nifty, an off-topic how to post and I got some *real* answers. Thanks a bunch! I'm off to install Mandrake 8.0 tomorrow after I get off from work. the expert noauto is *exactly* what I was looking for. Also, the FX, being an older model, has not the memory stick nor built in ethernet (although I do have a PCMCIA ethernet adapter). The only reason I haven't tried a network install is that I'd have to unplug something from my hub and haven't gotten around to doing that..:P I'll work on that next week..
Actually, I was wondering what would happen if someone rewrote all the GNU apps that are currently in use with Linux and replaced it with another license (BSD). If and when that happened, would Richard Stallman still "require" us to call it "GNU/Linux"?
For those of you not familiar with the installation of linux on a Sony 505 series notebook, be advised that you have to tell the install program where the CDROM is, as it's not in the usual place. Per several locations on the web, the command is usually given by: linux ide2=0x180,0x386 and that gets you rolling. Most of the issues I have pertain to this peculiarity and any help would be appreciated.
Mandrake 8.0: Would not install. From what I can tell, it has something to do with PCMCIA initialization, which I cannot find a way to bypass during install. Using the Text Expert mode, I see that the kernel panics and the whole system locks up. From the limited research I've done, this is basically because the kernel tries to configure the PCMCIA, whereas the Sony BIOS has already done so, causing some major, so far unsolvable, hiccups.
Progeny 1.0: A somewhat different problem than above, progeny does a windows-esque "reboot" to continue installation. However, upon reboot, the installer does not "remember" where the CDROM is, resulting in an infinite "Please insert CDROM disk 2" type message. I could not find a way to switch to another console and could not pass the proper location of the CDROM to the install program. I was looking forward to an easy to install debian system.. I might try Stormix or just plain jane Debian.
Redhat 7.0: There were some errors in the install, seemingly related to PCMCIA devices, but the install program chugged right through them and I now have a functioning Linux distribution running on my beautiful Sony Vaio 505FX. I'm planning a clean reinstall to get rid of some fluff, but in the meantime Windowmaker seems a nice enough "GUI" for the small screensize, when I'm not just "toying" in console mode. I may just keep running in console mode and screw the GUI altogether. So far, most everything is working fine. I've yet to try network configuration, but I should tackle that soon enough..:)
So, 2 lose by default (installation *too* easy, maybe?), the other wins simply by virtue that it installs a basic system, which is what I want..:) Too bad, though, I was really really looking forward to trying Progeny (I've been very impressed with Debian on my friend's system) and wanted to make sure I could upgrade to 2.4 kernel easily.. Mandrake held promise with it's inclusion of ReiserFS and 2.4 kernel by default.. Redhat's strength is that every major application I want to install seems built with it in mind (Oracle and the like..), so less tinkering more working, I suppose.
Okay, here's someone who's obviously never used Dreamweaver, or at least to any extent.
Dreamweaver is a blast. It's fun, you can knock out webpages lickity-split, and for mock ups, you can't beat it. Other good things about it are the fact that you can edit the source right there on the spot for fine-tuning and, surprise, Dreamweaver actually produces really decent HTML. I helped work on a site where we used Dreamweaver for the layout, then went back in and just edited the HTML directly to get precision placement of various layers and tables (however, I probably won't use layers again.. it's a nice idea, but I'd rather keep it simple).
Dreamweaver for Linux, yes I'd buy it. But have to have it? nah, I've got a win2k partition for it if need be... I wonder if it runs under vmware? Hmm.
Oh, yes, I do think it's important to learn HTML, and coding by hand is the best way to learn. however, when your deadline is tomorrow, and you've just been stuck with the job, Dreamweaver!:)
No no, I mean a clean rewrite, no worries of AIM, ICQ, or any of that crap. Tabula Rasa, so to speak. Jabber still appeals to the "integrate all your IM clients on one convenient package!" mindset without bothering to take the stance of "Hey, this is not proprietary, this is free, this is open, and you don't need anyone else's permission to use it." Personally, I don't mind the proprietary, but I'm also not afraid to go use something eles if I feel it's inconvenient to use those same products.
/* Re:AOL is a success story for the ages (Score:1)
by tpv (tpv@users_sourceforge_net) on 04:27 AM April 17th, 2001 EST (#127)
(User #155309 Info)
Sharing is about a mutual agreement for the benefit of all.
This is much closer to free-loading. */
Says *who*?
