That's one of the reasons those machines are rare in the UK. We pay by going into the forecourt shop after we fill up. Yes, we get people who run off without paying but usually the stations refuse to pump petrol (you call it gas) unless they already have read your vehicle registration/license plate and have you on CCTV.
I could. However, I have better things to spend my money and my time on. My computer turns on, works perfectly, runs everything I need it to (with the single exception of Apple iTunes which is more a want than a need) and is blindingly fast. 200 UK pounds and hours of upgrades / driver searches / settings / software reinstall to try a music download program... no thanks...
Oh, no. Three entire simultaneous threads... Cor. Don't know any Win98 program that could do that. You're already in the 2K frame of mind because you call them services. It hardly needs a "service" (which is basically a system-level "thread" that runs all the time, let's not get too technical about this) to burn a CD. It's a one-off thread.
Underpowered for iTunes? Downloading a music file from the internet? Cor that must take GHz of power. Don't talk crap. My P233 can play an MP3 and download at ethernet speed. Actually, I have Win98 on a 1GHz which isn't an unusual combination. That can do whatever I need.
We're not talking difficult here. Yes, Win98 is old. It's also on millions of people's computers... almost all of which will be home users which is Apple's target market here. I'm not interested in the technicalities here, I'm interested in getting a working program. It's possible... it's not that much harder than porting to 2K, and it'd get another few users on Apple's bandwagon (myself, my girlfriend and a few select members of family).
A egregrious waste of resources are people who upgrade when their systems work fine. It's a matter of economics... pay a programmer or two a bit extra to ensure it works on 98/ME (which is quite simple in terms of programming, but stuff 95 it's too buggy), get a hundred new members and it pays itself in no time.
I only do this for a living too. I work as an ICT technician for many schools (junior and infant, that's from the ages of 4-10), each with an menagerie of "old" machines and I don't recommend upgrading... Like the average home user, they don't need XP/NT/2K, they have fully-working systems, they have little or no budget for upgrades and they have no problems related to their choice of OS.
I didn't ask the question to be put down on my choice of operating system, I pointed it out so that other/.'ers could be made aware of the fact to save themselves some time. I knew when I wrote it, I'd get an answer like yours.
I'd heard of iTunes but I never bothered to look at it before, assuming it was just another music download service.
I love the idea and the way it's implemented... unlimited burning to CD is what I want and that's what you get. It seems America-centric which puts me off a little (I'm not going to be phoning America when my credit card gets charged by accident) but I was very interested in it and my girlfriend agreed with me.
I looked into it with the possibility of getting her a gift certificate for it for Christmas. Well... I would if it would work on ME or 98. Oh well, another good idea down the drain. I ain't paying to upgrade to XP (as well as the associated hassle) just for that one program, when everything else I download runs just fine. Come on Apple, get off your backside and make a 98 version.
Firstly, it's ludicrous. It's a game. End of story. You might as well go back to the "Doom encourages violence" argument.
Secondly, why don't they make some sort of realistic game where you can see exactly WHY you can't race around city streets. You're penalised for killing people. You could have a bit of plot along the lines of you being in a police car chasing etc., you could have REALISTIC traffic (yet to see realistic-acting traffic in any computer game) and pedistrians crossing the street quite normally and you have to get through them to the bad guys without causing too much damage?
You could have a bit in a normal speed-through-the-streets game where you have to stick to the law to get through some challenge (so the cops don't tail you etc.). You would have to stop at red-lights. Pull away sensibly, take corners properly, keep to speed limit, all while trying to get somewhere and do something.
Some people might say you couldn't make it fun enough, but some games designers can be ingenious ("Tetris? Falling blocks? That's a bit dull isn't it?"). Realistic games score better with gamers. If you couldn't sell it as a game, you could use it as a training tool.
I've heard that their legal basis for this is that they don't believe the GPL to be enforceable. I don't think that parts of some EULA's are enforcable (especially those "you must agree before you open, but you're agreeing to what's inside" type), so can I go distributing that software as and when I like under my own license?
I don't believe Microsoft XP's EULA is enforceable in Europe, so I'm gonna GPL it and stick it on the internet? Can't see a judge agreeing with this.
When they have a written statement from a court of law saying that the GPL is unenforcable and the copyright of all GPL'd work is null and void, then maybe they could try this.
This is because they were having lots of hassle. The British data protection laws are strict. People complained. The information is readily available to police etc. and also if you need to take legal action, Nominet will help you locate the owners.
