Who's forcing you to live in a dorm? Parents? Take up your beef with them. If economic neccessity is forcing you to live in the dorms, then boo-fucking-hoo. It's still school property, and school rules. If you don't like it, get a bigger grant or loan and move out. Don't like school bandwidth policies? Transfer to a different school. Most states still declare colleges In Loco Parentis, so you're NEVER going to have the kind of freedom in a dorm that you'll have in your own apartment.
"5. act of God 2 (God's pissed - it is Easter, afterall)...God promised after Noah's flood he wouldn't do this sort of thing again so we can rule out #5."
Not so fast, my friend...
While in Genesis 9, God indeed say He'd never again wipe the world out with water, Isaiah prophesied that He'd eventually come to destroy it with.....you guessed it, fire.
From Isaiah 66, verses 15 and 16: "15 Lo, the LORD shall come in fire, his chariots like the whirlwind, To wreak his wrath with burning heat and his punishment with fiery flames. 16 For the LORD shall judge all mankind by fire and sword. and many shall be slain by the LORD. "
Many doesn't equal all, so God would be keeping His covenant from Genesis not to make mankind extinct, but He never said that He'd never PUNISH man again, now did He?
Intel seems to have a history of ripping Intergraph off, and getting successfully sued for it. Intergraph has a page on their website dedicated to their suits against Intel. You can see that page at http://www.intergraph.com/intel/
This has been of particular interest in my state (Alabama), because it's a point of pride; Intergraph is located in Huntsville (near the space and rocket center), and is a relatively small company compared to Intel. One wonders if Intel simply figured "What the hell, we'll just take their stuff, patents be damned. What's that little hick company gonna do about it? We're INTEL, and they're, well, hicks". That's the thinking around here, anyway.
"The problem is not that he has an opinion -- we all have opinions."
Yup, opinions are like assholes; we all have them. And I'm an asshole...
"The problem is that the orginal poster was an ass..."
Show me where it says 'Thou shalt not offend'...
"...and suggested that other people spend time on his priorities."
No, I'm not personally a Mac user. They're not MY priorities.
" Since he isn't a customer he has no basis to make those demands."
Maybe not me personally, but are you SERIOUSLY going to suggest that new Mac users would like the current OO for the Mac? Come on...
"It is reasonable to say "it would be nice and useful to have an OSX version"..."
It would be reasonable, but it wouldn't get a fucking thing done. The squeeky wheel gets the grease.
"but stupid and childlike to say "you suck because you don't spend your time on what I want."
I never said that. What I was trying to get across was that OO developers would be better off serving Mac users by putting maximum effort into an aqua version NOW, rather than spending time on the ugly and horrid X version.
"I'm sure the OOo developers had a very good reason to finish up the 1.1.1 release instead of devoting all of their resources to the far-distant 2.0 release"
Not that I see. OO on X is bad enough that no more time should be spent on it. I say this because I have friends that ARE primarily Mac users, and they say this.
"...so unless you are willing to contribute with your own sweat and time, at the very least keep your suggestions polite."
See my earlier squeeky wheel comment. And let me suggest to YOU, Mr. Indignant, that if your're this damn easily offended, you find someplace other than Slashdot to hang out.
As to why I give a shit AT ALL what goes on with OO or any other app for the Mac, simple; I want the Mac to succeed as much as possible. When anyone is buying a new computer, I always recommend they buy a Mac now (unless they're rabid gamers), because this way I wont get called constantly about fixes for trojans and worms and spyware. Understand now? So, you can continue to look forward to my asshole opionion on this, and hell, everything else for that matter. Ain't freedom grand?
Instead of pissing in the wind with X on Mac, all of the effort should be for the native aqua version. The X version looks horrible and performs horrible. I just helped my cousin, who is a complete nube, buy an Ibook online last night for his first computer. It's a damn good thing AppleWorks is coming with it. I'd have hated to tell the guy "well, you know nothing about computers, so I guess you'll either have to shell out huge bucks for MS Office for Mac, or buy an XP box".
While we Nix people like the BSD underneath, one of the Mac's best features is that it's a great machine for for people with ZERO comp expierience to use. Asking one of these people to "put in X, and then compile OpenOffice" kinda kills the easy part, doesn't it? So quit wasting time, and get on that native version, OO.org developers...
"no, but he is criticizing someone's behavior while he is exhibiting most of those behaviors"
As the previous poster noted, I'm not displaying the bleeding heart here...
"and attacking a group of people commonly used as scapegoats, and for the most part not able to defend themselves from his attacks."
