ill tell you what i can do without the auto refresh. even when you press pause this geeky piece of junk just insists on regenerating my page. that would keep you out of my board room buddy. ok i didn't rfa, but, thats because i had a seizure from all the flickering...
There is an axiom that goes along the lines of any multipurpose tool doesn't do any one thing well. That is why microsoft's products are so sketchy. Now apple wants to own the universe with itunes ipods and silly little phone thingys. It is unreasonable of you fanboys to expect them to concentrate on their computers and such when there are so many other things for them to worry about. Nothing destroys quality in the the computer biz faster than success....
Who owns this code? I just wrote it out of my head because I am sure I read it in a book somewhere. I couldn't tell you which one it was so long ago. Some logic is just obvious. I could complicate the above code in order to "re-write" it but it, would still be the same thing. It seems to me that as long as you don't take something that you have found in its entirety and use as your own and distribute it there is some fair use there. Where that line is, is blurry. Is every sampled sound in some "popular" music that is used without explicit permission a violation of copyright? Then if i sample the sample of the sampled sound from that music and use a bit of that then, who's copyright did I violate? This whole discussion is terribly confusing...
The apple mentality is just the same. I think its funny that every time someone disparages them all the cool aid drinkers line up to defend them. Just like back in the day with another monopolist that every defended till he became more powerful than the government. Lets face it all the "big boys" from that era are greedy scumbags and given the opportunity they will take everything and provide nothing. Ie apples spiffy new intel line running a bsd derivative...
It says right on our money "Thus Note Is Legal Tender For All Debts, Public and Private". Does Apple have the right to tell an American how they have to pay for their product? This is a scary precedent.
its really kind of funny that so many folks act like television is a need. I got rabbit ears on my set. Sure there is a DVD player and a VCR but ridiculous amounts of money for more bad content slammed full of advertising? No,it is plain stupid. I do understand the need for a phone and internet connectivity, but there are choices for those. I read one post that indicated a 1800 dollar a year cable bill. How much content in the form of DVD's would that purchase? Paying for television is like paying for air. So maybe you deserve to be treated like an idiot for buying it. Microsoft does the same thing. So does the government for that matter. The only way to get satisfaction is to not participate otherwise you are their Bi**h.
Why do so many people make such authoritative declarations that are totally unsubstantiatable unless you first accept that the declarator is omnipotent?
This is insigthful? Lets see all we have to do is rationalize with irrational people! Yeah thats the ticket. They aren't irrational? Lets see these people are milling around in the desert an are preoccupied with the thought of seeking out and violently killing people the never met for what the supposedly did to someone else they have never met. Yeah we can reason with someone like that.
I read through a lot of the opinions that were expressed regarding one person's opinion on the future of a new and popular distribution. I remember back in slackware's heyday you would see the same kind of comments made about this new thing called red hat. I lost interest in red hat over 5 years ago. Mostly because they lost sight of the "vision". Since then I have gone back and forth between slackware and knoppix. Now I am using Ubuntu. I like the idea of debian because it is supposed to be a "pure" form of linux. I like slackware because of its legacy. It is the first distributuion that I used. Most of the pro Red Hat commentaries read to me just like what any Windows advocate would post regarding the use of their favorite product. Well if you are just a corporate stooge, peddling mediocre skills, and have no desire to do anything more than is required to survive in your job, this opinion makes sense. However if you aren't, opinions that prattle on about the wealth, respectability, and pedigree of a distribution are meaningless. Experts that only have knowledge of their own little vested universe seem so eager to bash anything that poses an alternative to their safe little world. The world is a big place. Granted the American economy is huge. To claim that some little podunk company in North Carolina is destined to be "The Player" in the server market just because you use it is a tad dillusional. Linux will probably become the metric system for the world and we in the States will continue to demand that we buy milk by the gallon (Windows). Sure it is likely that Red Hat will be a big player in the states. Something else will more likely be what the WORLD uses. To dismiss this kind of speculation is obtuse. Then again you can't see past your NOC's glass door so why am I wasting my time reading your opinions?