This isn't Nominet deliberately breaking standards... this is Nominet finally coming into line with British and EU laws and bowing to pressure from businesses and people.
Personally, I don't want my name and address and email blatted out to everyone in the world for no reason. If I want to put it on my website, I will. If someone has a legal problem with my website, they can ask raise a complaint via the police or nominet and find me.
The UK WHOIS database (run by Nominet UK) has recently considered this too. Now, private individuals who opt-out can have their personal details removed (obviously Nominet still has access to them). I'm not sure that companies are allowed to do this, it's private individuals only.
Britain and the EU have always had stronger data protection laws than the rest of the world. This is part of the reason the EU are looking at Microsoft's.NET services as they don't follow EU data laws. To be honest, it's about time the US caught up.
Ah... but is it EXACTLY a million to one? Who ever heard someone say "It's a nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine to one chance... but it might just work!"
I know about the Gauntlet games... they were quite boring to play, to be honest, and more of the same. I want a Quake-y viewpoint, with a proper decent dragon.;-)
Wasn't aware that anything even remotely like Software House existed. I still play the original on a registered (yes, registered) copy of Gerton Lunter's "WinZ80" spectrum emulator. I still have the original tapes around somewhere too.
Gauntlet 1/2 (Arcade) - possibly from a 1st-person perspective, throwing axes/arrows at ghosts and goblins, giant dragons, death himself, thieves...
Hunter (Amiga) - A bit like an early version of GTA3 - you have a mission and you have to run around using any form of transport available to do it... the amiga version had bikes, boats, cars, planes, hang gliders, windsurfing, tanks, jeeps... all open to the player, who's free to do what he likes to complete the mission.
Software House (Spectrum) - A little known title where you run your own software house in the style of a football management game. Negotiate with authors, choose how to market the game, negotiate with high-street chains to get them to take stocks.
Stunt Island (PC) - Similar in vein to Hunter, you have completely free access to many vehicles and your job is to be a stuntman - Think what you could do with every vehicle imaginable and AI-controlled "partners" you can script to create the perfect stunt. If you haven't guessed, I like freedom in my games.
Kikstart 2 (Spectrum) - Create a bike course using simple building blocks then race split-screen against a pal. Multiply up with full Motocross Madness graphics and network multiplay.
XQuest 2 (PC) - Sorry... it's the last on my list and I just like XQuest. It's an old DOS game that still available online (google it) that's a smooth, simple variation of Crystal Quest for the Mac. I just want the author to update it!:-)
Maybe didn't make myself clear... 2 PCI Network cards + the onboard = 3 in total. Think INTERNET, LAN and DMZ. I agree with your comment about network though. I have absolutely no qualms about onboard LAN.
As far as I care, a sound card is a sound card is a sound card. I know people differ, and people argue MP3 isn't good enough quality, and OGG has it's imperfections and I agree it uses a little bit of CPU, but then so do 90% of modems nowadays.
CPU is expendable to most people nowadays (me NOT included, but I can suffer the loss for onboard audio / LAN if it means I get a PCI slot free).
Me, I want my CD's to sound half-decent when played through the computer, my games to go BANG and not sound crackly and my DVD's to be audible. Above and beyond that, I'm not going to argue whether it's 48KHz or not or if it's not quite got the right frequency response.
I reckon the sound system you have will make more of a difference. I have decent headphones and a pair of amplified speakers. My PC isn't connected to my HiFi and it makes a good awful racket with the fan and drives anyway. That's where most of your loss of quality for the average PC user is going to be. The average person isn't going to go out and sound-insulate their fans and drives.
Everyone ELSE can live in an egg-box with a set of perfectly tuned speakers with more plugs on the front of their computer than a recording studio.
Me, I just want to hear old grannies get blown away in GTA Vice City.
I bought my first motherboard with onboard sound recently, ECS K7SOM+ (it's also got onboard networking, graphics and even a built-in AMD processor that's soldered in (only on some of these boards... the k7som is also available as a normal motherboard) because I want a cheapo one faster than my current P233 (go on... laugh... it runs Dreamweaver, Word, Paint Shop Pro, Counterstrike and everything else along those lines so I don't care) that I can upgrade later.
I was impressed with the onboard audio, given that I am still a SoundBlaster fan. The only problems I have are driver problems with some ancient games (i.e. ones where you still have to SET BLASTER=). Can you believe that I can't get the original Syndicate running with sound? Disgusting.:-)
Given that I'm used to running P233 / P500's with decent VooDoo's, the built-in sis740 3D graphics also impressed me, the sheer brute force of a 1.2GHz processor means I can run games that the P500 with Voodoo 3500 can't handle as well.
