Isn't offering the rebate to current users of other Linux distros and not to Windows users a tacit admission that the only way they can increase their base is by converting present users rather than introducing new? Basically they are saying that the total Linux market share is as big as it's going to get, so the only way to increase their own is by having people within that subset switch to their own distro. So begins the feeding frenzy!
No, I guess not. Vindictive little buggers, aren't they? Hell, it wasn't even for a "wrongspeech" comment on my part, rather for my moderation of "wrongspeech" comments: got clobbered in meta-mod, went down from ~20 to -10. Still posted at 1 until I got back up to 0 karma, and since then posting at 0.
Talked to Taco about a year ago on the topic; told me to read the code, as he didn't remember the exact rules. Well, let's assume the code is acting exactly as wanted: is this a proper and equitable way? I would say no, but obviously I'm biased on the topic. I can also be cynical, as this only encourages new UIDs, hence seeming to increase the numbers for the site.
Ah, you're talking about customization: arbitrary choices of superficial qualities that do not affect the fundamental operation. Color choice in general, things like wall paper and screen savers in PC-space definitely fall into this category. Yes, I agree, most people like to do this, to personalize their property. However, I'm referring to configuration, like adding hardware components, or changing from Gnome to KDE desktop. These happen much less frequently for most users than the former.
The closest analogy building on your examples I can think of would be to agree that yes, people like to have choices in car color and interiors. They don't change them that often, but they could if they so desired without affecting the basic operation of the vehicle. What they generally are not doing in great numbers is changing the fundamental configuration of the car, such as replacing the steering wheel with a joystick, for example. Or changing the ground clearance of either the front or rear body. Do some people do these things? Certainly, but I think most would agree that is somewhat rare, and generally confined to what can be called a "hobbiest" subset.
Well, they can if they want, they just wouldn't get a preferred customer discount from MS on the OS. If the market decides that the increased cost of not having IE as the browser isn't worth it, is that MS fault?
Yes, I know, they have been legally found to be a monopoly using that power to unfairly stifle competetion. But the reality is that there are libre and gratis alternatives available, yet MS has experienced very little hit in desktop dominance. Now, why is that? The usual slashdot answer is that "Joe Sixpack" is unaware of his options, and is locked into MS through this ignorance. I've even heard it compared on this forum to "The Matrix", where MS users are slaves in a fantasy world, needing liberation to "The Real". And, of course, MS is presented as the Borg, and the evil empire, enslaving all.
Well, my experience has been that even when given the information, and the option, to switch, the vast majority of people want no part of it. It doesn't take long for one to hit a "killer app" that may have an equivalent in the Linux world, but it's not the same one that they're used to. Quicken, Outlook, IE, etc. Argue the merits of these programs all you want, but it's what they want.
And fundamentally, an integrated desktop/OS is what they want. Most people see PCs as an appliance, one they can, but rarely, re-configure. And like all appliances, uniformity of operation and interface trumps flexibility for the vast majority of people.
He really blew a slow-pitch question. He could have said: To the best of my knowledge, there is no other OS from which the browser can not be removed, as no other OS development is as advanced as Windows in integrating the desktop to provide a simple, unified structure both for the consumer and development community.
Re:Instead of fishtape, use these rats to run cat5
on
Remote Controlled Rats
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· Score: 0
I was thinking the same thing, but there a myriad of practical uses:
1. Plumbers could send them down pipes to determine exactly where blockages occur, probably cheaper than fiber cameras, plus they can go in directions a pushed cable couldn't.
2. Any sort of post construction wiring, not just cat-5: electrical, phone, cable, etc.
3. My favorite idea, though, would be to train them to attack other rats/mice on command. They could also be trained to drag the dead and wounded out, so no more decaying animals between walls.
Imagine! An elite force of cyborg rats used to rid pests from your home! In old-school slashdot tradition, possibly trained as ninjas subsisting on pancakes. How cool would that be?
By placing it on the web without security (i.e. account level access) they are implicitly saying it is available to all. They however want others to manage the vector to the info, in the form of not allowing deep links. There is a simple technical solution to this, in the form of framing the info.
I'm a little surprised by this, I thought this had been settled years ago. Perhaps I've slipped from a parallel universe, but what I recall was that deep linking is fine, but what a site can't do it is link the site into their own frame structure. This would be effectively copying the info in question. However, this case is not as the link takes you to the owner's site.
