I'm not trying to have an argument with you here. Obviously more people voting is better. I'm just saying that it's not in the definition of "democracy." Democracy just means "people vote." Direct democracy means "people vote on issues, not candidates." That's what the words mean.
When black people couldn't vote, we still had a democracy. When women couldn't vote, we still had a democracy. Today, teenagers and (in some states) felons can't vote, and we still have a democracy.
My personal feelings are not at issue here. I'm talking about the definitions of words.
even Athens wasn't a direct democracy, because only a minority of residents got to vote.
You are correct, but that is irrelevant when discussing whether it was a direct democracy. "Direct democracy" doesn't have anything to do with what percentage of people can vote, but with what those people get to vote on. In Athens, the people would vote directly on things like taxation and conscription and whether or not to go to war. (Kinda like California, except less insipid.) Which is indeed "direct democracy."
I hate the argument that "If you don't like how things are going in an OSS project, you can just make your own fork! It's so much better than proprietary software because of that!" The fact is that time and knowledge are barriers that bar most people from doing what you propose. I probably don't know the language the the project was built in, I don't have time to learn it, I don't have the time to get familiar with the project's code, I don't have time to figure out how change it, etc. So yeah, the code is right there, but it's useless to a large majority (probably near 99%) of users. There's a better chance of getting the current development team to make a change than me attempting to make that change on my own.
Well, them's the breaks. The license says the code must be available. It says nothing about making it easy for Jim.
Also, it's kind of an asshole thing for Canonical to lure people into their "community" and then outright ignore them.
This, OTOH, I do agree with, because it's not what they advertise. If Ubuntu's all "community community community!" until the moment it becomes inconvenient, well, fuck them.
So instead of using the definition of the word, you are using it as a propaganda term. I see. Let's play that game.
North Korea, China, and the USSR all call(ed) themselves republics. If you really want a belly laugh, North Korea even has the stones to call itself a democratic republic. As long as were talking about wiping out unacceptable evil, let's wipe out republics and democracies too.
Actual communism (much like actual democracy) has yet to be tried. Every "communist" government in modern history has in actuality been a totalitarian government.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not coming out for or against communism. But go read some Marx, and then look at China, and tell me if you think they resemble each other in any way.
According to Wikipedia, the active duty members of the People's Liberation Army number roughly 3.5 million. The population of China is 1.3 billion with a B.
Even Windows xp is 10 times more user friendly and many times more beautiful than most of the Linux distributions (including ubuntu).
Hoo boy, does that one ever deserve a big ol' [citation needed]. For my twopence worth, I think KDE is hands down and by a mile the most visually appealing, user friendly desktop environment around, free or otherwise. Which is only my completely subjective opinion. Which caries just as much weight as yours.
When we talk about ubuntu Linux, we normally don't say ubuntu 8.04 or 9.0 etc have such and such market share. Same goes for windows. Windows is windows. UI and OS evolve from version to version. Like any other software.
No, no it's not. I mean, in most contexts I'd agree, but in the context we're talking about no it's not. My original reply was to the following:
If you mean something that enables you to capture 90% of the market , then eye candy is more important.
That OS, or more specifically those versions, were Windows 2000 and Windows XP. No current or future version or versions of the Windows OS (post XP) will ever be able to make that claim again. That day is done.
Last time I checked for one of my websites with 150 million page views per month (target is a specific country), 99% of the users use windows.
I just gave you a link with literally dozens of devices that include ogg support, and you're still sitting there telling me that no one supports ogg and mp3 is K1NG 43VAR!!! Did you even read my post?
You're making a spurious point. The codec's lack of cumbersome licensing makes it desirable for manufacturers, and the fact that manufacturers include support for the codec makes it desirable for end users, because people want stuff they can use. The end result is exactly the same.
My Fuze does in fact play both ogg Theora and ogg Vorbis files. And I am aware of the difference, thanks. I simplified my original post for the sake of brevity.
Or maybe, just maybe, you might have heard nothing but complaints about the color scheme because the legions of people who like it just fine don't go around spouting potty words about it on the Internet.
What, like OSX? Or Windows Vista? I'm sorry, but the only OS I can think of that captured 90% of the market is ass-ugly Windows XP with its goddamn Fisher Price theme.
MP3 playback gave longer battery life over WMV, can't say about Vorbis as I've honestly never come across a Vorbis player...