I see built-in audio & networking as identical to the convential... after all, audio cards are just fairly low speed Digital-Analog or Analog-Digital convertors. Built-in video is good enough for business/office use, as far as I can see but for HalfLife 2 I can of course see that you're gonna need a decent, up-to-date, DX9 card.
My next upgrade to this computer will be to remove the motherboard and make a router out of it, buy one that has built-in audio + networking + an AGP slot + 6 PCI slots and put in the fastest processor I can afford. That way, I can use all of my existing bits from this computer.
Finding a MB with that many PCI slots isn't hard but it isn't every board that has it. Considering that I need to continue to use my existing 2 PCI network cards (Intel EtherExpress Pro's), at least one PCI RAID card (onboard RAID would be used as well), possibly a PCI TV card, I wouldn't want to have to use up another for a Soundblaster card when I can just use the onboard audio.
If you're a serious audio user (i.e. work in a recording studio), I can see that onboard audio is like telling a photographer to use a disposable camera. Otherwise, I really don't see the point.
Oh... our ISDN internet access is RM, our filtering software is via proxy at isdncache.rmplc.co.uk:8080. The school uses RM EasyMail, as does every other school in the borough. We're upgrading to broadband from RM.
Take a look at any of their websites... they're still there. I'm not sure, but I think they even have a role in the London Grid For Learning, a sort-of london-wide teacher resource.
Sitting in a school in Greater London, like several other schools I work for... nothing but RM PC's, RM Network, RM Software (even rebranded Microsoft Word 97 under license with a few macros and it's called RM Talking First Word). RM provide all the support, RM provide the software, RM provide the training... in fact the local borough sells nothing but RM. In fact, I'm the only non-RM person to do with IT that I've seen in the local borough. And that's because I can work all of their software without their special training.
This is a common sight in almost every school in the UK. My university (three years ago now) was even stocked out with RM PC's. Fortunately, universities have more say over what they use.
I work in several Primary schools in the UK and, although this is a step in the right direction, it doesn't stand a chance.
Most schools have already got full networks with windows. They won't be interested in replacing them.
Even one of the local "showcase" schools which doesn't use the Research Machine software which is all-but monopolistic in British schools (thanks to government approval), has a massive RM network with Windows. The windows licenses are already paid, the hardware is already there, the thing is configured and working and cost a lot of money to put there.
Schools are kept in a constant upgrade cycle to meet new pupil/computer ratios all the time (yes, even Infant / Junior schools). That means they are spending £10,000 a year or so by just keeping their networks up-to-date enough to run the latest kids software, putting enough machines it. There is certainly a need for a thin-client structure here, especially with all the old donated machines etc.
But, they won't be interested in re-training / hiring staff that can work the server or in "yet another" network upgrade. They won't be interested in replacing their systems with an "unknown".
Most schools are currently being offered and considering, as well as actually buying, XP upgrades for their RM networks (we're talking in the region of £40-50,000 for a small, suburban infant school, here). Thin-clients alone would save costs, certainly. Thin-clients on a Linux-based server is even better.
Even if you could convince the board of governors and the school itself to make such a quantum leap into the unknown, they won't know what it is, they can't/won't see the benefits and they can't afford the downtime.
I am hired purely because the networks they have are in and working. Most of the problems I run across are basically things which teachers can do but just don't have time. Most secondary schools have IT-specific staff and I'm proof that the Infant/Junior schools are heading that way.
Once they have trained, knowledgeable IT staff with ***purchasing power***, we can start.
They also should have started publicising earlier... it's coming up to end-of-term and most schools already have their full upgrade for next year planned out and paid for. One school I work in has their entire IT budget for the next three years planned out on 100BaseT CABLING.
This project could also be helped along by things like Tesco's Computers For Schools voucher schemes etc. Free computers if the kids parents spend enough in a supermarket.
Basically, I'd love to see this. My day is filled with silly nightmarish systems that make simple changes virtually impossible (e.g. taking 8 hours to set up a wireless network between an outdoor classroom and the internal network... gave up in the end due to software problems, old hardware, poor network configuration and the red-tape associated with getting new IP addresses).
Thin-clients, on a stable Linux base is a dream for me. Unfortunately, I have to deal with "manager-style" staff in schools who ask "can I get onto the internet if I log in to the hard drive?" and "I've always wondered what the little wheel in the mouse did" (TRULY). These are the people with buying-power.
