OK, I just have to bite when the thread is d&d related...
It all depends on your point of view. Microsoft view themselves as lawful good, free OS zealots as lawful evil, and napster-happy consumers as chaotic evil.
For the free OS point of view swap evil for good and vice versa.
The whole AD&D alignment system doesn't hold up in the real world; the chaotic, neutral, lawful bit is fair enough, but as for good, evil and neutral you need to have an objective, externalized viewpoint to say what is good or what is evil.
This is basically the same "Is there such a thing as objective good and objective evil ?" question you might get on a philosophy exam.
My own opinion is "no", but most people fall into the "yes" category, either because they belive in some deity, are totally stupid or c) both of the above.
To properly frame the viewpoints of MS vs free OSs you need to replace good and evil with commercial and free.
So MS is Chaotic Commercial, free OS zealots are Lawful Free. Show me a company that is Lawful Commercial and I'll show you a company that covers its tracks well...
I feel free to correct you. MS has not removed the cmd command prompt from xp, in fact they have even bound file completion to the tab key for the first time.
You might be confused with them finally removing real dos.
"There is no good equivalent of Access, and the scripting language of Excel -for me- is easier to use than OpenOffice version"
The good equivalent of access is . If you need the (yes I admit) nice front end then there is a plethora of GUIs for interacting with MYSQL and POSTGRESQL.
As for scripting in excel you might want to try gnumeric with gnubasic.
I really want to go to this conference, but it's out of the question because I am in the UK and can't afford it.
Another reason I wouldn't go is because I would be worried that I would feel overwhelmed by everyone knowing more than me and looking down on me. Maybe it's paranoia and people are cool and friendly if you have an interest but admit your lack of knowledge, or maybe there are elitists there.
What do people think about the attitudes of hackers there ? I only have experience of cracking x86 code, fun with tcp/ip and higher-level stuff like writing compilers. I have no real knowledge but a lot of interest in wireless technology, smart cards, phones etc.
graspee
Re:gnome and mozilla released in the same month!
on
GNOME 2.0 Released
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· Score: 1
No problem. Quite weird how I got +2 just for moaning about it though, isn't it? Oh well.
graspee
Re:gnome and mozilla released in the same month!
on
GNOME 2.0 Released
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· Score: 4, Funny
" hold a claw hammer backwards in your outstretched arms and pull your hands toward your face as fast as you can."
Ok, so I misunderstood you, and called you a dumb-ass, but dude, that was graphic! Couldn't you just have laughed at me for being a dumb-ass and left it at that?
graspee
Re:gnome and mozilla released in the same month!
on
GNOME 2.0 Released
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· Score: 1
"Don't forget Neverwinter Nights!!!"
It's released, dumb-ass- I've been playing it all week.
MIT used to be cool. Writing Spacewar for the PDP-1 (an 18 bit computer with no stack that takes up ONLY 17 square feet!), hacking lisp, building robots.
The more computing power you throw at MIT, the more lazy they get, the more wanky their projects get.
I think if you gave the original hackers the machine power of today they would have built Maria (Metropolis) by now.
Maybe if the asteroid was on a collision course the Earth would have bent over backwards like Neo in the Matrix, and the asteroid would have whizzed by us in slow motion.
Or maybe it would be like:
Earth: Are you telling me I can dodge asteroids ? Universe: I'm saying you might not have to...
Anyway, if a so-called ponced-up "ELE" destroys the Earth before I get to see Star Wars Episode III I'm personally going to beat it up with a big stick.
"its gonna be a sad day if those Aliens reach us a couple of days after our extinction."
Of course the aliens will reach us a couple of days after our extinction. There will be lots of SWAT aliens checking the charred wreckage and saying "Clear!" before his Royal Majesty King Qweeg of Thrall steps out of his invasion ship...
"It was John McCarthy's dream to have a robot leave the funky AI lab and travel the three miles to campus under its own physical and mental power. At one point, presumably by mistake, a robot got loose and was careening down the hill when, fortunately, a worker driving to the lab spotted it, and rescued it."
"Sometimes they ask for something, and then insist that it be ripped out, just because they saw something in House and Garden.My uncle gets paid for it, but who wants to waste time?"