I have an AOL account and have had one for 5 years now. Sure, I only use it sparingly, but surprisingly enough, I *have* found uses for AOL's services that I like and don't mind paying for the account. However, I also use BeOS and Linux quite often and it's quite inconvenient to lose "AIM" functionality when using my "alternative" OS's, so I use BeAIM, GAIM, whatever. (I must admit, though, that all of the replacement "AIM" clients on alt os's are not as robust and fully functional (I really dig the "seamless" file transfers, although they could be implemented better...), but hey, for basic chat, it's cool. I've heard there's an "official" release for Linux, I'll be sure to download that one day and give it a whirl. Too bad no BeOS port..
Now, where does this lead to? I also agree with the original poster: It's AOL's servers, it's AOL's bandwidth, it's AOL's services, therefore, if AOL wants to limit access to their stuff to ensure quality service for their PAYING customers (or just because their Assholes), then so be it. I've got IRC and I've got ICQ, and goddammit, if worse comes to worse, I've got email and a fucking telephone.
Personally, I don't see why someone hasn't produced an alternative system that's not reliant upon AOL, ICQ, YAHOO, MSN, etc. I know P2P has scalability problems, but how hard would it be to implement a P2P chat network? What issues would be involved? As Neal Stephenson once said, if you don't like the choices presented, get off your ass and makng your own! (well, loose paraphrase).
"Every site, even supposedly respectable mainstream sites such as Yahoo, are peddling filth. "
Hey, it's true. Check out this filth peddling website: http://www.slashdot.org
Great, so I'll homebuild an AMD machine and run Linux/BSD/etc.:P
Seriously, though, if we can run Celerons in SMP mode (something intel said we couldn't do), still make pirated copies of MS products (I give xp a day before the "cracks" come out), etc, who actually think that determined individuals won't be able to get around this in a matter of.. I give it less than a week?
It's THIS kind of "innovation and market control" that will open the doors to "alternative" OS's (I'm not so sure that Linux will be the desktop choice). I'm not going for XP mainly because it's none of MS's mfing business what I do with the OS I install on my system and I'm not going to call them when I do major system upgrades. To hell with em. I've been playing with Stormix and OpenBSD and I've found that other than games, they're more than adequate for what *I* do.
And I'm so tired of bullshit answers to bullshit arguments like this.
Let's face it: Office workers use what you put in front of them. You may have to train them to do things a "certain" way, but in reality I've found they don't care what OS they're on. A friend of mine's mother uses some apps that run on WindowMaker. She's oblivious to the fact that she's working on a fully functional UNIX machine, she just does her job (open this application via that icon, blah blah) and then goes home. She doesn't care nor does is she aware of the MS vs. *nix debate. What it comes down to is this: you can find a million kids on the street that know and can support windows. You can't say the same for Linux or any UNIX (although the number is growing). If your Linux geek quits, it may take you a couple weeks to find a replacement. If your Windows geek quits, you can find another by the end of the day, or hell, you could probably train Susie Secretary to do some of the tasks herself.
Linux is *hard* for those that want to use the OS as something more than a tool for the job. For the Susie Secretaries and Joey DataEntry Guys, they don't care. If the system goes down, hey, it's break time, let the "geeks" fix it. Making a fucking "shortcut" icon on the desktop, as of RH 6.0 was still a cumbersome and annoying process (I haven't tried KDE's flavor of desktop management). Joey DataEntry and Susie Secretary may or may not have an interest in making "shortcut" icons. I've found windows to be fairly intuitive. I've not found the same to be true of Linux. I can tool around on my Windows box and discover neat stuff just by delving down the context and properties menus. I've got to read manpages, slashdot, IRC, books, etc, just to get some more functionality out of Linux. Granted, there's no "registry" hacking involved, but maybe you get the idea (or maybe you don't).
I do telephone tech support during the day. It's *hard enough* to get Joe Dumbfuck to *right click* on an icon. It's harder still to boot to MSDOS and tell the person to choose some option in scanreg/restore and they keep asking why they don't have a mouse pointer. You think Linux would solve that? "Oh, but we can remotely admin that system." YEAH FUCKING RIGHT. Can you imagine the kind of abuses that would happen if you implemented that with home users? And are you willing to *pay* for that kind of support? And then, while you're admining, you stumble upon tons of pr0n, etc, you think the customer wants you to see their dirty laundry? I think not. It's hard enough to get a customer to tell you just exactly what icon they want to get rid of on their desktop and why "I want to suck your dick" keeps emanating from their speakers (that you can hear over the phone). TO have a Linux world of remote admininistration sounds like the FBI's wet dream.
Linux has a long way to go to reach the HOME desktop. Quit arguing and get coding and let's get it there!
/*If you look into the history of UNIX you will see that it has always favored stability over speed, and a small program that does what it is supposed to do rather than one large bloated 'featureful' program*/
Anne Rice somewhat addressed this in her Vampire novels. Basically, you live for so long and you get so bored with life that you just want to curl up and die.
