Ah yes, the typical "AIM sucks, use ICQ" response to an article like this. Of course, by now you must know that ICQ is owned by none other than AOL, and that the company is planning on merging the services. (Don't believe me? Download AIM 4.3, and log in using your UIN and password.)
Furthermore, ICQ's security is pathetic. Messages are sent person-to-person directly, opening up unnecessary ports on your system. Your password is sent in plaintext (as opposed to AIM's brilliant method of XOR'ing it with "TicToc") so anyone with a sniffer could find it.
ICQ and AIM are supported in Everybuddy for Linux. Good app, with no ad banners or ugly "skins" or "wings" like Odigo.
If you read the article linked to up there, you'll see this quote:
Indeed, Graham emphasized in an interview that the attacks were "limited to the AIM system. No one on the AOL platform has had their security compromised."
In other words, they could NOT get AOL members' card numbers. This is just a hack that could let people pretend to be me when talking to my buddies.
There were a few cases of late where people were actually "typosquatting" on phone numbers like 1-800-FL0WERS (note the zero) and 1-800-MATRESS. You'd think that people could learn to spell seven-letter words correctly, but I guess you can never underestimate the stupidity of the American consumer base...
However, IMO the phone is the ideal standard for usability. Anyone with the least bit of technical savvy can buy a $20 phone (they even have them in supermarkets, of all places) plug it in, pick up the receiver, and dial people's phone numbers. Remembering the numbers is not the hardest part of the ordeal: even inexpensive phones have speed dial nowadays, and I don't go anywhere without my organizer and its phone numbers.
Compare this to using a computer. We all hate being disconnected on the phone, but that almost never happens when you compare it to using a computer. I can talk on the phone, walk around, and do all sorts of other tasks at the same time without the phone's performance being affected. (My attention span, on the other hand...) The look and feel of phones may differ stylistically, but the procedure is always the same: pick up phone, dial numbers. Compare that with the ever-changing UI standards of computer OS's, and the navigation controls on web pages that often puzzle newbies. "Press 1 for function x, 2 for function y,..." may sound annoying, but (i) we all know how to do this and (ii) frequent users don't even need to listen to the prompts any more.
Many Internet sites are realizing the ubiquity and relative reliability of the phone system. I can get my Yahoo! Mail by calling 1-800-MY-YAHOO. I can get weather forecasts from MIT by calling 1-888-573-TALK. Weather forecasts and a lot of other functions are available through TellMe (1-800-555-TELL). They're realizing that while the telephone isn't perfect, there is still a lot of functionality that it can carry out.
Don't be too rash now. You can get them to correct it for money -- in fact, that's what this article is largely about. They may start charging for businesses to enter their listings: if you don't pay, according to Yahoo you don't exist.
All search engines can be bought off. This is a part of the business model, unsuccessful as it tends to be.
The fact that Napster doesn't exit when you click the X button has been one of the keys to its success. Think about it: clueless liberal-arts college students running it on their T3+ connections, and naïvely clicking 'X' to exit the program. The program still runs, the files are still shared, and the money is still made.
I dare you to compile the apps at those locations. Tell me how many of them would be usable on a Palm with a 160x160 display, no networking built-in, and a UI that discriminates against manual text input.
Just because there are applications for Linux, doesn't mean that there are the same applications for Linux/Palm (Linux/Dragonball?).
Windows does have huge advantages over any other. Think of a company that uses Windows on every system from mainframe (Windows 2000 Datacenter Server) to handheld (Windows CE). They will have a consistent technology for everybody to learn and master, instead of 15 different systems each with a different use. So having Windows on handhelds is justified, because it's a unifying force.
Please. Just because people are trying to put Windows all over the place, doesn't mean that Linux has to play catch-up here as well. Use the right tool for the job, and create standards so that these devices can interface. Where was it written that two devices with different OS's can't communicate?
IMO, the cascading "Start menu" originated in Windows 95 had problems even at 640x480 resultion, when it would fill the entire screen and start popping submenus out everywhere. The solution now used on Windows CE 3 is similar to the Apple Menu found on Mac OS (up to v. 9) where applications and macros are placed on a single-level menu with cascading used only when necessary. This works much better, because there is usually only one level of cascading at most. This complies more with sensible UI guidelines.
Well, obviously. It's hosted by America On-Line, which is America's most popular and therefore best on-line service.
The funny part is that Tom still kept it up, despite the fact that he is now privy to the world's largest Internet uplink for civilian use, and is also a TA for 15-212, which I'm currently taking.
Yes, but how does that entitle you to make a profit off of each song? Since when are you licensed to sell other people's music at the rate of ten cents per upload?