We all know what will really happen with these machines: a "windows geek" will burn a copy of windows and install it. It's wrong, of course, but I'm willing to wager that's what will be the fate of the majority of these machines. Yes, maybe some will have Linux for a time, but when the lack of familar Apps becomes known, I don't see it lasting long. I suppose some may even get a legit copy of windows, but considering that these are bargain-basement units, it seems dubious that the owner will be willing to spring the ~$100 bucks for something that can be had "for free".
Again, honest assessment: the various distributions of Linux couldn't handle the modem out of the box. This is a fatal flaw, as I suspect a primary function of these boxes will be as internet connectivity. And to be even more blunt, it's a problem windows hasn't had since the 3.1 days.
I know, I know, the hardware manufacturers are in bed with MS, making essentially OS-specific components, particularly winmodems. However, not to be elitist, I suspect the Wal-Mart crowd is not going to be that interested in such issues. They, and the vast majority of users, just want a system that works. They just plopped down $400, comparable to a decent stereo component. They'll be miffed if it doesn't do what a computer is supposed to be able to do.
This is obviously the first spin in the death spiral. They feel they can get away with minimum attrition, given the current job market. And of course, for those who stay, they will feel they've "paid their dues", and hence are more likely to stick it out for the implied payout. Any of this sound familar? Typical dot-com tactics.
So what is likely to happen? The really good people will bail, leaving disgruntled second-stringers. This will lower per capita productivity, in turn making another draconian measure necessary in a few months. Lather, rinse, repeat until you see their used equipment on e-bay.
Indiatimes, the online destination of millions of Indian netizens, is now offering its surfers the pleasure of listening to and downloading international chart-busting music from the Internet at a nominal cost.
I did not know that, and I generally have respect for CR. However, I know that many of Gateway's products are finicky about upgrades, particularly RAM, requiring very specific modules to operate correctly. I don't know why this is, but suspect poor tolerances on subpar motherboard manufacturing. I don't know who makes their boards, so I guess in a sense it's not their fault, but they are the ones that ultimately chose suppliers.
At least, that was the case for models up to about two years ago; maybe they have improved.
Oh, god, that moronic movie! People make the not unreasonable assumption that my nom de net was inspired by that lame character. I won't bore you with the story, but suffice it to say I had the name several years before the movie's appearance.
Where interests coincide, support. Where conflict, oppose. It's very simple. There are no "good guys" and "bad guys", just different people and groups of people with varied agendas. They do not have to be exactly like you, and insisting that unless they tow your line all the way down the line they are enemies is rather childish.
Hell, I've got about zero respect for Gateway products. They have effectively filled the consumer space crappy OEM PC manufacturer vacated by Packard Bell. But, at least they realize that stringent hardware requirements mandated by the government are not in their best interests. As this conicides with mine, yeah I'll support them by pointing out the issues they are bringing to light to the less tech-savvy. Doesn't mean I'll be recommending their products any time soon.
Re:Geekhood is fine by me...
on
GeekPAC
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· Score: 0
Hmm, perhaps GnuPAC, or GinaPAC (GinaPac is not a PAC)
What really killed Novell was windows 95, particularly the peer-to-peer capability for small networks. It allowed people to get off the license treadmill with Novell. MS' Netware client was an interesting piece of work, too. It basically allowed a windows pc to act as an authenicating tool for Netware servers, allowing I believe an additional 10 connections for every pc setup that way. I know lots of Netware shops used this function to avoid ~$100/seat upgrade licenses.
However, don't boohoo for Novell too much. They dragged their feet on their own 95 client, releasing it several months after 95's debut, so MS didn't have much of a choice if they wanted 95 to penetrate the office market. In my experience, it was VERY slow to penetrate anyway, as many places stuck with 3.11 until '97 or even '98.
Slashdot Mirror
Isn't offering the rebate to current users of other Linux distros and not to Windows users a tacit admission that the only way they can increase their base is by converting present users rather than introducing new? Basically they are saying that the total Linux market share is as big as it's going to get, so the only way to increase their own is by having people within that subset switch to their own distro. So begins the feeding frenzy!