These people aren't gonna have a clue what we're on about and certainly won't part with the time or the money required to have someone come in, format ~100 computers back to basics, install a network server and have someone on hand to maintain it all.
It's a nice idea. I want them to try to convince people. Unfortunately, it's gonna be a very rough ride for them while RM still has a monopoly and while the government and local education authorities does little to try to educate them.
I've heard a lot in this thread about how electric is a good, clean, cheap energy source etc.etc.etc. Then I read a post which said how the electricity is produced by coal, gas, etc.-burning stations. Perfectly correct. That's where the majority of all our energy on Earth comes from. Then someone flamed them for not thinking about renewable, e.g. solar, wind, wave.
The CHEMICAL and ENGINEERING power costs of making the plastics and metals, the chemicals in batteries, damn, even the wires means that we would use up most of what remains of our (i.e. the world's) oil supplies just building enough "renewable energy" equipment to keep us going for a few years.
We've got, maybe, far less than 75 years of oil left. That means we have about 50 years to become totally dependent on renewable sources, enough for us to use them to produce everything we know and use today.
I have a close friend, who's got more degrees, PhD's and Doctorates than I've had hot dinners and he was the first to show me the figures and open my eyes to this. How do you build and maintain a wind farm of giant metal and plastic structures without oil, coal and gas to power the factories and foundries? It's EXTREMELY difficult.
This is why the scientists are worrying. It's no longer just a matter of "Hey, let's just switch to solar." The manufacturing and maintenance power-cost of anything new is phenomenally expensive if we've got no fossil fuel left to make the damn things and keep them running.
I know it's off topic but... The slashdot quote of today was "Knowledge is power -- knowledge shared is power lost. -- Aleister Crowley." Bit of a strange quote for a site that pushes open-source, no?
Maybe it was a flame war between students? Were they overclocking? The dangers of using FireWire. Were their harddrives Quantum Fireballs? (They are now) Is this what you get when you try to hot-swap them?
Let's start by being honest... I'm anti-MS. I work for some schools doing their IT stuff including advising on future directions. I would LOVE to get them onto Linux etc. but I've actually recommended using Microsoft products. Why?
They are currently using RM (Research Machines) who I believe hold some sort of officiality with the UK government on educational computers/software. They are worse than MS. They take stuff like Office 97, add kiddie-crap to it and totally destroy it and sell it at extortionate prices (incidentally making it next to impossible for the kids to use identical software at home).
They do the same for computers (you don't want to know how much an RM machine costs, especially not if it comes with the WindowBox software (a login panel and "security" thing for Windows) and their educational software. And the prices of a simple network... WOOOOOO! I bet their accountants are happy.
The kids get confused because they have to use different software at home (radically different in some cases) and their parents could never afford the RM software. The school pays through the nose for computers/software/support.[incidentally, I have a job doing IT for schools because the support from RM is too expensive and the support centre at the local council is overworked (4 people for 17 schools for every problem like broken mice, "I can't find the icon" and building/wiring networks)]
Compared to RM, Microsoft are co-operative and fair.:-) We're moving to plain Windows and MS Office suites so that the kids/teachers can use the same software at home and learn something directly useful in later life (because MS isn't going to disappear anytime soon).
I personally have never understood many people's devotion to GUI's in general, whether using them for development or for operating systems or applications. Certainly a GUI can make developing some elements of graphical-based programs easier, i.e. those designed to operate on a visible level, but the majority of most programming is "behind-the-scenes" of the real application. There a GUI can get in the way.
I've done quite a bit of Visual Basic, which I loved as a beginner as it was my first "development environment" but now I find, after the initial setting up, most development is done in a maximised code window, no matter what the language.
It can be nice to have debugging options such as real-time variable inspection alongside the application under development, and there a GUI can help, but it's no better than having seperate monochrome STDERR monitors like people used to "in the old days" (and may still use for all I know).
I suppose it all depends on the user. Personally, I'm of the school of belief that if it looks pretty it probably doesn't work as well as something that doesn't. Or maybe I just like to look good as thousands of lines of code zoom past on my screen, in the style of many "hollywood hackers".:-)
I believe it's a similar question to ask if a GUI is better than a simple text menu for many business applications. What's easier to use? A complete Windows / X-Windows environment with all it's bells and whistles or a simple text menu containing just those options necessary for each user? You don't need "training" to press 1,2,3 or 4.:-)
Slashdot Mirror
That's one of the reasons those machines are rare in the UK. We pay by going into the forecourt shop after we fill up. Yes, we get people who run off without paying but usually the stations refuse to pump petrol (you call it gas) unless they already have read your vehicle registration/license plate and have you on CCTV.