I don't care how many CD's you buy. It's still not your music to sell. Do whatever the hell you want with your CD's (although Hilary Rosen might get pissy) but don't try to redistribute or resell them without a multimillion-dollar settlement from the record companies.
Sorry, your pirated music isn't worth any money legally. However, paying $0.10 to download a song from, say, BMG's library isn't too bad. You could otherwise try your luck at downloading it for free from someone else's library.
Fact of the matter is, I wouldn't mind a micropayment for one song provided that it transfers at an actually decent rate. Napster kiddies on upload-capped cable modems and DSL lines can't match that. Not even your average college MP3-monger can top that, if he/she's serving ten people at once.
Just select seven FREE* music selections. Then just download one music selection within a year at our special Low Member Price (usually $9.95-$15.95 per track). Then take four FREE* more music selections!
That's like twelve downloads for the price of one!
* A handling charge of $4.95 will be charged for each "FREE" music selection purchased.
Besides, do these "free" ISPs you listed even work with OS's besides Windows?
Actually, one of the reasons why FreeInet and FreeWWWeb went bankrupt was because they did work with OS's other than Windows. Just put your login information into any PPP dialer, and you're on-line ad-free. You could even bypass the ads by using regular old Windows Dial-Up Networking. How about that?
At least AOL has the good graces not to display additional ads while you're surfing the web, on top of the banner ads already in web pages. Bluelight and Netzero, the only two of the four you mentioned that will be around in three months (seriously, click on your own Freewwweb link) serve up ads like crazy. Netzero's ad bar even blinks if you don't click on ads, and eventually terminates your connection.
Good ol' AOL. At least they don't put banners on their web browser. As for their e-mail client, chat rooms, instant messenger, welcome screen, log-off screen, and "channels," that's another story.:)
I am the head of the Slashdot chapter of 'Paranoid E-mail People Anonymous'. We can help you with your irresponsible use of such interjections as "crosswinds.spam.net," and "hotNOSPAMmail."
In the event that we need to contact you further, may we reach you at technos@crosswinds.net or too_much_punct@hotmail.com? After all, if you're going to sound all pompous, you might as well have the good graces to post your real e-mail address(es) for people like Mr. xtermz to use!
I also may be able to put you in touch with my counterpart at 'alt.recovery.e-mail.paranoia.' She'll probably be able to help you fully grasp the fact that very few people want to e-mail you. If they do want to e-mail you, it's best not to make them jump through hoops to avoid spam.
Want to run that Linux game without installing the pesky OS? Here's an idea: Buy the Windows version! The Windows version will be out at least a year before the Linux port. The Windows version will be more supported by the manufacturer. The Windows version will not require you to recompile an X server to get better 3D graphics performance -- it will use proven, fast graphics drivers.
Why compromise? If you're going to pay money for those games of yours, at least have the good graces to play them on the fastest, most well-supported gaming platform there is for PC gaming.
AOL has over 30 million users of its on-line service. Time Warner has even more users of its cable services. The fact that the two companies want to come together, coupled by the fact that Internet services and cable providers are also coming together, means a possible monopoly situation in cable Internet service.
Linux has less than 10 million users in the United States, and of those a relatively small number rely on the products and services of VA Linux and Andover.net. GCC is of interest to the development community; some end-user distributions don't even install it by default.
Take the fog out of your eyes. AOL-Time Warner affects mainstream America in an enormous way. Linux companies buying each other out affect a very small portion of the market. Cable Internet access is developing much more quickly than Linux, particularly in the home market. We will be seeing a lot more people complaining that they have no alternative to AOL-Time Warner cable access than people complaining about the lack of a good development tool for Linux.
Besides, if you're so concerned about VA Linux and Red Hat dominating their so-called "industries," why don't you write a letter to the FTC? One of the principal reasons why this AOL-Time Warner investigation is proceeding is because so many people voiced objections to it. If enough people cried foul over the VA Linux acquisitions, then the FTC would have investigated them too.
I'm sorry, man. You and the other four Netscape 3 users should go sulk in shame. I just uninstalled my copy of SPRY Mosaic yesterday, after the 1,000 web sites I e-mailed never got back to me about making their site compatible for my browser.
Netscape would be so much better if it were designed by a company with a clear Internet strategy, not some bunch of ragtag volunteers who work on it in their spare time.
The added performance is hardly "free." The TI graphing calculators' processors are deliberately underclocked to preserve battery power. The time you save doing calculations (valuable seconds!) is more than paid for by the added cost of batteries.
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Ah yes, the typical "AIM sucks, use ICQ" response to an article like this. Of course, by now you must know that ICQ is owned by none other than AOL, and that the company is planning on merging the services. (Don't believe me? Download AIM 4.3, and log in using your UIN and password.)