That's all nice and junk. However, I have been interested in and have used unix type systems since before windows 3.0 came out. Microsoft was arbitrary and capricious back in the DOS 2.11 days. Before you call me fanboy I point to the mighty and stupid "\" backslash. This company has spent decades redefining standard computer science terms and nomenclature using mumbo jumbo banana patch gibberish. It is their modus operandi. It is no wonder a Microsft user looks at a Linux system with utter confusion. Apologizing for this intentional cluttering and obfuscation of computer science by a company that preys on the ignorant is just silly. They want to define the terms, patent and copyright the file storage standards, and convince the poor masses that what they are doing is for the betterment of mankind. They are getting better? I don't think so I think that the knowledgable user base is growing and they are being forced to reel in their nonsense. That being said I can do just about anything with a windows box. Mostly Windows works for the average end user's needs. I have spent the better part of the last ten years playing with Linux and I like it. I also understand the utter contempt that the Microsoft detractors have. Their "Fanboy" attacks maybe immature but, defending Microsoft just shows ignorance plain and simple.
I find it interesting that there has been very little mention of hardware. Isn't the T in IT Technology? Doesn't that mean harware? Just curious what good is software without it? Being able to drive a car doesn't make someone a mechanic. I dunno? Maybe its just me. My original computers were so crude and parts so dear I had to understand the "system" in order to have one. So that knowledge just struck me as vital. I needed a computer before I could even think about programming it. I'll say this understanding mechanically what is happening inside that box helps me.
Now this is an interesting thread. I am a computer hobbyist that went to work in engineering to pay for my vice. This all started about 20 years ago. Some of the previous posts refer to the fact that many engineers are computer literate at just a functional level. This I have found this to be very true. Now, if you want to survive in this realm you must know how to draw. This is a whole new can of worms. However I will say to those that mutter about poverty and such the reason these "engineers" are unemployed is probably because they have no skills. Now I am sure that that sounds like flamebait, but I keep running into cats ten years younger than me that can barely put a line on a drawing. To them it was a class that they had to take in school. To my point engineering presents endless problems, solving them is what they do. So it follows that if you are very technically astute you can whip together solutions to problems and to them it looks like magic. You gain respect quickly you become a goto person very rapidly and your value increases. This is the path that I took. I find it very fulfilling because my days are spent at a vocation, and my passion for computers remains. Every time that I have tried working full time as a computer something or other I find myself hating computers to the point despair. If you are just trying to get rich forget it try selling real estate or something. Getting "rich" is for the select few. I'll use this analogy. An aspiring composer went to Mozart and asked him how to write symphonies. To which Mozart replied "I suggest that you start with minuets". Well that answer did not sit well with the young musician so he retorted "Why would you say that? You were writing symphonies when you were five years old!" Mozart replied, "Yes, but I didn't ask how". Mozart wasn't being a jerk he was trying to explain that his ability just is. He tried to be encouraging but, his encouragement went unappreciated. For either of these two guys it wasn't about money. I get sick of hearing about how rich people are going to get if they learn some magic skill. Trends fade as time goes on the opportunity to make big bucks come and go. Do you enjoy your pursuit? That should be the question. This field is not "easy money". You are always one upgrade away from obsolescence, unless you stay ahead of the curve. This might sound easy to a twenty year old trust me when your forty its not so easy when the wife, kids, and your house all require constant attention. Do not choose this path lightly but, if you do its bunches of fun. As to how looking back at the path I have traveled I have no clue how you would start today staring at an icon laden desktop. I can tell you how it started for me I had a processor, some ram, a keyboard, a television, a floppy drive and a basic interpreter. Oh, and some books, time and an insatiable desire. Your mileage may vary
I find it rather amusing that slashdot even cares about computer users that draw. That being said I started doing "drafting" type drawings in 1989. I currently work in an architectural firm drawing both architecture and mechanical systems. If you think that using a computer to draw is somehow inferior then boy are you out to lunch. I bet I can code better than the average programmer can draw with a cad station. It is a different mindset and is far more flexible and productive than any manual graphics process period. As far as medium I can print to a postage stamp or a billboard. Same image... Same resolution. These are after all vector based graphics. When the article mentions that it wants more "production" then there is no other solution. All that being said the only thing more annoying than a liberal arts person writing about the latest thing in database hashing algorithms is a computer geek writing about graphics professionals. They jump back and forth between fine art and technical graphics so much I couldn't make any sense out of weather they were talking about html editors or assembly language programmers. I am yet again encouraged that us lowby graphics folks have been acknowledged as some form of computer nerd. To bad its so general as to be meaningless.
