"A recent flamewar ensued on the Microsoft executive mailing list, this time debating the proper spelling of 'Linux'. Is it 'Linux,' 'GNU/Linux', 'cancer,' 'our biggest threat', or 'our second-biggest threat'?"
So let me get this straight...
on
Flavor vs. Flavour
·
· Score: 5, Funny
It's an article about Torvalds' offhand comments about a flame war about the spelling of a non-critical word in the kernel tree.
Man, if I'd only subscribed I could have seen this way early!
Actually, I just ran across one webpage that said it was first released in 1984, for the Atari 400/800 and IBM PC, and another webpage that said it was first released for the C64. *shrug* Regardless, those systems and the Apple II had it before the NES.:-)
Heh.. obviously the majority of Slashdot readers don't have particularly high expectations for games consoles then;)
There are plenty of awesome games that were nowhere to be found on the NES. Many, in fact, were exclusive to home computer systems, or the non-Nintendo consoles (!) of that era.
Where was Robotron 2084 for the NES? The original Boulder Dash (Apple II had it in 1981, NES didn't get it until 1990)? Ballblazer? Night Mission Pinball? Galaxian? Swashbuckler? Battlezone? Sargon III (way before NES had chess)? Joust (not until 1988)? Hard Hat Mack? Defender? Montezuma's Revenge? Miner 2049er?
I still have my Apple II Plus, and am able to play all of the above.
to explore and map an area that is inaccessible to human, such as a building full of toxic gas or smoke.
"Thanks to the efforts of these robots, we now know that this building we couldn't enter due to its being filled with toxic gas does contain chemical weapons. And we've found that this other building we couldn't enter due to smoke is indeed on fire and has people inside; once the fire's died down, we'll know exactly where to go to get them out."
I hate to sound bitter, but I've heard quite a bit about folks who claim to "love" classics and want to keep them alive, and then take minimal to no steps to actually accomplish this. They have fond memories, but their actual love for the games has died away and in truth they're indifferent to the demise of what I daresay is history that is no less valuable than, say, a government document from the 1800s.
In my entertainment center, under my TV, VCR, DVD player, and newer consoles, is an Apple II Plus with one 5.25" drive and a joystick -- all that's needed to play games like Boulder Dash, Galaxian, Joust, Mario Bros., Flip Out, Night Mission Pinball, Miner 2049er, Congo Bongo, etc. I have literally hundreds of games on 5.25" disks and I actually play them at least two or three times a week. I've made redundant copies (some games on as many as three different floppies) just in case a disk goes bad. I love these games, I play them, and I take several steps to ensure they survive, at least until I die.
I've worked in a customer service department (for MCI, no less) and I can tell you that it's not always the case that customers don't get the help they need -- but that they don't get the help they think they need.
Example: "I want you to credit me for all my charges for the last six months, since you told me which calling plan I was on but I misunderstood! And I want a courtesy extra credit of $50!"
Customers, sometimes, want the moon and the stars and neither customer support nor tech support nor any other department have the authority to fulfill whatever request they have. In the case of tech support, I have no doubt that many of the problems stem from the customer's inability to adequate explain their difficulty to the person on the phone -- and then the situation is escalated later as a resolution was never obatined.
you can download or buy 1000's of pieces of software that will work without having to download and install hundreds of different versions of different libraries
Thank you for bringing up the different libraries bit. It's one of my main beefs, actually. I don't necessarily have a problem with them being required, but the way in which you determine which ones are needed for specific programs, and then retrieve them, could certainly be made a lot easier. I daresay it should be made a pseudo-automatic (sort of like a - gasp! - Windows Update type thing) process. It would go a long, long way towards making Linux appear seamless.
All this shows is that yes, after someone has tweaked the living hell out of a Linux box, it can look and behave almost as well as a Windows XP box. Whoop-de-doo!
It's good to confirm that the potential is there.
Now it just has to be made a heck of a lot easier.