The problem with the OGG formats is the classic "chicken or the egg" problem. Nearly no support in hardware...
I don't think there even IS a single device with hardware Theora support, is there? OGG being "free as in freedom" really isn't gonna matter much if nobody supports it, and I haven't seen hardware manufacturers rushing to add it to their bullet point lists.
You lose all credibility with nonsense like this. My Sansa Fuze plays ogg (flac too, but anyone who puts flac files on a 4gb flash device is taking it a little far). My dear departed iAudio X5 played ogg and flac. A fucking shitload of audio players play ogg. Go ahead, ask me why.
"Why, Risen?"
I'll tell you why. Because it's patent-free, unencumbered, and an easy bulletlist item to put on a device. No, maybe they "don't give a shit about freedom," but they do give a shit about easy.
I guess that just sort of shows a difference in perspective between free software users and proprietary software users. (Okay, I just made a really pretentious list of shit and then deleted it; believe me, you didn't want to see it, it was obnoxious).
I'll settle at this and say I've made my case: If it doesn't come with an office suite (or at least a word processor in the case of a mobile device; I don't see folks doing a lot of spreadsheets on their tablets), it doesn't come with the basics.
Honestly, I am almost entirely unfamiliar with pretty much anything Apple sells, so I can't really speak to that. But the phrase "just like any standard Windows install" was what really caught me. To the very best of my knowledge, out of the box, Windows does nothing.
This is in no way "an easier computer to use." This is a harder, less familiar, less capable, less flexible, more hamstrung, more expensive computer to use. This is the polar opposite of "an easier computer to use."
Slashdot Mirror
Well of course Google hasn't charged you anything. That's because you are not their customer. Advertisers are.
You are their product.
I'm not trying to have an argument with you here. Obviously more people voting is better. I'm just saying that it's not in the definition of "democracy." Democracy just means "people vote." Direct democracy means "people vote on issues, not candidates." That's what the words mean.
When black people couldn't vote, we still had a democracy. When women couldn't vote, we still had a democracy. Today, teenagers and (in some states) felons can't vote, and we still have a democracy.
My personal feelings are not at issue here. I'm talking about the definitions of words.
And there's no reason a design expert should be forced to explain those reasons to a layman
Bullshit. In a project which prides itself on its community, there is every reason.
as windows resize, the top left corner is the anchor from which all resizing is done
That's an interesting hypothesis. I hadn't thought of that.
as left-to-right/top-to-bottom readers, our eyes are naturally drawn to the top left, so putting critical controls there makes sense
I'd say that's a reason to put the most destructive controls (closing and minimizing) as far away from that corner as possible.
What about all the people who WANTED the buttons on the other side?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
even Athens wasn't a direct democracy, because only a minority of residents got to vote.
You are correct, but that is irrelevant when discussing whether it was a direct democracy. "Direct democracy" doesn't have anything to do with what percentage of people can vote, but with what those people get to vote on. In Athens, the people would vote directly on things like taxation and conscription and whether or not to go to war. (Kinda like California, except less insipid.) Which is indeed "direct democracy."
I hate the argument that "If you don't like how things are going in an OSS project, you can just make your own fork! It's so much better than proprietary software because of that!" The fact is that time and knowledge are barriers that bar most people from doing what you propose. I probably don't know the language the the project was built in, I don't have time to learn it, I don't have the time to get familiar with the project's code, I don't have time to figure out how change it, etc. So yeah, the code is right there, but it's useless to a large majority (probably near 99%) of users. There's a better chance of getting the current development team to make a change than me attempting to make that change on my own.
Well, them's the breaks. The license says the code must be available. It says nothing about making it easy for Jim.
Also, it's kind of an asshole thing for Canonical to lure people into their "community" and then outright ignore them.
This, OTOH, I do agree with, because it's not what they advertise. If Ubuntu's all "community community community!" until the moment it becomes inconvenient, well, fuck them.
I would appreciate a citation for this.
I'm sorry, did you just claim that Iraq was not a part of the American empire? You're fucking crazy.
Hidden? Let me tell you, buddy...
So instead of using the definition of the word, you are using it as a propaganda term. I see. Let's play that game.
North Korea, China, and the USSR all call(ed) themselves republics. If you really want a belly laugh, North Korea even has the stones to call itself a democratic republic. As long as were talking about wiping out unacceptable evil, let's wipe out republics and democracies too.