OK, their country of origin is blah blah blah. Where do they live? America is not a country it is a continent you pretentious twit. Oh, and where is Canada? I believe it is in North America. For that matter where does Linus live? And I would argue that one NY programmer had basically created open source. The linux kernel plugged a huge hole. You missed my point entirely.
fractionally? I'd say pretty high. Alan Cox? RMS? Larry Wall? what fraction of the "code" do you suppose they contributed? just an off the cuff answer. It is a good question. However my knee jerk reaction is you are just trying to trash americans and their contributions in an underhanded way. There would be no gnu without americans no perl etc. I'd say that represents a significant fraction.
I agree, he can do it. he did it. thanks bill. I still think his company sucks. aparently i am in the minority as his comapany is a monopoly. if he continues to do good things with his money at least the guy is a "good" winner. many wealthy people are pigs. they play to win. by any method that is quantifiable he won. now we get to watch what he does with his wealth/power. get over it bill didn't single handedly whoop the entire computer universe, he just collected the cash. when he dies uncle sam gets at least half. if i were in his shoes i be spending it like a maniac. if not, the american government gets the last laugh, they will buy a war with his wealth or something eaually beneficial. so let him spend it say thanks and be grateful that half of whatever he gives away wont wind up being wasted by the nanny state.
Guess its official Microsoft has reached beaurocratic status. That sounds an aweful lot like a government timeline. Oh well, the masses are content. So whatever happened to innovate? hmmmm... Oh they are a monopoly they don't have to do silly things like compete anymore. Too bad there isn't someone out there that created a secure solution already. Its not like Microsoft would steal it and drive them into bankruptcy. Hey, thats a great idea I am sure that some entrepeneur will get right on that....
well, I finally got a laptop after many years of wanting one. I remember thinking at the time how convenient it was that I could compute anywhere. So after playing with it for a few hours I set it down. I live alone so I didn't figure putting on the floor would matter. I never knew that the sound of cracking glass could be so loud. laptops are not good floormats. It cost me a lot to figure that one out.
One advantage of a maglev is that it is a monorail. It is much easier to elevate one track. Then it actually becomes possible to thread the thing through a community that has no real mass transportation infrastructure. Cost is only one factor. In a city you also have NIMBY to consider. Oh, and before you go on about burying the thing one disadvantage to having the deepest natural harbor in the world is a very high water table and soft ground so we can't dig or build very high. How far are you willing to walk to work?
I am impressed it only took him one night. I lost three days trying to get cups to work. I now have my own vodoo ritual for getting a printer on another machine to print. I sort of understand his complaint but, If you want something clean, packaged, and perfect buy a completly integrated network and peripherals from someone like IBM. I still do not understand why any individual feels like this stuff has to conform to their standards. It is what it is, no more...no less. I get frustrated daily, I am constantly hosing boxes sometimes I can recover sometimes I can't. So what do I do? I reinstall a lot. If you don't like it abandon it. Life is too short. I for one am grateful that all of this capability with it guts hanging out is available. To me this is an adventure not a task. If you demand professional go and pay for it, don't scream and holler at those who were brave enough to stick their work out there for all to see. If you can't afford it then shut up and take what you can get.My first computer had one floppy disk and 64 kilobytes of memory and displayed 32x16 graphics on a green television screen. It costed thousands and was useless. I'd say the present state of affairs is pretty good. If you want to be critical and demanding then open your wallet not your mouth.For the record I don't care who uses it, I only care that I do.
Slashdot Mirror
This whole concept is delicious. Let private corporations and entities tax us too. Well, i guess there is a precedent for it, Microsoft.....