However
I know this is stretching it, but imagine the space program with people capable of not only living long enough to make the huge interseller journeys between systems, but still able to do meaningful research and work once they get there.
You think your job sucks now, imagine waking up every day for the next 500 years on the same can, seeing the same scene.....
/*I guess Communism is beginning to look alot more appealing, eh*/
Um. No.
/*Imagine: State owned business (no monopolies screwing us) */
Right. Instead of Coke or Pepsi, it's State Cola. Instead of Linux or Microsoft, it's State OS. And you'd better be goddamned happy about it, or what are you gonna do? Go to the competition? Oh yeah. There is no competition there, is there? I'd much rather let the market forces shake out the losers than let some fucking poltician tell me what *I* need. The same could go towards "corporatism", as well, but Microsoft nor Nike ever threatened me with jail sentences for non-compliance/consumerance. And remember, if the average citizen got to "vote" for an official state OS, Linux ain't gonna win.
/*a planned economy (what advantage do proprietary standards and IP have?)? */
I've never bought into the anti-IP bullshit that's been going around. Sure, you shouldn't be able to patent or copyright "hello world", but WORD ain't "hello world". Millions of lines of bloated word processing programming, maybe. And keep your grubby planned economy out of my mother fuckin' bank account.
Now, having said that, I'm also not all for Nike and "corporatism" as some people put it. I don't approve of companies who make MORE than some countries are worth going into those countries and propping up their dictators to provide cheap slave labor to produce shoes that they STILL sell for $100/pr. I also don't buy into the "You are what you buy" mentality. How much can YOU really live on if you had to go minimalist? My favorite movie of late has been Fight Club, strictly for some of the message: YOU are not your bankaccount. You are not what you buy. It doesn't matter what people *think*, what matters is what they *know*. But, that's my choice.
Opinions are like assholes. Everyone else's stinks but yours.
I've been running dual celerons for a year and a half on a Supermicro P6DBE with Slotket adapters. No problems thus far, but I eagerly await dual Athlon mobos. I don't overclock and my system seems very stable under WinNT 4.0 sp6, Win2000, Linux (2.2.x-smp), and BeOS.
Remember that Ford and GM don't officially support adding Lunati racing cams in your engine, either, but that doesn't stop thousands from doing it yearly.:)
I've worked for "a large, unnamed air express freight company based out of Memphis" for 9 years. The only reason I want to see the movie is to see the plane fucking crash.
Ugh. All those Fat Wreck Chords bands sound the fucking same (too clean, way over-produced). Screeching Weasle is the only keeper on that list, the others are the "pop" of punk.:P
I'll take FUGAZI, Jets to Brazil, Burning Airlines, hoover, (I'll admit to the Ataris), Rev. Horton Heat, Oblivians, Compulsive Gamblers, Lucero, Vegas Thunder, American DeathRay, ANY day over anything on Fat. Or anything on the radio for that matter.
/*Which OS would you choose to install : a bare-bones MS/Linux hybrid OS, or a full-featured "classic" linux distro with hoardes of available software? */
Depends. If I'm installing in a business where all I want is Office and "IT Approved" software, I'll take a stripped down MS/Linux w/Office and maybe a couple choice applications (probably written by MS). Business wants conformity, easy of administration, etc.
Well, the reason I got mine is because 1) I lost my original "modded" PSX. I have a ton of games that the PS2 will still play, and in some cases make look better (Final Fantasy IX, anyone? I can't wait for it!). I was gonna buy a new PSone and a seperate DVD player, but I saw that the PS2 had a DVD player and I *hate* watching movies on my PC. One unit, two functions. 2) harddrive port, USB, killer 128 bit architecture.. Someone's gonna port Linux to the thing and it'll make one *hell* of a desktop machine. This could become strategic in the Linux community's bid for more domination. If the only OS available for the PS2 is Linux, well, you just got yourselves a nice, captive audience to prove yourself to. And once they run Linux on their PS2, they may even switch to Linux for their PC. Isn't this what the Linux community wants? Oh, and that would make it one unit, 3 functions..:)
/*You may say: how come I don't have to check my windows hardware compatibility? Well, you do. If you used NT. */
Hmm.. That's odd. I've not had any troubles with NT or Win2K regarding drivers except for my nVidia GeForce stuff, which should now be fixed. I dunno because I gave up my GeForce when I figured out BeOS didn't have drivers for it (then). My biggest problems with Linux installs have been: winmodem (no longer an issue) and printer setups. I never got the printer working, but then again, I work 85-100 hours a week and don't have *time* to sit and read for 3 days. When I need to print something, I have a bought and paid for Win2K partition that prints just fine. Maybe one day I'll finally get annoyed enough to fix it properly, but hey, it's like the blinking 12:00AM thing. If you don't touch it, you sure as hell won't break it.