This'll take all the fun out of therapeutically banging the bejesus out of keys in frustration, unless Rimmer's "hard light" becomes a reality. Wouldn't you feel silly just slamming your fingers on air?
I can't be the only one that thinks holographic keyboards would be a great idea for public computers, just so we needn't worry about the disgusting pub-funk that seems to coat most public keyboards.
The people, especially those in the corporate world, have to be clearly shown how absurd and evil SCOs actions have been.
I almost think that not enough emphasis is being placed on this point. SCO should have notified of their intent to sue way, way, beforehand. What they did instead was basically say "Here's your month, and tell us how you're using Linux in each and every aspect of your company, and also pay us these fines." Sorry, can't do that. From a court's perspective, their claim of plagiarism may or may not be valid -- their method for going about this is definitely invalid.
If you wanted to be retro geeky, use the BNC connector for 10Base-2 (ThinNet).
Actually, if I wanted to be retro geeky, I'd use a picture of something that screams "retro" and "geek" to millions of people - not just a minority that recognize the ends of certain cables. Something like a Commodore PET, or an Intertec Superbrain, maybe with an acoustic coupler modem. Or perhaps a close-up of 80-column text on one of those Apple green phosphor monitors.
Even if I were a geek of the new generation (i.e. someone that grew up when IBM PC-compatibles were already the standard), the images would still work, as the principle of geek never changes.
Slashdot Mirror
"A recent flamewar ensued on the Microsoft executive mailing list, this time debating the proper spelling of 'Linux'. Is it 'Linux,' 'GNU/Linux', 'cancer,' 'our biggest threat', or 'our second-biggest threat'?"
It's an article about Torvalds' offhand comments about a flame war about the spelling of a non-critical word in the kernel tree.
Man, if I'd only subscribed I could have seen this way early!
Actually, I just ran across one webpage that said it was first released in 1984, for the Atari 400/800 and IBM PC, and another webpage that said it was first released for the C64. *shrug* Regardless, those systems and the Apple II had it before the NES. :-)
Heh.. obviously the majority of Slashdot readers don't have particularly high expectations for games consoles then ;)
There are plenty of awesome games that were nowhere to be found on the NES. Many, in fact, were exclusive to home computer systems, or the non-Nintendo consoles (!) of that era.
Where was Robotron 2084 for the NES? The original Boulder Dash (Apple II had it in 1981, NES didn't get it until 1990)? Ballblazer? Night Mission Pinball? Galaxian? Swashbuckler? Battlezone? Sargon III (way before NES had chess)? Joust (not until 1988)? Hard Hat Mack? Defender? Montezuma's Revenge? Miner 2049er?
I still have my Apple II Plus, and am able to play all of the above.
It's really quite simple.
There is no common base of knowledge between the two individuals, and therefore no common basis for communication.
Until the education level is equalized for both ends (and I doubt this means the tech needs to learn less), this barrier will continue to exist.
...who was responsible for the Tom Servo color scheme and the rather-fruitily-named "ROBOTO" in the second pic.
That dude standing in the hallway is my guess.
to explore and map an area that is inaccessible to human, such as a building full of toxic gas or smoke.
"Thanks to the efforts of these robots, we now know that this building we couldn't enter due to its being filled with toxic gas does contain chemical weapons. And we've found that this other building we couldn't enter due to smoke is indeed on fire and has people inside; once the fire's died down, we'll know exactly where to go to get them out."
I hate to sound bitter, but I've heard quite a bit about folks who claim to "love" classics and want to keep them alive, and then take minimal to no steps to actually accomplish this. They have fond memories, but their actual love for the games has died away and in truth they're indifferent to the demise of what I daresay is history that is no less valuable than, say, a government document from the 1800s.
In my entertainment center, under my TV, VCR, DVD player, and newer consoles, is an Apple II Plus with one 5.25" drive and a joystick -- all that's needed to play games like Boulder Dash, Galaxian, Joust, Mario Bros., Flip Out, Night Mission Pinball, Miner 2049er, Congo Bongo, etc. I have literally hundreds of games on 5.25" disks and I actually play them at least two or three times a week. I've made redundant copies (some games on as many as three different floppies) just in case a disk goes bad. I love these games, I play them, and I take several steps to ensure they survive, at least until I die.