I never said a goddamned thing ABOUT the homeless and the hungry. My criticism was levled at the original dumb-ass parent poster.
My suggestion to you is that you, A- RTFA, and B- quit being such a cocksmoker. If you had actually bothered to DO A, you'd see my original point: want to help the hungry and homeless? Fine, good on you, but quit bitching about it (in unrelated subjects, like, oh, Apple and the BBB), AND GET OFF OF YOUR ANONYMOUS COWARD ASS AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Don't fucking bug the rest of us about it if you wont turn off slashdot and do it yourself.
Oh piss off, you fucking whiner. If you're so damned concerned about the homeless and the hungry, get off your fat ass and do something about it, instead of sitting in front of a computer reading slashdot, loser.
It was a nice idea, but it went sour from the very beginning. First, the Soviet Block used the influence of other communist countries to stick it to America every chance it got. Now, after the fall of the USSR, the UN has become nothing more than a place where other countries can take out their petty jealousies, not just on the US, but on rival countries. And as George Will has noted, the UN now fancies itself a kind of world government, going as far proposing a world tax. A tax? Ummm, how many of these people did I elect to their positions?
UN staffers regulary flaunt their immunity at NYPD officers, ignoring parking tickets and mocking/threatening them if they dare to intervene, even if they're clearly doing something illegal. Unless they're committing rape or murder and their goverment pulls their immunity, too bad so sad.
So go ahead and write me off as an arrogant American. I don't care, and frankly, despite the crap you see spewed here, most Americans don't care either. Most of us are tired of the UN and all it really represents (basically, world bureacracy on a scale the makes the US goverment look like a volunteer fire brigade, endless rule-by-committee, and some guy outside the US telling me what to do). Most Americans can see the differnece between liberating a country, like Iraq, and invading one for spoils. Despite the black-helicopter-paranoia that rules here, we didn't go to Iraq for oil. The UN knows this too. You'll just never get that from them.
I know this is going to get mod-bombed, but what the hell. Slashdot's view is not representative of most Americans. You can rail against that all you want, but it's true. If if America is a rogue for killing tyrants and terrorists while the UN endlessly debates (while declaring that Saddam's government was legitimate!), well, then I'd just as soon my country tell the UN to move its HQ to Switzerland, or some other "more civilized" country, and go it alone.
Well, this IS the Borg, after all...
on
Microsoft Eyeing AOL?
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
"If this happens: Would they assimiliate AIM into MSN?"
Of course they will. And resistance is futile. All AOL's Base Are Belong to MSN.
It'll take an antitrust ruling to kill this, because MS probably likes the idea of getting all thos AOL users (and IM users, too). For us Linux AIM users, heh, better hope Jabber spreads....
...in the embedded space, that is. I see NetBSD turning up in a lot of devices now, including our new office copier of all things.
Competition is a good thing, mmmmmkay, as some here would say.
I have to wonder what's driving Net's adoption in the embedded space. Is it technical merit, or the the BSD license allowing vendors to keep their changes closed?
"Sources? Citations? Studies? Even links to articles?"
These are friends of mine. Should I interview them and get transcripts for you?
"I have met NO Mac user to date that didn't think that OS X was an improvement on 9."
Well, then obviously you and I are talking to different people then.
"So what's your point? I think you just don't like Macs. Which is fine, but don't hide it behind unsupportable arguments and invented or anectodal evidence from your three friends."
None is invented, thanks, and if you must know, the count of Mac using friends stands at 17. Of those, 10 are classic users. Of those ten, only one of them is just dying to get OSX. He just can't afford a new Mac right now, so he has to stick with what he has. And while only one of them says she hates OSX, 6 others say they'll guess they'll have to upgrade eventually. But they're not real enthusiastic about it, at least not yet. Maybe that will change. These are also mostly older users, so maybe that has something to do with it. The last two have gotten used to Windows at work, and so have bought XP boxes for their families, and use their Macs only sporadically. They say they liked them, but think Macs are too expensive. One got a Dell, the other got an HP. Obviously, these are not fanatics (yes, there are Apple users that are not fanatics), but they ARE longtime Mac users. They don't especially like XP, they just needed new machines, and their new ones are cheap, and the kids know Windows from school.
You sound like an easily offended man, so just to rub salt in the wound some more, of those 7 OSX users I know, four are G3 Ibook users that have since added YellowDog Linux, because they think OSX is too slow on the G3. The other 3 have PowerBook G4s, and are relatively happy with their performance. As of yet, I don't know anyone that owns a G5.