/*Another example is X configuration. I never had any problems because my hardware is very good and I have kept all the documentation that come with them. People who cry about not being able to configure X usually don't know thier monitor sync rate and don't have a good video card. If they do, all they do is enter the information on the manual. */
That's a good idea. I keep all my old manuals, as well. However, what do you do when you just bought/inherited your uncle's old computer and have *no* idea what's in it? Chances are, you do a Windows install, Windows will recognize it and just keep on chugging. Linux, on the other hand, isn't that "smart" yet, although it's getting there. No major complaints. The first time I installed Linux (redhat 5.2 way back when), I sat for about 45 minutes playing with monitor settings because I had an unknown, offbrand monitor. This is a small knock against Linux installations, it's something that could be worked on later and easily fixed. It's not a serious enough problem to make me foam at the mouth and scream "linux sucks!", but it's a small inconvenience.
/*I don't know about red hat. SuSE network configuration is pretty plain and simple. try SuSE maybe*/
I dunno. linuxconf seemed pretty straightforward, if not a bit intimidating the first couple times you look at it. I had no problems with my old connection.
Personally, I'm glad to see Mandrake in Wal-Mart. It's not my distro of choice (I'm a redhat man, although I've got Debian here to play with sometime when I get a few hours. The biggest problem I see is the plethora of Linux distros being offered to the consumer. I hear the "Is xbrand linux compatible with ybrand linux?" all the time when I'm perusing that aisle. It's obvious that the average consumer doesn't know what Linux really is and all the distros are hurting in this aspect. Ah, oh well. Back to sleep I go...
First off, Let me start off by saying that I'm a Win2K user. I used to run NT 4.0, but replaced it with an errant install of Redhat 6.2 (see some of my previous postings for that). So, I more or less tried to use Redhat 6.2 for about a month.
Now, why am I back to Win"blows"?
Simple:
1) The applications I use are here today, not tomorrow, not next year. I got tired of trying out really beta software for Linux for the stuff I use, and the stuff that wasn't beta was very unpolished, very cluttered, very unfocused. Think GNUCash vs. Quicken or even Money and you'll see what I mean.
2) X is slow and crappy and unresponsive. I run a dual CPU system and it annoys the hell out of me. X likes to crash, taking my whole system with it, usually. It just sucks balls. I stated before that the client-server architecture inherent in X is NOT NEEDED for typical home/end users. BeOS does the GUI right. You want to beat the GUI experience that Win2K gives? Ditch X and come up with something new.
3) I've not *touched* my registry since installing Win2k. I had to "touch" all kinds of config files weekly under Linux, just to install stuff.
4) Who cares about freedom to do with the software? Can't you see that RMS wants you to be paid MINIMUM WAGE for your work? How dare you code for money! nono, that was a rant, sorry. Rather, most users don't give a rat's ass about GPL or whatever. They want to install a software package and then use it. They don't want to have to search freshmeat.net for some obscure graphics lib or a specific version or whatever. Win2K at least halfway has this right. how many updates have I done to Win2K? Two or Three, the security update patch, couple drivers. And they installed *smoothly* with a double click. Every week I was scouring for the latest glibc or whatever to get whatever to work. Too much of a hassle.
4. Linux just felt too beta to do anything that I would want to do. The feel is not right on the OS. I don't care how smooth the architecture is or how stable it is (to an extent). Think of it this way: My Ti Graphing Calculator I had for engineering never crashed on me, but you don't hear me extolling it's stability virtues. Win2K didn't crash on me until I installed EverCrack.
5. i won't go into the games rant, because games are not important to me.
Does Linux suck? Hell fuck no. I've got two linux machines in my living room routing mail, etc. They are *great* for that. But for everyday using, Win2K provides me with the best experience, freedom be damned. BeOS has a better "experience" than linux, and I'd really like to see it take off. Will I ever use Linux as my everday OS again? If they can fix X so it doesn't run so slow and get some real apps that don't require 3 hours of searching to find that obscure library (hey, freedom has its price), then maybe. Until then, I'm sticking with something I know and somewhat trust. Fuck, guys, it's just a goddamned OS. Go outside and see the real world every once and awhile.
Slashdot Mirror
nifty, an off-topic how to post and I got some *real* answers. Thanks a bunch! I'm off to install Mandrake 8.0 tomorrow after I get off from work. the expert noauto is *exactly* what I was looking for. Also, the FX, being an older model, has not the memory stick nor built in ethernet (although I do have a PCMCIA ethernet adapter). The only reason I haven't tried a network install is that I'd have to unplug something from my hub and haven't gotten around to doing that.. :P I'll work on that next week..