If it does not boot,
You must throw out the suit.
Wishes only underscore your inability to bring them to fruition. Informing others of your wishes only tells them you have given up having any control.
Plato, the bible, and Cinderella?!? Are they trying to "star wars-ize" this series?
No, I guess not. Vindictive little buggers, aren't they? Hell, it wasn't even for a "wrongspeech" comment on my part, rather for my moderation of "wrongspeech" comments: got clobbered in meta-mod, went down from ~20 to
-10. Still posted at 1 until I got back up to 0 karma, and since then posting at 0.
Talked to Taco about a year ago on the topic; told me to read the code, as he didn't remember the exact rules. Well, let's assume the code is acting exactly as wanted: is this a proper and equitable way? I would say no, but obviously I'm biased on the topic. I can also be cynical, as this only encourages new UIDs, hence seeming to increase the numbers for the site.
Last Post! Also, seeing if hitting 50 karma gets me out of posting at 0.
Sure, if you think it helps.
OT on score: Got burned in MetaMod about two years ago, and I've been posting at 0 ever since, even though my karma is 49. Go figure.
GNU Haiku
You may use the source
Change at will, port, give away
But with the new source
BSD Haiku
You may use the source
Change at will, port, give away
With source if you want
Ah, you're talking about customization: arbitrary choices of superficial qualities that do not affect the fundamental operation. Color choice in general, things like wall paper and screen savers in PC-space definitely fall into this category. Yes, I agree, most people like to do this, to personalize their property. However, I'm referring to configuration, like adding hardware components, or changing from Gnome to KDE desktop. These happen much less frequently for most users than the former.
The closest analogy building on your examples I can think of would be to agree that yes, people like to have choices in car color and interiors. They don't change them that often, but they could if they so desired without affecting the basic operation of the vehicle. What they generally are not doing in great numbers is changing the fundamental configuration of the car, such as replacing the steering wheel with a joystick, for example. Or changing the ground clearance of either the front or rear body. Do some people do these things? Certainly, but I think most would agree that is somewhat rare, and generally confined to what can be called a "hobbiest" subset.
Well, they can if they want, they just wouldn't get a preferred customer discount from MS on the OS. If the market decides that the increased cost of not having IE as the browser isn't worth it, is that MS fault?
Yes, I know, they have been legally found to be a monopoly using that power to unfairly stifle competetion. But the reality is that there are libre and gratis alternatives available, yet MS has experienced very little hit in desktop dominance. Now, why is that? The usual slashdot answer is that "Joe Sixpack" is unaware of his options, and is locked into MS through this ignorance. I've even heard it compared on this forum to "The Matrix", where MS users are slaves in a fantasy world, needing liberation to "The Real". And, of course, MS is presented as the Borg, and the evil empire, enslaving all.
Well, my experience has been that even when given the information, and the option, to switch, the vast majority of people want no part of it. It doesn't take long for one to hit a "killer app" that may have an equivalent in the Linux world, but it's not the same one that they're used to. Quicken, Outlook, IE, etc. Argue the merits of these programs all you want, but it's what they want.
And fundamentally, an integrated desktop/OS is what they want. Most people see PCs as an appliance, one they can, but rarely, re-configure. And like all appliances, uniformity of operation and interface trumps flexibility for the vast majority of people.
He really blew a slow-pitch question. He could have said: To the best of my knowledge, there is no other OS from which the browser can not be removed, as no other OS development is as advanced as Windows in integrating the desktop to provide a simple, unified structure both for the consumer and development community.
I was thinking the same thing, but there a myriad of practical uses:
1. Plumbers could send them down pipes to determine exactly where blockages occur, probably cheaper than fiber cameras, plus they can go in directions a pushed cable couldn't.
2. Any sort of post construction wiring, not just cat-5: electrical, phone, cable, etc.
3. My favorite idea, though, would be to train them to attack other rats/mice on command. They could also be trained to drag the dead and wounded out, so no more decaying animals between walls.
Imagine! An elite force of cyborg rats used to rid pests from your home! In old-school slashdot tradition, possibly trained as ninjas subsisting on pancakes. How cool would that be?
By placing it on the web without security (i.e. account level access) they are implicitly saying it is available to all. They however want others to manage the vector to the info, in the form of not allowing deep links. There is a simple technical solution to this, in the form of framing the info.