Isn't this fun?
So what you're saying is that no European countries staged coups or invaded other nations, except the ones that did? Well isn't that special.
[citation badly needed]
Actual communism (much like actual democracy) has yet to be tried. Every "communist" government in modern history has in actuality been a totalitarian government.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not coming out for or against communism. But go read some Marx, and then look at China, and tell me if you think they resemble each other in any way.
a communist government is an unacceptable evil by its very existence.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
According to Wikipedia, the active duty members of the People's Liberation Army number roughly 3.5 million. The population of China is 1.3 billion with a B.
I'd say they've got all kinds of fucking choice.
Even Windows xp is 10 times more user friendly and many times more beautiful than most of the Linux distributions (including ubuntu).
Hoo boy, does that one ever deserve a big ol' [citation needed]. For my twopence worth, I think KDE is hands down and by a mile the most visually appealing, user friendly desktop environment around, free or otherwise. Which is only my completely subjective opinion. Which caries just as much weight as yours.
When we talk about ubuntu Linux, we normally don't say ubuntu 8.04 or 9.0 etc have such and such market share. Same goes for windows. Windows is windows. UI and OS evolve from version to version. Like any other software.
No, no it's not. I mean, in most contexts I'd agree, but in the context we're talking about no it's not. My original reply was to the following:
If you mean something that enables you to capture 90% of the market , then eye candy is more important.
That OS, or more specifically those versions, were Windows 2000 and Windows XP. No current or future version or versions of the Windows OS (post XP) will ever be able to make that claim again. That day is done.
Last time I checked for one of my websites with 150 million page views per month (target is a specific country), 99% of the users use windows.
What's the split between XP and Vista/7?
I just gave you a link with literally dozens of devices that include ogg support, and you're still sitting there telling me that no one supports ogg and mp3 is K1NG 43VAR!!! Did you even read my post?
You're making a spurious point. The codec's lack of cumbersome licensing makes it desirable for manufacturers, and the fact that manufacturers include support for the codec makes it desirable for end users, because people want stuff they can use. The end result is exactly the same.
My Fuze does in fact play both ogg Theora and ogg Vorbis files. And I am aware of the difference, thanks. I simplified my original post for the sake of brevity.
But thanks for playing.
Or maybe, just maybe, you might have heard nothing but complaints about the color scheme because the legions of people who like it just fine don't go around spouting potty words about it on the Internet.
What, like OSX? Or Windows Vista? I'm sorry, but the only OS I can think of that captured 90% of the market is ass-ugly Windows XP with its goddamn Fisher Price theme.
MP3 playback gave longer battery life over WMV, can't say about Vorbis as I've honestly never come across a Vorbis player...
The problem with the OGG formats is the classic "chicken or the egg" problem. Nearly no support in hardware...
I don't think there even IS a single device with hardware Theora support, is there? OGG being "free as in freedom" really isn't gonna matter much if nobody supports it, and I haven't seen hardware manufacturers rushing to add it to their bullet point lists.
You lose all credibility with nonsense like this. My Sansa Fuze plays ogg (flac too, but anyone who puts flac files on a 4gb flash device is taking it a little far). My dear departed iAudio X5 played ogg and flac. A fucking shitload of audio players play ogg. Go ahead, ask me why.
"Why, Risen?"
I'll tell you why. Because it's patent-free, unencumbered, and an easy bulletlist item to put on a device. No, maybe they "don't give a shit about freedom," but they do give a shit about easy.
I guess that just sort of shows a difference in perspective between free software users and proprietary software users. (Okay, I just made a really pretentious list of shit and then deleted it; believe me, you didn't want to see it, it was obnoxious).
I'll settle at this and say I've made my case: If it doesn't come with an office suite (or at least a word processor in the case of a mobile device; I don't see folks doing a lot of spreadsheets on their tablets), it doesn't come with the basics.
Honestly, I am almost entirely unfamiliar with pretty much anything Apple sells, so I can't really speak to that. But the phrase "just like any standard Windows install" was what really caught me. To the very best of my knowledge, out of the box, Windows does nothing.
#4 on Google for "osx emulator"
http://mac-on-linux.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/FAQ
For Christ's sake, I didn't even try.
This is in no way "an easier computer to use." This is a harder, less familiar, less capable, less flexible, more hamstrung, more expensive computer to use. This is the polar opposite of "an easier computer to use."