someone is going to bitch about spending $1700 on a laptop that is damn well *worth* every penny (but who would complain if it were $1200 or even $1500?), well, they should look elsewhere. If speed is that important to someone, then I'd strongly suggest to that person to check out www.dell.com or www.ibm.com.:: shrugs::
"Yep, you gotta say one thing about that there Saddam. He sure knew how to keep order. Can't be having that chaos running around. Yep, killing hundreds of thousands of his own citizens, yessir, just because they didn't agree with him. Nope, no sir, it's one thing we like and that's order, to hell with "rights"."
Europeans invaders just gave the already warring factions methods and tools to wage war more indiscriminately and more deadly.
Slashdot Mirror
Long battery life:
/. recently) or by insertion (charge when not in immediate use, place chargers in various locations.. what would be nifty would be networked chargers so if you're looking for someone's tablet, if it's in a charger, the location of which charger its in would be found quickly.. granted, it has to be *in* the charger.. :) ).
I wonder how Centrino will affect this?
I also see a potential market in "smart" charge racks, either by proximity (as seen on
I wonder if I can patent a method for eliminating pop-up ad patent holders using a high-speed projectile fired from a cylindrical barrel?
It's not just software. I like to make the comparison of software *as* art.
For example: I write music because it scratches an itch. I have a need and desire to crank out lots of obnoxious, 4-chord hardcore and the intended audience is me. If other people like it and listen to it, then so much the better, but ultimately, I write music for me and only me. (This also means I have had to find other means of supporting myself) If I were a commercial (studio) musician, then typically someone is telling me what to play, how to play it, because the intended audience (end user?) is NOT me. The intermediary (or idealist) would be the artist who gets paid to play what he wants to play.
I think the corollary can be extended to the typical "bedroom" programmer (who doesn't have to be OpenSource, btw), and the typical Corporate Code Monkey (um, like me). The bedroom programmer can afford to pick and choose what interests him and code on what he wants to work on, or not to code at all. It scratches his itch. The Commercial Programmer typically writes code to satisfy his bosses' requirements. There are the exceptions (I'm sure Alan Cox really enjoys working on the kernel, and he's probably paid pretty nicely by Redhat to do so).
/* I'm telling you guys -- stock up on fast systems now, while you can. Get all your computer purchasing out of the way this year, and skip the whole DRM thing entirely. If you're *really* forced to, you can always buy a cheapo, 500.00 box/appliance down the road (just for DRM purposes) and code on your *good* pre-Palladium machines. */
;)
And thank you, Mr. Grove. Trying to get your volumes up this quarter?
Erm....
I had a Sony Vaio 505FX, with P266MMX and 96megs of RAM. Win98 was dog slow. Gnome + KDE were *slower*. However, with linux, I had the option of running entirely in the command-line or a lighter-weight wm (windowmaker ran excellently on this). Where's the "lightweight" Win98 option? you won't find one.
While I'm not saying that Linux is perfect for every situation (far from it), it does fit a particular niche (reusing old hardware efficiently and cheaply). Granted, I sometimes wonder what the power costs of running a headless mini-tower vs. a small linksys router would be, but that's besides the point.
And as to your linux "problems", I've had them, too, and the community response was generally "PEBCAK". "My floppy gives me errors when I try to write to it." "Your floppy drive controller is bad." "Huh? YOu know, if I boot to windows and write to the floppy, it writes and reads just fine." "Then you must be doing something wrong!" Uh.. okay....
Shit, you're right.
Real people date, get married and have kids. Man, I gotta get out from behind the computer..
No, he wants it to be called "Redhat GNU/LINUX 9".
/* Solid and practical reasons */
/* Extremism, blah blah */
/* Argument #3 */
/* #4 */
And they still come down to: Little Johnny won't let me play with his ball and I'm going to whine about it. It's Linux. There's no GNU in front of it. If Stallman wants it to be called GNU/Linux, then he should get his development team into gear and get Hurd ready. I don't care if the tools used for Linux were GNU. At my job, we use MSVC++, but you don't hear us calling our stuff MSVCC++/Project name. Personally, I think it's time for someone to rewrite the GNU stuff and make Linux GNU-free just so he can get off his stupid agenda.
Free software IS marginal today. Open Source software is, as well, but it enjoys higher mindshare. Free Software != Open Source, see RMS vs. ESR upon the distinction. One is a religion, the other is a development model.
Stallman *is* biased towards the GPL and would prefer to see everything to be licensed using his babies L/GPL. He begrudgingly accepts the other licences because to deny them (that fit his definition of "free software") would make him a hypocrite instead of a whining little baby.
It's called putting your money where your mouth is. If he's so intent in creating a totally free OS, then get on it. Invest the money, invest the time, whatever, quit talking, let's see what you've got.
I understand the PHILOSOPHY behind free software, it's altruism (unlike Open Source). Free Software presupposes some kind of "right" to source code (if the FSF had their way, anyway), a "betterment of mankind" kind of arguement (we heard that with Marx, Jesus, and whatnot). OpenSource leaves behind the rotten philosophy and says "Hey, look, here's a really good model for development", but does not villify the developers from controlling their software if they choose not to release the source.
