Plug-in support annoyed me at first too, but I think it was mostly a problem with older versions of Mozilla. Recently I tried installing some plugins, and occassionaly with the help of mozdev, I was able to get all the plug-ins you mention (and more) working fine: Shockwave, Flash, Acrobat, Authorware, Java, Quicktime, and Windows Media Player.
Some are harder than others, but some are really straightforward -- especially with that mozdev link.
It states that Wal-Mart is still going to be carrying PCs with Lindows on them. So that brings us to three OSes at Wal-Mart - Windows, Lindows, and Mandrake.
Quite a spectrum of choice... now we need one with *BSD, and one with Tru64 UNIX, and one with...:)
That is *exactly* what I think whenever I see articles like this.
I'm currently a college student myself (entering third year), and majoring in computer science so I have to go through a lot of math classes.
I own a TI-89, and use it, but it's only good for doing the smaller steps of bigger problems, getting rid of some of the tedium. Even the bigger problems that it can solve -- like integrals -- it sometimes can take longer just to enter them into the calculator than to do them by hand (ignoring the fact that most teachers check your work on the "big steps").
Having a good calculator and using it will never *make* someone better understand higher math, nor will it let them fake their way through class as if they did. However it can accelerate their learning by taking their time away from tedious steps and allowing them to focus on the big picture.
And once you get to abstract math, you find that the big picture is where all the actual work is, and the smaller stuff is just semantics:)
The best I could think of to be an example of this is that the View | Preferences screen simply has a *lot* of options in it. Moreso than IE, at least. Lots of submenus to choose from on the left, and (sometimes) lots of buttons on the right. I personally consider this good though -- high customization means I get the browsing experience I want.
However, I still don't think the comment is warranted. For normal, non-config use, Mozilla is as easy and straightforward as IE. Even the preferences screen isn't *that* bad, if that is indeed what they're referring to -- it's fairly well organized considering how many aspects of Mozilla you can customize.
I noticed that too:) I have to admit, when I first read the summary, I thought this was along the same lines as the secure Linux HP is supposed to be working on that I saw an article about a while back.
But it's not.
This seems to be more of a hardware solution, and it just happens to be running a tailor-made version of Linux for the task.
For those that didn't read the article, it's about clustering RACs of Dell Linux servers, to speed up the process, and add redundancy.
Sounds like a good idea. But, this isn't just a new ISO we'll all be able to go download in a year like many of the comments imply... more accurately, we'll have to all go invest in racked RACs, and then buy Red Hat Advanced Server.
I still wish that the Windows build had the "red dinosaur head" icon rather than the "blue gekko-creature" icon -- IIRC, the Linux builds have the red icon, why not the Windows builds?
Not that this is a huge deal -- I've used Moz since 0.7 and now it is my default browser on both Linux and Windows XP... but still, I think the dinosaur head icon would look better -- especially when it's enlarged and put at the top of the start menu as your default web browser in XP (which should be its placement on every Windows computer some day;-) ).
Or at least the ability to choose between the two.
A lot of people here seem to suggesting quarters, and as a current college student, I personally don't use quarters at all.
I assume the intended use of quarters is for laundry machines, but many collges nowadays use debit-style cards for this purpose -- the laundry machines at my college don't even accept quarters, just the university's debit cards.
Many of these suggestions may be remembering back to the old days of college, but the best advice for any of these suggestions is probably to check with the recipient first to make sure the suggestion makes sense in a modern college setting;-)
But that would be hard to police. What are you going to do when a college student writes the one program that *doesn't* query that database, and then that program goes on to be the most downloaded p2p program ever?
That plan would work if the only people involved were corporations selling retail, but many p2p programs start in garages and dorm rooms, and, as was learned with Napster (and KaZaA), once it's out in the wild, it's out (especially decentralized programs).
That can true sometimes, but remember that often people who are drawn to such jobs are the "geek next door" themselves.
I go to the University of New Hampshire, and we have a similar program for tech support called ResNet. I work for ResNet now officially, but my freshman year, I was the "geek friend". People who knew me came to me with computer problems because I could most of the time fix them. I figured that since I was doing that anyway, it'd be nice to 1) make myself available to people who don't know me and 2) get paid for what I was doing. So I joined ResNet.
I fix probably about 95% of the problems I encounter. The ones I can't are usually because it's a problem I've never encountered before (or anything like it), or that it's a problem unfixable by me (broke ethernet port). Just because someone is an official tech support by day doesn't mean they aren't a geeky friend by night;-)
I've always thought something like this would be a great idea, and would eventually replace the car.
In modern times, normals cars are increasingly making less and less sense: it's too easy to get in an accident, to easy to get lost, and cars are for some people just plain inaccessible (some types of handicaps, children, etc).