How many others can say they've done the same?
I've worked in a customer service department (for MCI, no less) and I can tell you that it's not always the case that customers don't get the help they need -- but that they don't get the help they think they need.
Example: "I want you to credit me for all my charges for the last six months, since you told me which calling plan I was on but I misunderstood! And I want a courtesy extra credit of $50!"
Customers, sometimes, want the moon and the stars and neither customer support nor tech support nor any other department have the authority to fulfill whatever request they have. In the case of tech support, I have no doubt that many of the problems stem from the customer's inability to adequate explain their difficulty to the person on the phone -- and then the situation is escalated later as a resolution was never obatined.
"Menuet, the 100 % assembly OS,
:-)
As opposed to those languages that aren't assembly in some form...
you can download or buy 1000's of pieces of software that will work without having to download and install hundreds of different versions of different libraries
Thank you for bringing up the different libraries bit. It's one of my main beefs, actually. I don't necessarily have a problem with them being required, but the way in which you determine which ones are needed for specific programs, and then retrieve them, could certainly be made a lot easier. I daresay it should be made a pseudo-automatic (sort of like a - gasp! - Windows Update type thing) process. It would go a long, long way towards making Linux appear seamless.
All this shows is that yes, after someone has tweaked the living hell out of a Linux box, it can look and behave almost as well as a Windows XP box. Whoop-de-doo!
It's good to confirm that the potential is there.
Now it just has to be made a heck of a lot easier.
That's why I said "worry." Often, fact is one thing, and peace of mind is quite another.
Millions of people would like thinking that they're being cleaner than before, even if there were no real danger to begin with.
This'll take all the fun out of therapeutically banging the bejesus out of keys in frustration, unless Rimmer's "hard light" becomes a reality. Wouldn't you feel silly just slamming your fingers on air?
I can't be the only one that thinks holographic keyboards would be a great idea for public computers, just so we needn't worry about the disgusting pub-funk that seems to coat most public keyboards.
input devices that literally "float in the air".
No comment. None at all.
The people, especially those in the corporate world, have to be clearly shown how absurd and evil SCOs actions have been.
I almost think that not enough emphasis is being placed on this point. SCO should have notified of their intent to sue way, way, beforehand. What they did instead was basically say "Here's your month, and tell us how you're using Linux in each and every aspect of your company, and also pay us these fines." Sorry, can't do that. From a court's perspective, their claim of plagiarism may or may not be valid -- their method for going about this is definitely invalid.
If you wanted to be retro geeky, use the BNC connector for 10Base-2 (ThinNet).
Actually, if I wanted to be retro geeky, I'd use a picture of something that screams "retro" and "geek" to millions of people - not just a minority that recognize the ends of certain cables. Something like a Commodore PET, or an Intertec Superbrain, maybe with an acoustic coupler modem. Or perhaps a close-up of 80-column text on one of those Apple green phosphor monitors.
Even if I were a geek of the new generation (i.e. someone that grew up when IBM PC-compatibles were already the standard), the images would still work, as the principle of geek never changes.
"What the -- we're down to 1 Mbps!"
"There he is! Get him!"
how do you pay your bills?
We sell our virile bodies on the streets. Obviously.
not many people can read Microsoft's widget text on a 150dpi display, which may explain why no one buys them even that they are available.
Or perhaps it's just because they're expensive, hmm?
What makes me panic is the fact that LCDs have fixed resolution
The OS doesn't. Next!
a nonrivalrous public good.
...
"Redhat!"
"Mandrake!"
"SuSE!"
"Redhat!"
"Mandrake!"
"SuSE!"
"SCO!"
*sqlrch splach glurchhhk*
"Redhat!"
"Mandrake!"
"SuSE!"
"Redhat!"
Interesting that they waited until after the days of Windows 9x to do this. ;)
Where will I store my spam now?