Furthermore, ICQ's security is pathetic. Messages are sent person-to-person directly, opening up unnecessary ports on your system. Your password is sent in plaintext (as opposed to AIM's brilliant method of XOR'ing it with "TicToc") so anyone with a sniffer could find it.
ICQ and AIM are supported in Everybuddy for Linux. Good app, with no ad banners or ugly "skins" or "wings" like Odigo.
There were a few cases of late where people were actually "typosquatting" on phone numbers like 1-800-FL0WERS (note the zero) and 1-800-MATRESS. You'd think that people could learn to spell seven-letter words correctly, but I guess you can never underestimate the stupidity of the American consumer base...
However, IMO the phone is the ideal standard for usability. Anyone with the least bit of technical savvy can buy a $20 phone (they even have them in supermarkets, of all places) plug it in, pick up the receiver, and dial people's phone numbers. Remembering the numbers is not the hardest part of the ordeal: even inexpensive phones have speed dial nowadays, and I don't go anywhere without my organizer and its phone numbers.
Compare this to using a computer. We all hate being disconnected on the phone, but that almost never happens when you compare it to using a computer. I can talk on the phone, walk around, and do all sorts of other tasks at the same time without the phone's performance being affected. (My attention span, on the other hand...) The look and feel of phones may differ stylistically, but the procedure is always the same: pick up phone, dial numbers. Compare that with the ever-changing UI standards of computer OS's, and the navigation controls on web pages that often puzzle newbies. "Press 1 for function x, 2 for function y,..." may sound annoying, but (i) we all know how to do this and (ii) frequent users don't even need to listen to the prompts any more.
Many Internet sites are realizing the ubiquity and relative reliability of the phone system. I can get my Yahoo! Mail by calling 1-800-MY-YAHOO. I can get weather forecasts from MIT by calling 1-888-573-TALK. Weather forecasts and a lot of other functions are available through TellMe (1-800-555-TELL). They're realizing that while the telephone isn't perfect, there is still a lot of functionality that it can carry out.
Don't be too rash now. You can get them to correct it for money -- in fact, that's what this article is largely about. They may start charging for businesses to enter their listings: if you don't pay, according to Yahoo you don't exist.
All search engines can be bought off. This is a part of the business model, unsuccessful as it tends to be.
The fact that Napster doesn't exit when you click the X button has been one of the keys to its success. Think about it: clueless liberal-arts college students running it on their T3+ connections, and naïvely clicking 'X' to exit the program. The program still runs, the files are still shared, and the money is still made.
I dare you to compile the apps at those locations. Tell me how many of them would be usable on a Palm with a 160x160 display, no networking built-in, and a UI that discriminates against manual text input.
Just because there are applications for Linux, doesn't mean that there are the same applications for Linux/Palm (Linux/Dragonball?).
PalmVNC is here. If you really want to control an X session or Windows box using a 160x160x16 display, be my guest.
Windows does have huge advantages over any other. Think of a company that uses Windows on every system from mainframe (Windows 2000 Datacenter Server) to handheld (Windows CE). They will have a consistent technology for everybody to learn and master, instead of 15 different systems each with a different use. So having Windows on handhelds is justified, because it's a unifying force.
Please. Just because people are trying to put Windows all over the place, doesn't mean that Linux has to play catch-up here as well. Use the right tool for the job, and create standards so that these devices can interface. Where was it written that two devices with different OS's can't communicate?
IMO, the cascading "Start menu" originated in Windows 95 had problems even at 640x480 resultion, when it would fill the entire screen and start popping submenus out everywhere. The solution now used on Windows CE 3 is similar to the Apple Menu found on Mac OS (up to v. 9) where applications and macros are placed on a single-level menu with cascading used only when necessary. This works much better, because there is usually only one level of cascading at most. This complies more with sensible UI guidelines.
Well, obviously. It's hosted by America On-Line, which is America's most popular and therefore best on-line service.
The funny part is that Tom still kept it up, despite the fact that he is now privy to the world's largest Internet uplink for civilian use, and is also a TA for 15-212, which I'm currently taking.
Yes, but how does that entitle you to make a profit off of each song? Since when are you licensed to sell other people's music at the rate of ten cents per upload?
I don't care how many CD's you buy. It's still not your music to sell. Do whatever the hell you want with your CD's (although Hilary Rosen might get pissy) but don't try to redistribute or resell them without a multimillion-dollar settlement from the record companies.
Sorry, your pirated music isn't worth any money legally. However, paying $0.10 to download a song from, say, BMG's library isn't too bad. You could otherwise try your luck at downloading it for free from someone else's library.