I could. However, I have better things to spend my money and my time on. My computer turns on, works perfectly, runs everything I need it to (with the single exception of Apple iTunes which is more a want than a need) and is blindingly fast. 200 UK pounds and hours of upgrades / driver searches / settings / software reinstall to try a music download program... no thanks...
I guess I should defrag as well...
Oh, no. Three entire simultaneous threads... Cor. Don't know any Win98 program that could do that. You're already in the 2K frame of mind because you call them services. It hardly needs a "service" (which is basically a system-level "thread" that runs all the time, let's not get too technical about this) to burn a CD. It's a one-off thread.
Underpowered for iTunes? Downloading a music file from the internet? Cor that must take GHz of power. Don't talk crap. My P233 can play an MP3 and download at ethernet speed. Actually, I have Win98 on a 1GHz which isn't an unusual combination. That can do whatever I need.
We're not talking difficult here. Yes, Win98 is old. It's also on millions of people's computers... almost all of which will be home users which is Apple's target market here. I'm not interested in the technicalities here, I'm interested in getting a working program. It's possible... it's not that much harder than porting to 2K, and it'd get another few users on Apple's bandwagon (myself, my girlfriend and a few select members of family).
A egregrious waste of resources are people who upgrade when their systems work fine. It's a matter of economics... pay a programmer or two a bit extra to ensure it works on 98/ME (which is quite simple in terms of programming, but stuff 95 it's too buggy), get a hundred new members and it pays itself in no time.
I only do this for a living too. I work as an ICT technician for many schools (junior and infant, that's from the ages of 4-10), each with an menagerie of "old" machines and I don't recommend upgrading... Like the average home user, they don't need XP/NT/2K, they have fully-working systems, they have little or no budget for upgrades and they have no problems related to their choice of OS.
I didn't ask the question to be put down on my choice of operating system, I pointed it out so that other
I'd heard of iTunes but I never bothered to look at it before, assuming it was just another music download service.
I love the idea and the way it's implemented... unlimited burning to CD is what I want and that's what you get. It seems America-centric which puts me off a little (I'm not going to be phoning America when my credit card gets charged by accident) but I was very interested in it and my girlfriend agreed with me.
I looked into it with the possibility of getting her a gift certificate for it for Christmas. Well... I would if it would work on ME or 98. Oh well, another good idea down the drain. I ain't paying to upgrade to XP (as well as the associated hassle) just for that one program, when everything else I download runs just fine. Come on Apple, get off your backside and make a 98 version.
Firstly, it's ludicrous. It's a game. End of story. You might as well go back to the "Doom encourages violence" argument.
Secondly, why don't they make some sort of realistic game where you can see exactly WHY you can't race around city streets. You're penalised for killing people. You could have a bit of plot along the lines of you being in a police car chasing etc., you could have REALISTIC traffic (yet to see realistic-acting traffic in any computer game) and pedistrians crossing the street quite normally and you have to get through them to the bad guys without causing too much damage?
You could have a bit in a normal speed-through-the-streets game where you have to stick to the law to get through some challenge (so the cops don't tail you etc.). You would have to stop at red-lights. Pull away sensibly, take corners properly, keep to speed limit, all while trying to get somewhere and do something.
Some people might say you couldn't make it fun enough, but some games designers can be ingenious ("Tetris? Falling blocks? That's a bit dull isn't it?"). Realistic games score better with gamers. If you couldn't sell it as a game, you could use it as a training tool.
I've heard that their legal basis for this is that they don't believe the GPL to be enforceable. I don't think that parts of some EULA's are enforcable (especially those "you must agree before you open, but you're agreeing to what's inside" type), so can I go distributing that software as and when I like under my own license?
I don't believe Microsoft XP's EULA is enforceable in Europe, so I'm gonna GPL it and stick it on the internet? Can't see a judge agreeing with this.
When they have a written statement from a court of law saying that the GPL is unenforcable and the copyright of all GPL'd work is null and void, then maybe they could try this.
This is because they were having lots of hassle. The British data protection laws are strict. People complained. The information is readily available to police etc. and also if you need to take legal action, Nominet will help you locate the owners.
This isn't Nominet deliberately breaking standards... this is Nominet finally coming into line with British and EU laws and bowing to pressure from businesses and people.