I really want to start charging for all those waves, and such that are swirling around me, they are the real cause of global warming you know....
its about time somebody did something about the convicted criminals at microsoft even if it is never going to be enforced...
ill tell you what i can do without the auto refresh. even when you press pause this geeky piece of junk just insists on regenerating my page. that would keep you out of my board room buddy. ok i didn't rfa, but, thats because i had a seizure from all the flickering...
There is an axiom that goes along the lines of any multipurpose tool doesn't do any one thing well. That is why microsoft's products are so sketchy. Now apple wants to own the universe with itunes ipods and silly little phone thingys. It is unreasonable of you fanboys to expect them to concentrate on their computers and such when there are so many other things for them to worry about. Nothing destroys quality in the the computer biz faster than success....
10 print "hello world"
20 goto 10
Who owns this code? I just wrote it out of my head because I am sure I read it in a book somewhere. I couldn't tell you which one it was so long ago. Some logic is just obvious. I could complicate the above code in order to "re-write" it but it, would still be the same thing. It seems to me that as long as you don't take something that you have found in its entirety and use as your own and distribute it there is some fair use there. Where that line is, is blurry. Is every sampled sound in some "popular" music that is used without explicit permission a violation of copyright? Then if i sample the sample of the sampled sound from that music and use a bit of that then, who's copyright did I violate? This whole discussion is terribly confusing...
microsoft's lawyers and litigation broke up ibm's monopoly. go read your history book. anyone remember 0s/2?
you turn your computer off??
The apple mentality is just the same. I think its funny that every time someone disparages them all the cool aid drinkers line up to defend them. Just like back in the day with another monopolist that every defended till he became more powerful than the government. Lets face it all the "big boys" from that era are greedy scumbags and given the opportunity they will take everything and provide nothing. Ie apples spiffy new intel line running a bsd derivative...
It says right on our money "Thus Note Is Legal Tender For All Debts, Public and Private". Does Apple have the right to tell an American how they have to pay for their product? This is a scary precedent.
its really kind of funny that so many folks act like television is a need. I got rabbit ears on my set. Sure there is a DVD player and a VCR but ridiculous amounts of money for more bad content slammed full of advertising? No,it is plain stupid. I do understand the need for a phone and internet connectivity, but there are choices for those. I read one post that indicated a 1800 dollar a year cable bill. How much content in the form of DVD's would that purchase? Paying for television is like paying for air. So maybe you deserve to be treated like an idiot for buying it. Microsoft does the same thing. So does the government for that matter. The only way to get satisfaction is to not participate otherwise you are their Bi**h.
Why do so many people make such authoritative declarations that are totally unsubstantiatable unless you first accept that the declarator is omnipotent?
This is insigthful? Lets see all we have to do is rationalize with irrational people! Yeah thats the ticket. They aren't irrational? Lets see these people are milling around in the desert an are preoccupied with the thought of seeking out and violently killing people the never met for what the supposedly did to someone else they have never met. Yeah we can reason with someone like that.
I read through a lot of the opinions that were expressed regarding one person's opinion on the future of a new and popular distribution. I remember back in slackware's heyday you would see the same kind of comments made about this new thing called red hat. I lost interest in red hat over 5 years ago. Mostly because they lost sight of the "vision". Since then I have gone back and forth between slackware and knoppix. Now I am using Ubuntu. I like the idea of debian because it is supposed to be a "pure" form of linux. I like slackware because of its legacy. It is the first distributuion that I used. Most of the pro Red Hat commentaries read to me just like what any Windows advocate would post regarding the use of their favorite product. Well if you are just a corporate stooge, peddling mediocre skills, and have no desire to do anything more than is required to survive in your job, this opinion makes sense. However if you aren't, opinions that prattle on about the wealth, respectability, and pedigree of a distribution are meaningless. Experts that only have knowledge of their own little vested universe seem so eager to bash anything that poses an alternative to their safe little world. The world is a big place. Granted the American economy is huge. To claim that some little podunk company in North Carolina is destined to be "The Player" in the server market just because you use it is a tad dillusional. Linux will probably become the metric system for the world and we in the States will continue to demand that we buy milk by the gallon (Windows). Sure it is likely that Red Hat will be a big player in the states. Something else will more likely be what the WORLD uses. To dismiss this kind of speculation is obtuse. Then again you can't see past your NOC's glass door so why am I wasting my time reading your opinions?