So there you have it. My three friends and their invented anecdotes.
Oh, by the way, as far as me hating Macs, you're full of shit. I like OSX, it's way better than OS classic, as it inherited much of NeXT, which I always lusted after. And anytime I get a complaint about the constant assault of viruses and trojans, and people ask my advice, know what I tell them?
Let's be honest. If these guys were, say, DOSing the RIAA or SCO websites, they'd be hailed as heroes. But harrassing Warez users on the sacred P2P networks? Oh, THOSE ASSHOLES.
Lots of self-righteous anger about the evil of this being a Trojan, and abusing MY PROPERTY and such, and.....hey, these complaints sound familiar. Where have I heard them before, hmmm?
For the people outraged about this, isn't getting hosed downloading warez comparible to, oh say, getting robbed in a crack house?
"Apple has a core (no pun intended) market and a loyal customer base."
Well, yes and no.
There are a lot of longtime Apple customers, but as much as we nix people like OSX for its BSD base, OSX alientated a LOT of longtime Mac users that wanted nothing to do with Unix or command lines. A prime complaint was that the Mac interface was changed too radically, and that it looks nothing like the beloved old 9X-and-lower line. I've also heard some of these people complain that OSX is too slow, especially on G3 hardware. Personally, I know more Linux people that love OSX than longtime Mac people that love it.
And now Apple has a quandry. Rather than trying for mass-market appeal but making prices competitive with PC products, Apple has tried to maintain the "join-our-exclusive-club" approach, which requires a premium in price for customers. Yes, I know you guys are going "but Macs are so much better, and you get what you pay for, and Macs are a bargain even at these prices". Well, Joe Schmo customer doesn't agree. He's out at BestBuy or CompUSA looking for a new computer, and all he sees is that Macs 1- cost a lot more, and 2- can't run the games and software that PCs can. Plus, if Joe Schmo's expierience is anything like mine, when he tries out these newer Macs at the store, he's not going to be real impressed with the quality and feel of the Apple hardware (sorry, I think the keyboards and mice have a cheap feel to them now. They generally seem more shoddy than past Macs to me). He's going to be saying "So why should I pay 900 bucks for an Emac that's slow (with it's stock 128 or 256 mb of ram) when I can get this HP for 600, or this Emachines for 400?".
Apple has to decide if it's going to stay the exclusive-club route, or try to get more converts. If they do the latter, they're going to have to price Macs more competitivly. The club route doesn't seem to be working as well. Those old Mac fans I know? Some of them are trying their best to extend the life of their beloved old Macs through upgrades, and they're using 9X for as long as they can get away with it. So Apple either has to get them back, or hope that lots more Linux users convert.
And for Segway sucking, well come on, did anyone REALLY think people were going to adopt them en-mass? The Segway was always a niche market at best.
Crimson Skies is one of the few video game-to movies I'd go see. I've always been in love with the same period of history as this director, and I can relate to his passion for the period, and the wild optimism and imagination that flourished. In so many ways, we've gone either backwards, or just settled for less. The depression and WWII came, and smashed those dreams for good. And I think we've suffered the consequences in spirit ever since.
Never work with friends or family, unless you and a wife run a business (NOT a girlfriend). And they have to be there with you from the beginning. Families that employ their kids usually do so as soon as they're old enough to work, in places like groceries and restaurants, and usually they're immigrants with high work ethics. The kids have more of a subserviant attitude to parents from foreign countries anyway, so it works out. Not among Americans, though.
If you're hiring a relative just to give them a job, well, that's a recipe for disaster. Same for friends. Same for girlfriends.
Marry her first, and if it works out and she's willing to work long hours with you, THEN bring her on.
Look, save Hubble, fine, I agree. But I sense glee that this is a setback for the administration, and there almost seems to be smugness in here that the Mars program may be in danger now.
Do NOT try to kill manned Mars exploration just because you hate Bush. That's pretty fuckin' petty.
If you've got real reasons to oppose manned Martian exploration, fine, then say so. But to root for damage to manned planetary exploration to score points against a politician is lame.
"Hello: How (specifically) can I help? I would like to assist with this process of free dissemination of information. If anyone has a suggestion how I might do that, please post here. I'm a normal user with an always-on DSL connection, run a normal webserver, and would like to assist with this. -- Kevin J. Rice"
Hi, this is the Government of the Peoples Republic of China. Just to let you know, Gwai Lo, you're one dead motherfucker. Sleep tight.