Speaking as a contract programmer (IAACP!) I couldn't care less if someone asks for a feature then asks for it to be "ripped out". I get paid by the day, and since I would never write the stuff that people want me to write if I weren't getting paid, I am just happy for the extra money...
You really installed Slackware 3.0.0 yesterday ? Didn't you have any newer distros lying around ? If you are in the UK I can post you a newer distro; I just can't stand the thought of an innocent civilian running Slack 3 in this day and age!
A week today it will be exactly 6 years since I first installed Linux. The distribution that I used was Slackware 3.
After using it for a bit and becoming more acquainted with linux however, I could see that even the latest downloadable version of Slackware (I got 3.0.0 from the book "Linux Unleashed") had really old versions of things, so I "upgraded" to Redhat, which in those days, at least on #linux was the leetest of the leet.
At this point I could ask if slackware is more up-to-date these days, but then that would be a very "Ask Slashdot" thing to do, since I could just go and check for myself.
graspee
Re:Visit these website forums for education on DAW
on
The State of PC Audio
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· Score: 1
"24/96 recording"
Is that like it will record all day every day but only for 3 months a year, then it has a holiday for 9 months ?
I agree, and the other use, on workstations, to stop people stealing RAM etc. is a waste of time, since anyone's going to wait until there's no-one watching anyway. You get there later because the "alarm" for case intrusion went off and go like "Yup, some fucker stole the RAM".
Slashdot Mirror
OK, I just have to bite when the thread is d&d related...
It all depends on your point of view. Microsoft view themselves as lawful good, free OS zealots as lawful evil, and napster-happy consumers as chaotic evil.
For the free OS point of view swap evil for good and vice versa.
The whole AD&D alignment system doesn't hold up in the real world; the chaotic, neutral, lawful bit is fair enough, but as for good, evil and neutral you need to have an objective, externalized viewpoint to say what is good or what is evil.
This is basically the same "Is there such a thing as objective good and objective evil ?" question you might get on a philosophy exam.
My own opinion is "no", but most people fall into the "yes" category, either because they belive in some deity, are totally stupid or c) both of the above.
To properly frame the viewpoints of MS vs free OSs you need to replace good and evil with commercial and free.
So MS is Chaotic Commercial, free OS zealots are Lawful Free. Show me a company that is Lawful Commercial and I'll show you a company that covers its tracks well...
graspee
I feel free to correct you. MS has not removed the cmd command prompt from xp, in fact they have even bound file completion to the tab key for the first time.
You might be confused with them finally removing real dos.
graspee
"There is no good equivalent of Access, and the scripting language of Excel -for me- is easier to use than OpenOffice version"
The good equivalent of access is . If you need the (yes I admit) nice front end then there is a plethora of GUIs for interacting with MYSQL and POSTGRESQL.
As for scripting in excel you might want to try gnumeric with gnubasic.
graspee
" I see other vets turning to Linux too. "
Yeah, gnumeric is great for keeping track of those vaccination and neutering appointments...
graspee
This (hopefully) satirical post which reflects some people's real opinions only serves to remind me that:
"Everything you think you know is a lie and what is actually truth is discarded, unrecognized with the trash."
graspee
I really want to go to this conference, but it's out of the question because I am in the UK and can't afford it.
Another reason I wouldn't go is because I would be worried that I would feel overwhelmed by everyone knowing more than me and looking down on me. Maybe it's paranoia and people are cool and friendly if you have an interest but admit your lack of knowledge, or maybe there are elitists there.
What do people think about the attitudes of hackers there ? I only have experience of cracking x86 code, fun with tcp/ip and higher-level stuff like writing compilers. I have no real knowledge but a lot of interest in wireless technology, smart cards, phones etc.
graspee
No problem. Quite weird how I got +2 just for moaning about it though, isn't it? Oh well.
graspee
" hold a claw hammer backwards in your outstretched arms and pull your hands toward your face as fast as you can."
Ok, so I misunderstood you, and called you a dumb-ass, but dude, that was graphic! Couldn't you just have laughed at me for being a dumb-ass and left it at that?
graspee
"Don't forget Neverwinter Nights!!!"