Go TEAM!!! GO
That's all nice and junk. However, I have been interested in and have used unix type systems since before windows 3.0 came out. Microsoft was arbitrary and capricious back in the DOS 2.11 days. Before you call me fanboy I point to the mighty and stupid "\" backslash. This company has spent decades redefining standard computer science terms and nomenclature using mumbo jumbo banana patch gibberish. It is their modus operandi. It is no wonder a Microsft user looks at a Linux system with utter confusion. Apologizing for this intentional cluttering and obfuscation of computer science by a company that preys on the ignorant is just silly. They want to define the terms, patent and copyright the file storage standards, and convince the poor masses that what they are doing is for the betterment of mankind. They are getting better? I don't think so I think that the knowledgable user base is growing and they are being forced to reel in their nonsense. That being said I can do just about anything with a windows box. Mostly Windows works for the average end user's needs. I have spent the better part of the last ten years playing with Linux and I like it. I also understand the utter contempt that the Microsoft detractors have. Their "Fanboy" attacks maybe immature but, defending Microsoft just shows ignorance plain and simple.
I find it interesting that there has been very little mention of hardware. Isn't the T in IT Technology? Doesn't that mean harware? Just curious what good is software without it? Being able to drive a car doesn't make someone a mechanic. I dunno? Maybe its just me. My original computers were so crude and parts so dear I had to understand the "system" in order to have one. So that knowledge just struck me as vital. I needed a computer before I could even think about programming it. I'll say this understanding mechanically what is happening inside that box helps me.
Now this is an interesting thread. I am a computer hobbyist that went to work in engineering to pay for my vice. This all started about 20 years ago. Some of the previous posts refer to the fact that many engineers are computer literate at just a functional level. This I have found this to be very true. Now, if you want to survive in this realm you must know how to draw. This is a whole new can of worms. However I will say to those that mutter about poverty and such the reason these "engineers" are unemployed is probably because they have no skills. Now I am sure that that sounds like flamebait, but I keep running into cats ten years younger than me that can barely put a line on a drawing. To them it was a class that they had to take in school. To my point engineering presents endless problems, solving them is what they do. So it follows that if you are very technically astute you can whip together solutions to problems and to them it looks like magic. You gain respect quickly you become a goto person very rapidly and your value increases. This is the path that I took. I find it very fulfilling because my days are spent at a vocation, and my passion for computers remains. Every time that I have tried working full time as a computer something or other I find myself hating computers to the point despair. If you are just trying to get rich forget it try selling real estate or something. Getting "rich" is for the select few. I'll use this analogy. An aspiring composer went to Mozart and asked him how to write symphonies. To which Mozart replied "I suggest that you start with minuets". Well that answer did not sit well with the young musician so he retorted "Why would you say that? You were writing symphonies when you were five years old!" Mozart replied, "Yes, but I didn't ask how". Mozart wasn't being a jerk he was trying to explain that his ability just is. He tried to be encouraging but, his encouragement went unappreciated. For either of these two guys it wasn't about money. I get sick of hearing about how rich people are going to get if they learn some magic skill. Trends fade as time goes on the opportunity to make big bucks come and go. Do you enjoy your pursuit? That should be the question. This field is not "easy money". You are always one upgrade away from obsolescence, unless you stay ahead of the curve. This might sound easy to a twenty year old trust me when your forty its not so easy when the wife, kids, and your house all require constant attention. Do not choose this path lightly but, if you do its bunches of fun. As to how looking back at the path I have traveled I have no clue how you would start today staring at an icon laden desktop. I can tell you how it started for me I had a processor, some ram, a keyboard, a television, a floppy drive and a basic interpreter. Oh, and some books, time and an insatiable desire. Your mileage may vary
I find it rather amusing that slashdot even cares about computer users that draw. That being said I started doing "drafting" type drawings in 1989. I currently work in an architectural firm drawing both architecture and mechanical systems. If you think that using a computer to draw is somehow inferior then boy are you out to lunch. I bet I can code better than the average programmer can draw with a cad station. It is a different mindset and is far more flexible and productive than any manual graphics process period. As far as medium I can print to a postage stamp or a billboard. Same image... Same resolution. These are after all vector based graphics. When the article mentions that it wants more "production" then there is no other solution. All that being said the only thing more annoying than a liberal arts person writing about the latest thing in database hashing algorithms is a computer geek writing about graphics professionals. They jump back and forth between fine art and technical graphics so much I couldn't make any sense out of weather they were talking about html editors or assembly language programmers. I am yet again encouraged that us lowby graphics folks have been acknowledged as some form of computer nerd. To bad its so general as to be meaningless.