A system like this alleviates all these problems. Of course, it ahs problems of its own: It has to be easily expandable so that new destinations can be added. It needs to be crash-proof (or at least moreso than normal cars). And possible #1, there needs to be some easy way to transition from the current mode of transportation to the new one. People still own very expensive cars and probably won't want to give them up, and until this new system is completly implemented, there will be places which are inaccessible from it.
Oh well, if the transition can go smooth, and the system is relatively bug-free -- maybe the cars could run on a Linux kernel;-) -- it's a very, very smart idea.
There have been CDs with their own media player before, but not many.
IIRC, Offspring's "Americana" CD was playable on standard audio CD players, but if you popped it into your PC, it had a program on it that gave you access to Offspring music videos, and could play the CD for you.
I found this annoying in this one instance (I always had to close out of the auto-run program and start my own CD player). If every CD comes with this "feature", it'll get insane -- not to mention, if different CDs from different labels with different copy protection techniques also include different CD players, you'll have to adapt to a different CD playing interface for all of your CDs.
Hmpf. This is why I copy all my CDs (legally) to my hard drive in MP3 and use WinAmp across the board. I know that interface, I like that interface.
"People who believe that Pluto is just a minor planet will have more proof now"
The article says that, but then fails to say exactly what that proof would be. So, we have a big asteroid orbiting Pluto. How does prove or disprove Pluto's planetary status?
let's fac it; school is going to be boring sometimes.
Right. And whether or not they have a Palm, they're going to find some way to "amuse" themselves. I've seen people (without PDAs) just sit and doodle, or just fall asleep in classes. The PDA isn't the problem, the problem is just that people are bored. And if bored, they will find a way to be not bored.
Most kids sit near people they like, therefore they're probably beaming things with people near them, thus your argument is moot.
Well, sort of. Maybe they can in fact beam, but that doesn't warrant banning PDAs altogether. People can pass notes but we don't ban paper. Forbid students from having PDAs out during tests -- many schools have that rule with graphing calculators. Graphics calculators can help people cheat on tests, but they don't get banned completely from school.
I own a Palm IIIxe myself, and use it extensively in college for keeping track of phone numbers and assignments. Many of the points raised as to why Palms are distractions (which were also refuted) are in fact not very true. The main point -- games -- is laughable if you've ever played a Palm game. Despite the fact that the graphics aren't good at all, they're just not exciting when you're controlling them though stylus strokes. I have a couple, and they are absolutely last resort -- if your students play PDA games, you're *really* boring them.
And it's true that beaming shouldn't be a fear at all... if the teachers would actually look into it, they'd realize that Palms can only beam when they're pointed right at each other, and are within (I think) 3 feet. Not to mention the beeping. That would make it kind of tough to beam answers without being blatantly obvious.
Palms are great for organization -- but for cheating and entertainment, not so much.
...I know, obviously they can and they are.:) But I was just under the impression that the UNIX copyright was owned by AT&T. How can Caldera release the source to it? I'm glad they are, though.
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Some are harder than others, but some are really straightforward -- especially with that mozdev link.
You should have read the article ;-)
:)
It states that Wal-Mart is still going to be carrying PCs with Lindows on them. So that brings us to three OSes at Wal-Mart - Windows, Lindows, and Mandrake.
Quite a spectrum of choice... now we need one with *BSD, and one with Tru64 UNIX, and one with...
That is *exactly* what I think whenever I see articles like this.
:)
I'm currently a college student myself (entering third year), and majoring in computer science so I have to go through a lot of math classes.
I own a TI-89, and use it, but it's only good for doing the smaller steps of bigger problems, getting rid of some of the tedium. Even the bigger problems that it can solve -- like integrals -- it sometimes can take longer just to enter them into the calculator than to do them by hand (ignoring the fact that most teachers check your work on the "big steps").
Having a good calculator and using it will never *make* someone better understand higher math, nor will it let them fake their way through class as if they did. However it can accelerate their learning by taking their time away from tedious steps and allowing them to focus on the big picture.
And once you get to abstract math, you find that the big picture is where all the actual work is, and the smaller stuff is just semantics
The best I could think of to be an example of this is that the View | Preferences screen simply has a *lot* of options in it. Moreso than IE, at least. Lots of submenus to choose from on the left, and (sometimes) lots of buttons on the right. I personally consider this good though -- high customization means I get the browsing experience I want.
However, I still don't think the comment is warranted. For normal, non-config use, Mozilla is as easy and straightforward as IE. Even the preferences screen isn't *that* bad, if that is indeed what they're referring to -- it's fairly well organized considering how many aspects of Mozilla you can customize.
I noticed that too :)
I have to admit, when I first read the summary, I thought this was along the same lines as the secure Linux HP is supposed to be working on that I saw an article about a while back.
But it's not.
This seems to be more of a hardware solution, and it just happens to be running a tailor-made version of Linux for the task.
For those that didn't read the article, it's about clustering RACs of Dell Linux servers, to speed up the process, and add redundancy.