Yeah, the fact he's never been laid?
"It's called my GNU/cock, I must share it with everyone! If only someone would share it with me..."
Nono. $17 is pretty outrageous here, too.
If history shows anything, if left to a completely democratic system, 51% of the population will vote to enslave the other 49%. Does that make it right? We ourselves in the US don't live in a democracy, we live in a Republic.
I find that remark to be shallow, callous, and very very horrible. To wish death upon a person simply because her viewpoints are different from yours is completely barbaric.
Maybe someone will throw a jar of acid in her face, instead.
*ahem* You mean they'll find fault with anything.. more? :)
And it goes for more than just music. You find these kind of people complaining about Apple in general.
"Why, if that iMac2 were $599 and came with a 10 year warranty, then I might consider it!" knowing full well they'd still not buy it.
Hrm...
Didn't Microsoft come up with some kind of friend broadcasting technology a few months ago?
Advertising this on /.? I imagine a horde of geeks flooding Australia...
This will be the ugliest collection of extras, ever.
Of course, the amount they'd save on makeup for alien depictions might more than make up for it...
/* But imagining that Microsoft, Intuit, Sun, Apple, etc., will ever "cater to your whims" is to hinge your business on a fantasy. */
:) )
WHoops! I made a mistake there. What I meant to say is that those guys have done a good job in anticipating my needs and generally that's all I need. You're right, I severely doubt I could call up Steve or Bill and demand a feature. (Hey, at least I own up to my mistakes..
I generally don't reply to stuff like this, but take a gander at my user ID. I'm definately not new here.
Second, Just because Free Software can be charged for, just about every post here criticizing MoneyDance will be based on "It's not Free (in beer)" and "it's java! Java sux0r5!". I chose to provide an alternative viewpoint to the first (and let someone else handle the java part).
Third, I'm a desktop user. If I were running a business, GnuCash may or may not meet my needs. Can you tell the IRS to hang on for awhile while your team of crack programmers code in the features you need to do your taxes? Or tell your customers that "We're currently implementing new features in our Accounting software, sorry, come back later!"
I assure you, I'm quite aware that there are people that cater to my whims for a price. Microsoft, Intuit, Sun, Apple...
IBM and Sun both have nice JVM's for Linux, as well. :)
Maybe they don't like the /. referral tags?
Again for all the "free software people" and the million and one "JUST USE GNUCASH!" folks, here is something for you:
Free software may be fine and dandy, but some of us don't actually mind *paying* for software if said software does the job well. Shocking, isn't it? Free is not the end all, all encompassing criteria for a great majority of computer users out there. I know, you're trying to change that, but face it: Commercial software is not inherently evil, Proprietary software is not evil, RMS be damned.
Here's something to ponder: With OpenSource software, I get the source and I can tweak the software any which way I want! Yay! So, after I spend a few weeks poking my way around the source code and finally figuring out where and how to make the changes I need, I could've just gone down to BestBuy and bought another copy of Money or Quicken and have been done with it. What I'm buying is *convenience*. Ever notice that the QuickEMart on the corner sells stuff at quite a premium over the grocery store down the street? Convenience. Sometimes convenience costs money, and I'm willing to pay the "tax" to get something now, not 3 weeks from now.
You could pick up an older Powermac (beige).. We have a G3 350 here at work that runs OS X reasonably well (certainly not any worse than our P166 OS2 machine).
Be ported to the x86 and experienced the kind of boom in marketshare the other poster mentioned.
Where's Be again?
Interestingly enough, notice that the new "Centrino"'s are running at whopping 1.2, 1.3, and 1.6 ghz for most applications? Heck, Transmeta is just now getting to the 1Ghz range, too. A quick cursory examination at the CompUSA tonight revealed 1.8 ghz Celerons and 2.4 ghz P4's, but I'd love to see their battery life compared to the typical Apple offering, not to mention form-factor (I like my portables to be, well, portable). :: shrugs ::
If you really want to get technical, I just my Sony Vaio 505FX 3 weeks ago. That's a P266MMX. Not a PII. P266. That laptop is approximately 5 years old. Now, imagine, Moore's law, double every 18 months (and that's a fallacy, too, he just said transistor density would double, nothing about Mhz ratings):(5*12)/18 = 3.33 ghz. Hell, even the Alienware Area51m isn't running that fast. Again, it's all relative and if someone is going to bitch about spending $1700 on a laptop that is damn well *worth* every penny (but who would complain if it were $1200 or even $1500?), well, they should look elsewhere. If speed is that important to someone, then I'd strongly suggest to that person to check out www.dell.com or www.ibm.com.
"Yep, you gotta say one thing about that there Saddam. He sure knew how to keep order. Can't be having that chaos running around. Yep, killing hundreds of thousands of his own citizens, yessir, just because they didn't agree with him. Nope, no sir, it's one thing we like and that's order, to hell with "rights"."
Europeans invaders just gave the already warring factions methods and tools to wage war more indiscriminately and more deadly.
But but but..
Wine
Is
Not an
Emulator
????
Issue 300. Not very far away. :(