Personally, I don't want my name and address and email blatted out to everyone in the world for no reason. If I want to put it on my website, I will. If someone has a legal problem with my website, they can ask raise a complaint via the police or nominet and find me.
The UK WHOIS database (run by Nominet UK) has recently considered this too. Now, private individuals who opt-out can have their personal details removed (obviously Nominet still has access to them). I'm not sure that companies are allowed to do this, it's private individuals only.
.NET services as they don't follow EU data laws. To be honest, it's about time the US caught up.
Britain and the EU have always had stronger data protection laws than the rest of the world. This is part of the reason the EU are looking at Microsoft's
Ah... but is it EXACTLY a million to one? Who ever heard someone say "It's a nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine to one chance... but it might just work!"
(Read Terry Pratchett if you don't get this).
I know about the Gauntlet games... they were quite boring to play, to be honest, and more of the same. I want a Quake-y viewpoint, with a proper decent dragon. ;-)
Wasn't aware that anything even remotely like Software House existed. I still play the original on a registered (yes, registered) copy of Gerton Lunter's "WinZ80" spectrum emulator. I still have the original tapes around somewhere too.
My list would include:
:-)
Gauntlet 1/2 (Arcade) - possibly from a 1st-person perspective, throwing axes/arrows at ghosts and goblins, giant dragons, death himself, thieves...
Hunter (Amiga) - A bit like an early version of GTA3 - you have a mission and you have to run around using any form of transport available to do it... the amiga version had bikes, boats, cars, planes, hang gliders, windsurfing, tanks, jeeps... all open to the player, who's free to do what he likes to complete the mission.
Software House (Spectrum) - A little known title where you run your own software house in the style of a football management game. Negotiate with authors, choose how to market the game, negotiate with high-street chains to get them to take stocks.
Stunt Island (PC) - Similar in vein to Hunter, you have completely free access to many vehicles and your job is to be a stuntman - Think what you could do with every vehicle imaginable and AI-controlled "partners" you can script to create the perfect stunt. If you haven't guessed, I like freedom in my games.
Kikstart 2 (Spectrum) - Create a bike course using simple building blocks then race split-screen against a pal. Multiply up with full Motocross Madness graphics and network multiplay.
XQuest 2 (PC) - Sorry... it's the last on my list and I just like XQuest. It's an old DOS game that still available online (google it) that's a smooth, simple variation of Crystal Quest for the Mac. I just want the author to update it!
Just my twopenn'th.
Maybe didn't make myself clear... 2 PCI Network cards + the onboard = 3 in total. Think INTERNET, LAN and DMZ. I agree with your comment about network though. I have absolutely no qualms about onboard LAN.
As far as I care, a sound card is a sound card is a sound card. I know people differ, and people argue MP3 isn't good enough quality, and OGG has it's imperfections and I agree it uses a little bit of CPU, but then so do 90% of modems nowadays.
CPU is expendable to most people nowadays (me NOT included, but I can suffer the loss for onboard audio / LAN if it means I get a PCI slot free).
Me, I want my CD's to sound half-decent when played through the computer, my games to go BANG and not sound crackly and my DVD's to be audible. Above and beyond that, I'm not going to argue whether it's 48KHz or not or if it's not quite got the right frequency response.
I reckon the sound system you have will make more of a difference. I have decent headphones and a pair of amplified speakers. My PC isn't connected to my HiFi and it makes a good awful racket with the fan and drives anyway. That's where most of your loss of quality for the average PC user is going to be. The average person isn't going to go out and sound-insulate their fans and drives.
Everyone ELSE can live in an egg-box with a set of perfectly tuned speakers with more plugs on the front of their computer than a recording studio.
Me, I just want to hear old grannies get blown away in GTA Vice City.
I bought my first motherboard with onboard sound recently, ECS K7SOM+ (it's also got onboard networking, graphics and even a built-in AMD processor that's soldered in (only on some of these boards... the k7som is also available as a normal motherboard) because I want a cheapo one faster than my current P233 (go on... laugh... it runs Dreamweaver, Word, Paint Shop Pro, Counterstrike and everything else along those lines so I don't care) that I can upgrade later.
:-)
I was impressed with the onboard audio, given that I am still a SoundBlaster fan. The only problems I have are driver problems with some ancient games (i.e. ones where you still have to SET BLASTER=). Can you believe that I can't get the original Syndicate running with sound? Disgusting.
Given that I'm used to running P233 / P500's with decent VooDoo's, the built-in sis740 3D graphics also impressed me, the sheer brute force of a 1.2GHz processor means I can run games that the P500 with Voodoo 3500 can't handle as well.