Thanks again!
Actually, I was wondering what would happen if someone rewrote all the GNU apps that are currently in use with Linux and replaced it with another license (BSD). If and when that happened, would Richard Stallman still "require" us to call it "GNU/Linux"?
For those of you not familiar with the installation of linux on a Sony 505 series notebook, be advised that you have to tell the install program where the CDROM is, as it's not in the usual place. Per several locations on the web, the command is usually given by: linux ide2=0x180,0x386 and that gets you rolling. Most of the issues I have pertain to this peculiarity and any help would be appreciated.
:)
:) Too bad, though, I was really really looking forward to trying Progeny (I've been very impressed with Debian on my friend's system) and wanted to make sure I could upgrade to 2.4 kernel easily.. Mandrake held promise with it's inclusion of ReiserFS and 2.4 kernel by default.. Redhat's strength is that every major application I want to install seems built with it in mind (Oracle and the like..), so less tinkering more working, I suppose.
.02.
Mandrake 8.0: Would not install. From what I can tell, it has something to do with PCMCIA initialization, which I cannot find a way to bypass during install. Using the Text Expert mode, I see that the kernel panics and the whole system locks up. From the limited research I've done, this is basically because the kernel tries to configure the PCMCIA, whereas the Sony BIOS has already done so, causing some major, so far unsolvable, hiccups.
Progeny 1.0: A somewhat different problem than above, progeny does a windows-esque "reboot" to continue installation. However, upon reboot, the installer does not "remember" where the CDROM is, resulting in an infinite "Please insert CDROM disk 2" type message. I could not find a way to switch to another console and could not pass the proper location of the CDROM to the install program. I was looking forward to an easy to install debian system.. I might try Stormix or just plain jane Debian.
Redhat 7.0: There were some errors in the install, seemingly related to PCMCIA devices, but the install program chugged right through them and I now have a functioning Linux distribution running on my beautiful Sony Vaio 505FX. I'm planning a clean reinstall to get rid of some fluff, but in the meantime Windowmaker seems a nice enough "GUI" for the small screensize, when I'm not just "toying" in console mode. I may just keep running in console mode and screw the GUI altogether. So far, most everything is working fine. I've yet to try network configuration, but I should tackle that soon enough..
So, 2 lose by default (installation *too* easy, maybe?), the other wins simply by virtue that it installs a basic system, which is what I want..
Anyway, my off-topic
Okay, here's someone who's obviously never used Dreamweaver, or at least to any extent.
:)
Dreamweaver is a blast. It's fun, you can knock out webpages lickity-split, and for mock ups, you can't beat it. Other good things about it are the fact that you can edit the source right there on the spot for fine-tuning and, surprise, Dreamweaver actually produces really decent HTML. I helped work on a site where we used Dreamweaver for the layout, then went back in and just edited the HTML directly to get precision placement of various layers and tables (however, I probably won't use layers again.. it's a nice idea, but I'd rather keep it simple).
Dreamweaver for Linux, yes I'd buy it. But have to have it? nah, I've got a win2k partition for it if need be... I wonder if it runs under vmware? Hmm.
Oh, yes, I do think it's important to learn HTML, and coding by hand is the best way to learn. however, when your deadline is tomorrow, and you've just been stuck with the job, Dreamweaver!
No no, I mean a clean rewrite, no worries of AIM, ICQ, or any of that crap. Tabula Rasa, so to speak. Jabber still appeals to the "integrate all your IM clients on one convenient package!" mindset without bothering to take the stance of "Hey, this is not proprietary, this is free, this is open, and you don't need anyone else's permission to use it." Personally, I don't mind the proprietary, but I'm also not afraid to go use something eles if I feel it's inconvenient to use those same products.
/* Re:AOL is a success story for the ages (Score:1)
by tpv (tpv@users_sourceforge_net) on 04:27 AM April 17th, 2001 EST (#127)
(User #155309 Info)
Sharing is about a mutual agreement for the benefit of all.
This is much closer to free-loading. */
Says *who*?
I have an AOL account and have had one for 5 years now. Sure, I only use it sparingly, but surprisingly enough, I *have* found uses for AOL's services that I like and don't mind paying for the account. However, I also use BeOS and Linux quite often and it's quite inconvenient to lose "AIM" functionality when using my "alternative" OS's, so I use BeAIM, GAIM, whatever. (I must admit, though, that all of the replacement "AIM" clients on alt os's are not as robust and fully functional (I really dig the "seamless" file transfers, although they could be implemented better...), but hey, for basic chat, it's cool. I've heard there's an "official" release for Linux, I'll be sure to download that one day and give it a whirl. Too bad no BeOS port..