It's released, dumb-ass- I've been playing it all week.
graspee
FYI the author was Larry Niven.
graspee
Q: "Where do Linux Experts go when they need Windows Hosting ?"
A: A mental institution.
Thank you very much for reading, and a sweet good-night to all.
graspee
MIT used to be cool. Writing Spacewar for the PDP-1 (an 18 bit computer with no stack that takes up ONLY 17 square feet!), hacking lisp, building robots.
The more computing power you throw at MIT, the more lazy they get, the more wanky their projects get.
I think if you gave the original hackers the machine power of today they would have built Maria (Metropolis) by now.
graspee
Maybe if the asteroid was on a collision course the Earth would have bent over backwards like Neo in the Matrix, and the asteroid would have whizzed by us in slow motion.
Or maybe it would be like:
Earth: Are you telling me I can dodge asteroids ?
Universe: I'm saying you might not have to...
Anyway, if a so-called ponced-up "ELE" destroys the Earth before I get to see Star Wars Episode III I'm personally going to beat it up with a big stick.
graspee
"its gonna be a sad day if those Aliens reach us a couple of days after our extinction."
Of course the aliens will reach us a couple of days after our extinction. There will be lots of SWAT aliens checking the charred wreckage and saying "Clear!" before his Royal Majesty King Qweeg of Thrall steps out of his invasion ship...
graspee
"It was John McCarthy's dream to have a robot leave the funky AI lab and travel the three miles to campus under its own physical and mental power. At one point, presumably by mistake, a robot got loose and was careening down the hill when, fortunately, a worker driving to the lab spotted it, and rescued it."
graspee
"Er, what's 'the way of the minidisc'?"
'The Way of the Minidisc' is an ancient book by Tendo Musashi on the noble art of copyright-infringment.
In the middle ages he and his loyal followers infuriated Feudal Lords by ripping off all their kareoke albums (for great justice!).
graspee
"Ever have a problem when you're lying naked on your money..."
Hehee, and you could come into some money!
graspee
"Sometimes they ask for something, and then insist that it be ripped out, just because they saw something in House and Garden.My uncle gets paid for it, but who wants to waste time?"
Speaking as a contract programmer (IAACP!) I couldn't care less if someone asks for a feature then asks for it to be "ripped out". I get paid by the day, and since I would never write the stuff that people want me to write if I weren't getting paid, I am just happy for the extra money...
graspee
You really installed Slackware 3.0.0 yesterday ? Didn't you have any newer distros lying around ? If you are in the UK I can post you a newer distro; I just can't stand the thought of an innocent civilian running Slack 3 in this day and age!
graspee
A week today it will be exactly 6 years since I first installed Linux. The distribution that I used was Slackware 3.
After using it for a bit and becoming more acquainted with linux however, I could see that even the latest downloadable version of Slackware (I got 3.0.0 from the book "Linux Unleashed") had really old versions of things, so I "upgraded" to Redhat, which in those days, at least on #linux was the leetest of the leet.
At this point I could ask if slackware is more up-to-date these days, but then that would be a very "Ask Slashdot" thing to do, since I could just go and check for myself.
graspee
"24/96 recording"
Is that like it will record all day every day but only for 3 months a year, then it has a holiday for 9 months ?
Hahahah I kill me.
graspee
Nasty hiss from the soundcard ?
Can't tell if I have one because my PCs make such a din with their case fans, power supply fans, cpu fans, gfx card fans, hard drive bay fans....
Then there's the 17" room fan that's keeping ME cool...
graspee
"Above/Below speakers in addition to front, back, left, right. "
With my non-leet drilling skillz I would not want to sit under a large speaker I had attached to the ceiling...
graspee
"Sounds interesting, but incredibly impractical."
/. case-modder...
Ah! You have issued the rallying cry of the
"It sounds interesting yet totally impractical! To arms, my brothers! Let us mod this case!"
graspee
I agree, and the other use, on workstations, to stop people stealing RAM etc. is a waste of time, since anyone's going to wait until there's no-one watching anyway. You get there later because the "alarm" for case intrusion went off and go like "Yup, some fucker stole the RAM".
graspee