I see built-in audio & networking as identical to the convential... after all, audio cards are just fairly low speed Digital-Analog or Analog-Digital convertors. Built-in video is good enough for business/office use, as far as I can see but for HalfLife 2 I can of course see that you're gonna need a decent, up-to-date, DX9 card.
My next upgrade to this computer will be to remove the motherboard and make a router out of it, buy one that has built-in audio + networking + an AGP slot + 6 PCI slots and put in the fastest processor I can afford. That way, I can use all of my existing bits from this computer.
Finding a MB with that many PCI slots isn't hard but it isn't every board that has it. Considering that I need to continue to use my existing 2 PCI network cards (Intel EtherExpress Pro's), at least one PCI RAID card (onboard RAID would be used as well), possibly a PCI TV card, I wouldn't want to have to use up another for a Soundblaster card when I can just use the onboard audio.
If you're a serious audio user (i.e. work in a recording studio), I can see that onboard audio is like telling a photographer to use a disposable camera. Otherwise, I really don't see the point.
Oh... our ISDN internet access is RM, our filtering software is via proxy at isdncache.rmplc.co.uk:8080. The school uses RM EasyMail, as does every other school in the borough. We're upgrading to broadband from RM.
Take a look at any of their websites... they're still there. I'm not sure, but I think they even have a role in the London Grid For Learning, a sort-of london-wide teacher resource.
Sitting in a school in Greater London, like several other schools I work for... nothing but RM PC's, RM Network, RM Software (even rebranded Microsoft Word 97 under license with a few macros and it's called RM Talking First Word). RM provide all the support, RM provide the software, RM provide the training... in fact the local borough sells nothing but RM. In fact, I'm the only non-RM person to do with IT that I've seen in the local borough. And that's because I can work all of their software without their special training.
This is a common sight in almost every school in the UK. My university (three years ago now) was even stocked out with RM PC's. Fortunately, universities have more say over what they use.
I work in several Primary schools in the UK and, although this is a step in the right direction, it doesn't stand a chance.
Most schools have already got full networks with windows. They won't be interested in replacing them.
Even one of the local "showcase" schools which doesn't use the Research Machine software which is all-but monopolistic in British schools (thanks to government approval), has a massive RM network with Windows. The windows licenses are already paid, the hardware is already there, the thing is configured and working and cost a lot of money to put there.
Schools are kept in a constant upgrade cycle to meet new pupil/computer ratios all the time (yes, even Infant / Junior schools). That means they are spending £10,000 a year or so by just keeping their networks up-to-date enough to run the latest kids software, putting enough machines it. There is certainly a need for a thin-client structure here, especially with all the old donated machines etc.
But, they won't be interested in re-training / hiring staff that can work the server or in "yet another" network upgrade. They won't be interested in replacing their systems with an "unknown".
Most schools are currently being offered and considering, as well as actually buying, XP upgrades for their RM networks (we're talking in the region of £40-50,000 for a small, suburban infant school, here). Thin-clients alone would save costs, certainly. Thin-clients on a Linux-based server is even better.
Even if you could convince the board of governors and the school itself to make such a quantum leap into the unknown, they won't know what it is, they can't/won't see the benefits and they can't afford the downtime.
I am hired purely because the networks they have are in and working. Most of the problems I run across are basically things which teachers can do but just don't have time. Most secondary schools have IT-specific staff and I'm proof that the Infant/Junior schools are heading that way.
Once they have trained, knowledgeable IT staff with ***purchasing power***, we can start.
They also should have started publicising earlier... it's coming up to end-of-term and most schools already have their full upgrade for next year planned out and paid for. One school I work in has their entire IT budget for the next three years planned out on 100BaseT CABLING.
This project could also be helped along by things like Tesco's Computers For Schools voucher schemes etc. Free computers if the kids parents spend enough in a supermarket.
Basically, I'd love to see this. My day is filled with silly nightmarish systems that make simple changes virtually impossible (e.g. taking 8 hours to set up a wireless network between an outdoor classroom and the internal network... gave up in the end due to software problems, old hardware, poor network configuration and the red-tape associated with getting new IP addresses).
Thin-clients, on a stable Linux base is a dream for me. Unfortunately, I have to deal with "manager-style" staff in schools who ask "can I get onto the internet if I log in to the hard drive?" and "I've always wondered what the little wheel in the mouse did" (TRULY). These are the people with buying-power.