Fact of the matter is, I wouldn't mind a micropayment for one song provided that it transfers at an actually decent rate. Napster kiddies on upload-capped cable modems and DSL lines can't match that. Not even your average college MP3-monger can top that, if he/she's serving ten people at once.
Just select seven FREE* music selections. Then just download one music selection within a year at our special Low Member Price (usually $9.95-$15.95 per track). Then take four FREE* more music selections!
That's like twelve downloads for the price of one!
* A handling charge of $4.95 will be charged for each "FREE" music selection purchased.
Besides, do these "free" ISPs you listed even work with OS's besides Windows?
Actually, one of the reasons why FreeInet and FreeWWWeb went bankrupt was because they did work with OS's other than Windows. Just put your login information into any PPP dialer, and you're on-line ad-free. You could even bypass the ads by using regular old Windows Dial-Up Networking. How about that?
At least AOL has the good graces not to display additional ads while you're surfing the web, on top of the banner ads already in web pages. Bluelight and Netzero, the only two of the four you mentioned that will be around in three months (seriously, click on your own Freewwweb link) serve up ads like crazy. Netzero's ad bar even blinks if you don't click on ads, and eventually terminates your connection.
:)
Good ol' AOL. At least they don't put banners on their web browser. As for their e-mail client, chat rooms, instant messenger, welcome screen, log-off screen, and "channels," that's another story.
Hello, Mr. technos.
I am the head of the Slashdot chapter of 'Paranoid E-mail People Anonymous'. We can help you with your irresponsible use of such interjections as "crosswinds.spam.net," and "hotNOSPAMmail."
In the event that we need to contact you further, may we reach you at technos@crosswinds.net or too_much_punct@hotmail.com? After all, if you're going to sound all pompous, you might as well have the good graces to post your real e-mail address(es) for people like Mr. xtermz to use!
I also may be able to put you in touch with my counterpart at 'alt.recovery.e-mail.paranoia.' She'll probably be able to help you fully grasp the fact that very few people want to e-mail you. If they do want to e-mail you, it's best not to make them jump through hoops to avoid spam.
I hope you have found this helpful.
Want to run that Linux game without installing the pesky OS? Here's an idea: Buy the Windows version! The Windows version will be out at least a year before the Linux port. The Windows version will be more supported by the manufacturer. The Windows version will not require you to recompile an X server to get better 3D graphics performance -- it will use proven, fast graphics drivers.
Why compromise? If you're going to pay money for those games of yours, at least have the good graces to play them on the fastest, most well-supported gaming platform there is for PC gaming.
I'm sorry, but you're wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong. Bill Gates never said that; it's just used by people jealous of his success.
AOL has over 30 million users of its on-line service. Time Warner has even more users of its cable services. The fact that the two companies want to come together, coupled by the fact that Internet services and cable providers are also coming together, means a possible monopoly situation in cable Internet service.
Linux has less than 10 million users in the United States, and of those a relatively small number rely on the products and services of VA Linux and Andover.net. GCC is of interest to the development community; some end-user distributions don't even install it by default.
Take the fog out of your eyes. AOL-Time Warner affects mainstream America in an enormous way. Linux companies buying each other out affect a very small portion of the market. Cable Internet access is developing much more quickly than Linux, particularly in the home market. We will be seeing a lot more people complaining that they have no alternative to AOL-Time Warner cable access than people complaining about the lack of a good development tool for Linux.
Besides, if you're so concerned about VA Linux and Red Hat dominating their so-called "industries," why don't you write a letter to the FTC? One of the principal reasons why this AOL-Time Warner investigation is proceeding is because so many people voiced objections to it. If enough people cried foul over the VA Linux acquisitions, then the FTC would have investigated them too.
I'm sorry, man. You and the other four Netscape 3 users should go sulk in shame. I just uninstalled my copy of SPRY Mosaic yesterday, after the 1,000 web sites I e-mailed never got back to me about making their site compatible for my browser.
Netscape would be so much better if it were designed by a company with a clear Internet strategy, not some bunch of ragtag volunteers who work on it in their spare time.
>Use things like PC dos
That's a Microsoft OS. Same thing as installing Windows.
I'm sorry, that's wrong. PC-DOS was made by IBM. Same thing (at least from your perspective) as installing OS/2 without Win-OS/2 support.
After watching UHF last night, I couldn't believe that Hostess left out the greatest Twinkie recipe of all -- the Twinkie wiener sandwich!
The added performance is hardly "free." The TI graphing calculators' processors are deliberately underclocked to preserve battery power. The time you save doing calculations (valuable seconds!) is more than paid for by the added cost of batteries.
Who will be the first to upload a sound file of him/herself saying "FIRST POST"?