Now, where does this lead to? I also agree with the original poster: It's AOL's servers, it's AOL's bandwidth, it's AOL's services, therefore, if AOL wants to limit access to their stuff to ensure quality service for their PAYING customers (or just because their Assholes), then so be it. I've got IRC and I've got ICQ, and goddammit, if worse comes to worse, I've got email and a fucking telephone.
Personally, I don't see why someone hasn't produced an alternative system that's not reliant upon AOL, ICQ, YAHOO, MSN, etc. I know P2P has scalability problems, but how hard would it be to implement a P2P chat network? What issues would be involved? As Neal Stephenson once said, if you don't like the choices presented, get off your ass and makng your own! (well, loose paraphrase).
Take it light and enjoy.
"Every site, even supposedly respectable mainstream sites such as Yahoo, are peddling filth. " Hey, it's true. Check out this filth peddling website: http://www.slashdot.org
/*Microsoft Corp, IBM and Intel Corp,*/
:P
Great, so I'll homebuild an AMD machine and run Linux/BSD/etc.
Seriously, though, if we can run Celerons in SMP mode (something intel said we couldn't do), still make pirated copies of MS products (I give xp a day before the "cracks" come out), etc, who actually think that determined individuals won't be able to get around this in a matter of.. I give it less than a week?
It's THIS kind of "innovation and market control" that will open the doors to "alternative" OS's (I'm not so sure that Linux will be the desktop choice). I'm not going for XP mainly because it's none of MS's mfing business what I do with the OS I install on my system and I'm not going to call them when I do major system upgrades. To hell with em. I've been playing with Stormix and OpenBSD and I've found that other than games, they're more than adequate for what *I* do.
Au contraire, the job's a hoot, it's stupid people that piss me off.. :)
/*I'm so tired of bullshit arguments like this*/
/restore and they keep asking why they don't have a mouse pointer. You think Linux would solve that? "Oh, but we can remotely admin that system." YEAH FUCKING RIGHT. Can you imagine the kind of abuses that would happen if you implemented that with home users? And are you willing to *pay* for that kind of support? And then, while you're admining, you stumble upon tons of pr0n, etc, you think the customer wants you to see their dirty laundry? I think not. It's hard enough to get a customer to tell you just exactly what icon they want to get rid of on their desktop and why "I want to suck your dick" keeps emanating from their speakers (that you can hear over the phone). TO have a Linux world of remote admininistration sounds like the FBI's wet dream.
And I'm so tired of bullshit answers to bullshit arguments like this.
Let's face it: Office workers use what you put in front of them. You may have to train them to do things a "certain" way, but in reality I've found they don't care what OS they're on. A friend of mine's mother uses some apps that run on WindowMaker. She's oblivious to the fact that she's working on a fully functional UNIX machine, she just does her job (open this application via that icon, blah blah) and then goes home. She doesn't care nor does is she aware of the MS vs. *nix debate. What it comes down to is this: you can find a million kids on the street that know and can support windows. You can't say the same for Linux or any UNIX (although the number is growing). If your Linux geek quits, it may take you a couple weeks to find a replacement. If your Windows geek quits, you can find another by the end of the day, or hell, you could probably train Susie Secretary to do some of the tasks herself.
Linux is *hard* for those that want to use the OS as something more than a tool for the job. For the Susie Secretaries and Joey DataEntry Guys, they don't care. If the system goes down, hey, it's break time, let the "geeks" fix it. Making a fucking "shortcut" icon on the desktop, as of RH 6.0 was still a cumbersome and annoying process (I haven't tried KDE's flavor of desktop management). Joey DataEntry and Susie Secretary may or may not have an interest in making "shortcut" icons. I've found windows to be fairly intuitive. I've not found the same to be true of Linux. I can tool around on my Windows box and discover neat stuff just by delving down the context and properties menus. I've got to read manpages, slashdot, IRC, books, etc, just to get some more functionality out of Linux. Granted, there's no "registry" hacking involved, but maybe you get the idea (or maybe you don't).
I do telephone tech support during the day. It's *hard enough* to get Joe Dumbfuck to *right click* on an icon. It's harder still to boot to MSDOS and tell the person to choose some option in scanreg
Linux has a long way to go to reach the HOME desktop. Quit arguing and get coding and let's get it there!
Ditto. Except I bought my MD a couple years ago and it's still going strong.
::Sigh::
I hate it when people start saying "that's just your opinion"
Come on folks, say it together:
Opinions are like assholes. Everyone else's stinks but your own.
/*If you look into the history of UNIX you will see that it has always favored stability over speed, and a small program that does what it is supposed to do rather than one large bloated 'featureful' program*/
Like EMACS?