These people aren't gonna have a clue what we're on about and certainly won't part with the time or the money required to have someone come in, format ~100 computers back to basics, install a network server and have someone on hand to maintain it all.
It's a nice idea. I want them to try to convince people. Unfortunately, it's gonna be a very rough ride for them while RM still has a monopoly and while the government and local education authorities does little to try to educate them.
I've heard a lot in this thread about how electric is a good, clean, cheap energy source etc.etc.etc. Then I read a post which said how the electricity is produced by coal, gas, etc.-burning stations. Perfectly correct. That's where the majority of all our energy on Earth comes from. Then someone flamed them for not thinking about renewable, e.g. solar, wind, wave.
The CHEMICAL and ENGINEERING power costs of making the plastics and metals, the chemicals in batteries, damn, even the wires means that we would use up most of what remains of our (i.e. the world's) oil supplies just building enough "renewable energy" equipment to keep us going for a few years.
We've got, maybe, far less than 75 years of oil left. That means we have about 50 years to become totally dependent on renewable sources, enough for us to use them to produce everything we know and use today.
I have a close friend, who's got more degrees, PhD's and Doctorates than I've had hot dinners and he was the first to show me the figures and open my eyes to this. How do you build and maintain a wind farm of giant metal and plastic structures without oil, coal and gas to power the factories and foundries? It's EXTREMELY difficult.
This is why the scientists are worrying. It's no longer just a matter of "Hey, let's just switch to solar." The manufacturing and maintenance power-cost of anything new is phenomenally expensive if we've got no fossil fuel left to make the damn things and keep them running.
I know it's off topic but... The slashdot quote of today was "Knowledge is power -- knowledge shared is power lost. -- Aleister Crowley." Bit of a strange quote for a site that pushes open-source, no?
Were the students playing on Heat.net too much? Did they do too many warm reboots?
Maybe it was a flame war between students? Were they overclocking? The dangers of using FireWire. Were their harddrives Quantum Fireballs? (They are now) Is this what you get when you try to hot-swap them?
Other sad jokes will no doubt follow.
Let's start by being honest... I'm anti-MS. I work for some schools doing their IT stuff including advising on future directions. I would LOVE to get them onto Linux etc. but I've actually recommended using Microsoft products. Why?
:-) We're moving to plain Windows and MS Office suites so that the kids/teachers can use the same software at home and learn something directly useful in later life (because MS isn't going to disappear anytime soon).
They are currently using RM (Research Machines) who I believe hold some sort of officiality with the UK government on educational computers/software. They are worse than MS. They take stuff like Office 97, add kiddie-crap to it and totally destroy it and sell it at extortionate prices (incidentally making it next to impossible for the kids to use identical software at home).
They do the same for computers (you don't want to know how much an RM machine costs, especially not if it comes with the WindowBox software (a login panel and "security" thing for Windows) and their educational software. And the prices of a simple network... WOOOOOO! I bet their accountants are happy.
The kids get confused because they have to use different software at home (radically different in some cases) and their parents could never afford the RM software. The school pays through the nose for computers/software/support.[incidentally, I have a job doing IT for schools because the support from RM is too expensive and the support centre at the local council is overworked (4 people for 17 schools for every problem like broken mice, "I can't find the icon" and building/wiring networks)]
Compared to RM, Microsoft are co-operative and fair.
I personally have never understood many people's devotion to GUI's in general, whether using them for development or for operating systems or applications. Certainly a GUI can make developing some elements of graphical-based programs easier, i.e. those designed to operate on a visible level, but the majority of most programming is "behind-the-scenes" of the real application. There a GUI can get in the way.
:-)
:-)
I've done quite a bit of Visual Basic, which I loved as a beginner as it was my first "development environment" but now I find, after the initial setting up, most development is done in a maximised code window, no matter what the language.
It can be nice to have debugging options such as real-time variable inspection alongside the application under development, and there a GUI can help, but it's no better than having seperate monochrome STDERR monitors like people used to "in the old days" (and may still use for all I know).
I suppose it all depends on the user. Personally, I'm of the school of belief that if it looks pretty it probably doesn't work as well as something that doesn't. Or maybe I just like to look good as thousands of lines of code zoom past on my screen, in the style of many "hollywood hackers".
I believe it's a similar question to ask if a GUI is better than a simple text menu for many business applications. What's easier to use? A complete Windows / X-Windows environment with all it's bells and whistles or a simple text menu containing just those options necessary for each user? You don't need "training" to press 1,2,3 or 4.