I'm a little surprised by this, I thought this had been settled years ago. Perhaps I've slipped from a parallel universe, but what I recall was that deep linking is fine, but what a site can't do it is link the site into their own frame structure. This would be effectively copying the info in question. However, this case is not as the link takes you to the owner's site.
We all know what will really happen with these machines: a "windows geek" will burn a copy of windows and install it. It's wrong, of course, but I'm willing to wager that's what will be the fate of the majority of these machines. Yes, maybe some will have Linux for a time, but when the lack of familar Apps becomes known, I don't see it lasting long. I suppose some may even get a legit copy of windows, but considering that these are bargain-basement units, it seems dubious that the owner will be willing to spring the ~$100 bucks for something that can be had "for free".
Again, honest assessment: the various distributions of Linux couldn't handle the modem out of the box. This is a fatal flaw, as I suspect a primary function of these boxes will be as internet connectivity. And to be even more blunt, it's a problem windows hasn't had since the 3.1 days.
I know, I know, the hardware manufacturers are in bed with MS, making essentially OS-specific components, particularly winmodems. However, not to be elitist, I suspect the Wal-Mart crowd is not going to be that interested in such issues. They, and the vast majority of users, just want a system that works. They just plopped down $400, comparable to a decent stereo component. They'll be miffed if it doesn't do what a computer is supposed to be able to do.
This is obviously the first spin in the death spiral. They feel they can get away with minimum attrition, given the current job market. And of course, for those who stay, they will feel they've "paid their dues", and hence are more likely to stick it out for the implied payout. Any of this sound familar? Typical dot-com tactics.
So what is likely to happen? The really good people will bail, leaving disgruntled second-stringers. This will lower per capita productivity, in turn making another draconian measure necessary in a few months. Lather, rinse, repeat until you see their used equipment on e-bay.
Are they stuck in 1998?
You used Perl to control your linear accelerator?!? I certainly hope it's a research machine, and not one used to treat patients.
Ok, maybe I missed it, but what about this board precludes 98? The USB 2.0 and Firewire?
I did not know that, and I generally have respect for CR. However, I know that many of Gateway's products are finicky about upgrades, particularly RAM, requiring very specific modules to operate correctly. I don't know why this is, but suspect poor tolerances on subpar motherboard manufacturing. I don't know who makes their boards, so I guess in a sense it's not their fault, but they are the ones that ultimately chose suppliers.
At least, that was the case for models up to about two years ago; maybe they have improved.
Oh, god, that moronic movie! People make the not unreasonable assumption that my nom de net was inspired by that lame character. I won't bore you with the story, but suffice it to say I had the name several years before the movie's appearance.
Yes, only a 1/89 = 1.8% catastrophic fail rate. That's not bad at all. They teach engineering there?
Where interests coincide, support. Where conflict, oppose. It's very simple. There are no "good guys" and "bad guys", just different people and groups of people with varied agendas. They do not have to be exactly like you, and insisting that unless they tow your line all the way down the line they are enemies is rather childish.
Hell, I've got about zero respect for Gateway products. They have effectively filled the consumer space crappy OEM PC manufacturer vacated by Packard Bell. But, at least they realize that stringent hardware requirements mandated by the government are not in their best interests. As this conicides with mine, yeah I'll support them by pointing out the issues they are bringing to light to the less tech-savvy. Doesn't mean I'll be recommending their products any time soon.
Hmm, perhaps GnuPAC, or GinaPAC (GinaPac is not a PAC)
I think you need drugs, Dave.
What really killed Novell was windows 95, particularly the peer-to-peer capability for small networks. It allowed people to get off the license treadmill with Novell. MS' Netware client was an interesting piece of work, too. It basically allowed a windows pc to act as an authenicating tool for Netware servers, allowing I believe an additional 10 connections for every pc setup that way. I know lots of Netware shops used this function to avoid ~$100/seat upgrade licenses.
However, don't boohoo for Novell too much. They dragged their feet on their own 95 client, releasing it several months after 95's debut, so MS didn't have much of a choice if they wanted 95 to penetrate the office market. In my experience, it was VERY slow to penetrate anyway, as many places stuck with 3.11 until '97 or even '98.