Anne Rice somewhat addressed this in her Vampire novels. Basically, you live for so long and you get so bored with life that you just want to curl up and die.
However
I know this is stretching it, but imagine the space program with people capable of not only living long enough to make the huge interseller journeys between systems, but still able to do meaningful research and work once they get there.
You think your job sucks now, imagine waking up every day for the next 500 years on the same can, seeing the same scene.....
:)
/*I guess Communism is beginning to look alot more appealing, eh*/
Um. No.
/*Imagine: State owned business (no monopolies screwing us) */
Right. Instead of Coke or Pepsi, it's State Cola. Instead of Linux or Microsoft, it's State OS. And you'd better be goddamned happy about it, or what are you gonna do? Go to the competition? Oh yeah. There is no competition there, is there? I'd much rather let the market forces shake out the losers than let some fucking poltician tell me what *I* need. The same could go towards "corporatism", as well, but Microsoft nor Nike ever threatened me with jail sentences for non-compliance/consumerance. And remember, if the average citizen got to "vote" for an official state OS, Linux ain't gonna win.
/*a planned economy (what advantage do proprietary standards and IP have?)? */
I've never bought into the anti-IP bullshit that's been going around. Sure, you shouldn't be able to patent or copyright "hello world", but WORD ain't "hello world". Millions of lines of bloated word processing programming, maybe. And keep your grubby planned economy out of my mother fuckin' bank account.
Now, having said that, I'm also not all for Nike and "corporatism" as some people put it. I don't approve of companies who make MORE than some countries are worth going into those countries and propping up their dictators to provide cheap slave labor to produce shoes that they STILL sell for $100/pr. I also don't buy into the "You are what you buy" mentality. How much can YOU really live on if you had to go minimalist? My favorite movie of late has been Fight Club, strictly for some of the message: YOU are not your bankaccount. You are not what you buy. It doesn't matter what people *think*, what matters is what they *know*. But, that's my choice.
Opinions are like assholes. Everyone else's stinks but yours.
I've been running dual celerons for a year and a half on a Supermicro P6DBE with Slotket adapters. No problems thus far, but I eagerly await dual Athlon mobos. I don't overclock and my system seems very stable under WinNT 4.0 sp6, Win2000, Linux (2.2.x-smp), and BeOS.
:)
Remember that Ford and GM don't officially support adding Lunati racing cams in your engine, either, but that doesn't stop thousands from doing it yearly.
Damn right.
I've worked for "a large, unnamed air express freight company based out of Memphis" for 9 years. The only reason I want to see the movie is to see the plane fucking crash.
Cheers and Happy New Year!
Ugh. All those Fat Wreck Chords bands sound the fucking same (too clean, way over-produced). Screeching Weasle is the only keeper on that list, the others are the "pop" of punk. :P
I'll take FUGAZI, Jets to Brazil, Burning Airlines, hoover, (I'll admit to the Ataris), Rev. Horton Heat, Oblivians, Compulsive Gamblers, Lucero, Vegas Thunder, American DeathRay, ANY day over anything on Fat. Or anything on the radio for that matter.
/*Which OS would you choose to install : a bare-bones MS/Linux hybrid OS, or a full-featured "classic" linux distro with hoardes of available software? */
Depends. If I'm installing in a business where all I want is Office and "IT Approved" software, I'll take a stripped down MS/Linux w/Office and maybe a couple choice applications (probably written by MS). Business wants conformity, easy of administration, etc.
What's wrong with Hudson Hawk? Goddamn, up until The Whole Nine Yards, that was my favorite Bruce Willis movie of all times.
I bought it as a DVD player. I have(had) a PSone with games that just happen to work with the PS2. Bugger off.
Well, the reason I got mine is because 1) I lost my original "modded" PSX. I have a ton of games that the PS2 will still play, and in some cases make look better (Final Fantasy IX, anyone? I can't wait for it!). I was gonna buy a new PSone and a seperate DVD player, but I saw that the PS2 had a DVD player and I *hate* watching movies on my PC. One unit, two functions. 2) harddrive port, USB, killer 128 bit architecture.. Someone's gonna port Linux to the thing and it'll make one *hell* of a desktop machine. This could become strategic in the Linux community's bid for more domination. If the only OS available for the PS2 is Linux, well, you just got yourselves a nice, captive audience to prove yourself to. And once they run Linux on their PS2, they may even switch to Linux for their PC. Isn't this what the Linux community wants? Oh, and that would make it one unit, 3 functions.. :)
Just something to chew on..