Sounds like a good idea. But, this isn't just a new ISO we'll all be able to go download in a year like many of the comments imply... more accurately, we'll have to all go invest in racked RACs, and then buy Red Hat Advanced Server.
I still wish that the Windows build had the "red dinosaur head" icon rather than the "blue gekko-creature" icon -- IIRC, the Linux builds have the red icon, why not the Windows builds?
;-) ).
Not that this is a huge deal -- I've used Moz since 0.7 and now it is my default browser on both Linux and Windows XP... but still, I think the dinosaur head icon would look better -- especially when it's enlarged and put at the top of the start menu as your default web browser in XP (which should be its placement on every Windows computer some day
Or at least the ability to choose between the two.
A lot of people here seem to suggesting quarters, and as a current college student, I personally don't use quarters at all.
I assume the intended use of quarters is for laundry machines, but many collges nowadays use debit-style cards for this purpose -- the laundry machines at my college don't even accept quarters, just the university's debit cards.
Many of these suggestions may be remembering back to the old days of college, but the best advice for any of these suggestions is probably to check with the recipient first to make sure the suggestion makes sense in a modern college setting
That plan would work if the only people involved were corporations selling retail, but many p2p programs start in garages and dorm rooms, and, as was learned with Napster (and KaZaA), once it's out in the wild, it's out (especially decentralized programs).
I go to the University of New Hampshire, and we have a similar program for tech support called ResNet. I work for ResNet now officially, but my freshman year, I was the "geek friend". People who knew me came to me with computer problems because I could most of the time fix them. I figured that since I was doing that anyway, it'd be nice to 1) make myself available to people who don't know me and 2) get paid for what I was doing. So I joined ResNet.
I fix probably about 95% of the problems I encounter. The ones I can't are usually because it's a problem I've never encountered before (or anything like it), or that it's a problem unfixable by me (broke ethernet port). Just because someone is an official tech support by day doesn't mean they aren't a geeky friend by night
In modern times, normals cars are increasingly making less and less sense: it's too easy to get in an accident, to easy to get lost, and cars are for some people just plain inaccessible (some types of handicaps, children, etc).
A system like this alleviates all these problems. Of course, it ahs problems of its own: It has to be easily expandable so that new destinations can be added. It needs to be crash-proof (or at least moreso than normal cars). And possible #1, there needs to be some easy way to transition from the current mode of transportation to the new one. People still own very expensive cars and probably won't want to give them up, and until this new system is completly implemented, there will be places which are inaccessible from it.
Oh well, if the transition can go smooth, and the system is relatively bug-free -- maybe the cars could run on a Linux kernel ;-) -- it's a very, very smart idea.
IIRC, Offspring's "Americana" CD was playable on standard audio CD players, but if you popped it into your PC, it had a program on it that gave you access to Offspring music videos, and could play the CD for you.
I found this annoying in this one instance (I always had to close out of the auto-run program and start my own CD player). If every CD comes with this "feature", it'll get insane -- not to mention, if different CDs from different labels with different copy protection techniques also include different CD players, you'll have to adapt to a different CD playing interface for all of your CDs.
Hmpf. This is why I copy all my CDs (legally) to my hard drive in MP3 and use WinAmp across the board. I know that interface, I like that interface.
The article says that, but then fails to say exactly what that proof would be. So, we have a big asteroid orbiting Pluto. How does prove or disprove Pluto's planetary status?
Right. And whether or not they have a Palm, they're going to find some way to "amuse" themselves. I've seen people (without PDAs) just sit and doodle, or just fall asleep in classes. The PDA isn't the problem, the problem is just that people are bored. And if bored, they will find a way to be not bored.
Most kids sit near people they like, therefore they're probably beaming things with people near them, thus your argument is moot.
Well, sort of. Maybe they can in fact beam, but that doesn't warrant banning PDAs altogether. People can pass notes but we don't ban paper. Forbid students from having PDAs out during tests -- many schools have that rule with graphing calculators. Graphics calculators can help people cheat on tests, but they don't get banned completely from school.
I own a Palm IIIxe myself, and use it extensively in college for keeping track of phone numbers and assignments. Many of the points raised as to why Palms are distractions (which were also refuted) are in fact not very true. The main point -- games -- is laughable if you've ever played a Palm game. Despite the fact that the graphics aren't good at all, they're just not exciting when you're controlling them though stylus strokes. I have a couple, and they are absolutely last resort -- if your students play PDA games, you're *really* boring them.
And it's true that beaming shouldn't be a fear at all... if the teachers would actually look into it, they'd realize that Palms can only beam when they're pointed right at each other, and are within (I think) 3 feet. Not to mention the beeping. That would make it kind of tough to beam answers without being blatantly obvious.
Palms are great for organization -- but for cheating and entertainment, not so much.
...I know, obviously they can and they are. :) But I was just under the impression that the UNIX copyright was owned by AT&T. How can Caldera release the source to it? I'm glad they are, though.