OK, their country of origin is blah blah blah. Where do they live? America is not a country it is a continent you pretentious twit. Oh, and where is Canada? I believe it is in North America. For that matter where does Linus live? And I would argue that one NY programmer had basically created open source. The linux kernel plugged a huge hole. You missed my point entirely.
fractionally? I'd say pretty high. Alan Cox? RMS? Larry Wall? what fraction of the "code" do you suppose they contributed? just an off the cuff answer. It is a good question. However my knee jerk reaction is you are just trying to trash americans and their contributions in an underhanded way. There would be no gnu without americans no perl etc. I'd say that represents a significant fraction.
If you can't get your drivel read and all else fails then troll.....
I agree, he can do it. he did it. thanks bill. I still think his company sucks. aparently i am in the minority as his comapany is a monopoly. if he continues to do good things with his money at least the guy is a "good" winner. many wealthy people are pigs. they play to win. by any method that is quantifiable he won. now we get to watch what he does with his wealth/power. get over it bill didn't single handedly whoop the entire computer universe, he just collected the cash. when he dies uncle sam gets at least half. if i were in his shoes i be spending it like a maniac. if not, the american government gets the last laugh, they will buy a war with his wealth or something eaually beneficial. so let him spend it say thanks and be grateful that half of whatever he gives away wont wind up being wasted by the nanny state.
Guess its official Microsoft has reached beaurocratic status. That sounds an aweful lot like a government timeline. Oh well, the masses are content. So whatever happened to innovate? hmmmm...
Oh they are a monopoly they don't have to do silly things like compete anymore. Too bad there isn't someone out there that created a secure solution already. Its not like Microsoft would steal it and drive them into bankruptcy. Hey, thats a great idea I am sure that some entrepeneur will get right on that....
well, I finally got a laptop after many years of wanting one. I remember thinking at the time how convenient it was that I could compute anywhere. So after playing with it for a few hours I set it down. I live alone so I didn't figure putting on the floor would matter. I never knew that the sound of cracking glass could be so loud. laptops are not good floormats. It cost me a lot to figure that one out.
One advantage of a maglev is that it is a monorail. It is much easier to elevate one track. Then it actually becomes possible to thread the thing through a community that has no real mass transportation infrastructure. Cost is only one factor. In a city you also have NIMBY to consider. Oh, and before you go on about burying the thing one disadvantage to having the deepest natural harbor in the world is a very high water table and soft ground so we can't dig or build very high. How far are you willing to walk to work?
I am impressed it only took him one night. I lost three days trying to get cups to work. I now have my own vodoo ritual for getting a printer on another machine to print. I sort of understand his complaint but, If you want something clean, packaged, and perfect buy a completly integrated network and peripherals from someone like IBM. I still do not understand why any individual feels like this stuff has to conform to their standards. It is what it is, no more...no less. I get frustrated daily, I am constantly hosing boxes sometimes I can recover sometimes I can't. So what do I do? I reinstall a lot. If you don't like it abandon it. Life is too short. I for one am grateful that all of this capability with it guts hanging out is available. To me this is an adventure not a task. If you demand professional go and pay for it, don't scream and holler at those who were brave enough to stick their work out there for all to see. If you can't afford it then shut up and take what you can get.My first computer had one floppy disk and 64 kilobytes of memory and displayed 32x16 graphics on a green television screen. It costed thousands and was useless. I'd say the present state of affairs is pretty good. If you want to be critical and demanding then open your wallet not your mouth.For the record I don't care who uses it, I only care that I do.