/*You may say: how come I don't have to check my windows hardware compatibility? Well, you do. If you used NT. */
Hmm.. That's odd. I've not had any troubles with NT or Win2K regarding drivers except for my nVidia GeForce stuff, which should now be fixed. I dunno because I gave up my GeForce when I figured out BeOS didn't have drivers for it (then). My biggest problems with Linux installs have been: winmodem (no longer an issue) and printer setups. I never got the printer working, but then again, I work 85-100 hours a week and don't have *time* to sit and read for 3 days. When I need to print something, I have a bought and paid for Win2K partition that prints just fine. Maybe one day I'll finally get annoyed enough to fix it properly, but hey, it's like the blinking 12:00AM thing. If you don't touch it, you sure as hell won't break it.
/*Another example is X configuration. I never had any problems because my hardware is very good and I have kept all the documentation that come with them. People who cry about not being able to configure X usually don't know thier monitor sync rate and don't have a good video card. If they do, all they do is enter the information on the manual. */
That's a good idea. I keep all my old manuals, as well. However, what do you do when you just bought/inherited your uncle's old computer and have *no* idea what's in it? Chances are, you do a Windows install, Windows will recognize it and just keep on chugging. Linux, on the other hand, isn't that "smart" yet, although it's getting there. No major complaints. The first time I installed Linux (redhat 5.2 way back when), I sat for about 45 minutes playing with monitor settings because I had an unknown, offbrand monitor. This is a small knock against Linux installations, it's something that could be worked on later and easily fixed. It's not a serious enough problem to make me foam at the mouth and scream "linux sucks!", but it's a small inconvenience.
/*I don't know about red hat. SuSE network configuration is pretty plain and simple. try SuSE maybe*/
I dunno. linuxconf seemed pretty straightforward, if not a bit intimidating the first couple times you look at it. I had no problems with my old connection.
Personally, I'm glad to see Mandrake in Wal-Mart. It's not my distro of choice (I'm a redhat man, although I've got Debian here to play with sometime when I get a few hours. The biggest problem I see is the plethora of Linux distros being offered to the consumer. I hear the "Is xbrand linux compatible with ybrand linux?" all the time when I'm perusing that aisle. It's obvious that the average consumer doesn't know what Linux really is and all the distros are hurting in this aspect. Ah, oh well. Back to sleep I go...
Okay, this is pretty funny.
First off, Let me start off by saying that I'm a Win2K user. I used to run NT 4.0, but replaced it with an errant install of Redhat 6.2 (see some of my previous postings for that). So, I more or less tried to use Redhat 6.2 for about a month.
Now, why am I back to Win"blows"?
Simple:
1) The applications I use are here today, not tomorrow, not next year. I got tired of trying out really beta software for Linux for the stuff I use, and the stuff that wasn't beta was very unpolished, very cluttered, very unfocused. Think GNUCash vs. Quicken or even Money and you'll see what I mean.
2) X is slow and crappy and unresponsive. I run a dual CPU system and it annoys the hell out of me. X likes to crash, taking my whole system with it, usually. It just sucks balls. I stated before that the client-server architecture inherent in X is NOT NEEDED for typical home/end users. BeOS does the GUI right. You want to beat the GUI experience that Win2K gives? Ditch X and come up with something new.
3) I've not *touched* my registry since installing Win2k. I had to "touch" all kinds of config files weekly under Linux, just to install stuff.
4) Who cares about freedom to do with the software? Can't you see that RMS wants you to be paid MINIMUM WAGE for your work? How dare you code for money! nono, that was a rant, sorry. Rather, most users don't give a rat's ass about GPL or whatever. They want to install a software package and then use it. They don't want to have to search freshmeat.net for some obscure graphics lib or a specific version or whatever. Win2K at least halfway has this right. how many updates have I done to Win2K? Two or Three, the security update patch, couple drivers. And they installed *smoothly* with a double click. Every week I was scouring for the latest glibc or whatever to get whatever to work. Too much of a hassle.
4. Linux just felt too beta to do anything that I would want to do. The feel is not right on the OS. I don't care how smooth the architecture is or how stable it is (to an extent). Think of it this way: My Ti Graphing Calculator I had for engineering never crashed on me, but you don't hear me extolling it's stability virtues. Win2K didn't crash on me until I installed EverCrack.
5. i won't go into the games rant, because games are not important to me.
Does Linux suck? Hell fuck no. I've got two linux machines in my living room routing mail, etc. They are *great* for that. But for everyday using, Win2K provides me with the best experience, freedom be damned. BeOS has a better "experience" than linux, and I'd really like to see it take off. Will I ever use Linux as my everday OS again? If they can fix X so it doesn't run so slow and get some real apps that don't require 3 hours of searching to find that obscure library (hey, freedom has its price), then maybe. Until then, I'm sticking with something I know and somewhat trust. Fuck, guys, it's just a goddamned OS. Go outside and see the real world every once and awhile.