All the science and math books from that era were better than what we have today, in that they were easier to understand, got right to the point, and used common sense, interesting examples. I once borrowed a high school science textbook that a friend had, which was published in 1929. I ate it up like candy, and I think I learned more in 4 or 5 hours than I did throughout 4 years of high school. It was fantastic. It covered everthing from Newtonian physics to chemistry to some basic engineering, and to this day, I've never found a more informative introductory textbook. They truly don't make 'em like they used to.
Two years ago, we here down in Dixie established the Alabama Lugfest, with the intent that it become an annual tradition and meeting for all the statewide Linux user groups. We're now into planning our 3'rd year. I'm glad that Ohio and other states are now doing the same, and hope it spreads all across the country.
One thing we talked about two years ago was some kind of way to tie lugs together regionally, or even perhaps nationally. The idea is that perhaps once every few years, a Super Lugfest could be held (like perhaps in Atlanta or New Orleans or Nashville for the South). And while some people say that big annual events like LinuxWorld should be enough, not everyone can make it to those events. A regional event is somewhat easier to attend. The Alabama Lugfest was specifically created because, after the death of the Atlanta Linux Showcase, we were depressed that we had to go all the way to San Francisco for any kind of large Linux gathering. So we "rolled our own". We helped influence another regional event in Nashville, the Southeastern Technology Enthusiasts Conference in Nashville, which is also Open Source focused (hello, Mary!). They're into their second year of planning now.
Bottom line, if you can't get to the Bay Area every year, and you want Linux to flourish, organize a festival/expo in your own state. Start by getting in touch with the other lugs in your state, and see about creating a website or mailing list for all lugs to coordinate. Our Lugfest is now moving beyond just doing annual gatherings, and is now trying to organize in order to do things like help schools with open source projects, and influence the state legislature in relation to linux and open source subjects. So unite, organize, and achieve. You'll be surprised what you can do.
Donald Rumsfeld has been on a crusade to transform the U.S. Military from a Cold War-style heavy military, to a light'n'fast quick strike force adapted to 21st century threats. He killed the Crusader, and you can bet the Commanche's corpse has his fingerprints all over it.
Slashdot Mirror
That's the ugliest damn building I've seen in a long time. Maybe the worst ever.
If this is what our best and brightest give us, maybe good architecture is dead.
Two words: Tomb Raider
God spare us all....
Comparing the FBI cracking down on copyright violation to Nazi's rounding up Jews is about as lame as it gets.
"Oh Amnesty International, Help Me! Those Bush Nazi's took away Kazaa!"
Who's forcing you to live in a dorm? Parents? Take up your beef with them. If economic neccessity is forcing you to live in the dorms, then boo-fucking-hoo. It's still school property, and school rules. If you don't like it, get a bigger grant or loan and move out. Don't like school bandwidth policies? Transfer to a different school. Most states still declare colleges In Loco Parentis, so you're NEVER going to have the kind of freedom in a dorm that you'll have in your own apartment.
"5. act of God 2 (God's pissed - it is Easter, afterall)...God promised after Noah's flood he wouldn't do this sort of thing again so we can rule out #5."
Not so fast, my friend...
While in Genesis 9, God indeed say He'd never again wipe the world out with water, Isaiah prophesied that He'd eventually come to destroy it with.....you guessed it, fire.
From Isaiah 66, verses 15 and 16:
"15
Lo, the LORD shall come in fire, his chariots like the whirlwind, To wreak his wrath with burning heat and his punishment with fiery flames.
16
For the LORD shall judge all mankind by fire and sword. and many shall be slain by the LORD. "
Many doesn't equal all, so God would be keeping His covenant from Genesis not to make mankind extinct, but He never said that He'd never PUNISH man again, now did He?
"As long as there are men making weapons, there will be war."
As long as there are MEN, there will be war. There was war when we had nothing but stone tools, and there will be war long after we're gone.
So in the meantime, I'd just as soon see that my country's military can WIN those wars, thanks.
Intel seems to have a history of ripping Intergraph off, and getting successfully sued for it. Intergraph has a page on their website dedicated to their suits against Intel. You can see that page at http://www.intergraph.com/intel/
This has been of particular interest in my state (Alabama), because it's a point of pride; Intergraph is located in Huntsville (near the space and rocket center), and is a relatively small company compared to Intel. One wonders if Intel simply figured "What the hell, we'll just take their stuff, patents be damned. What's that little hick company gonna do about it? We're INTEL, and they're, well, hicks". That's the thinking around here, anyway.
"The problem is not that he has an opinion -- we all have opinions."
..."
Yup, opinions are like assholes; we all have them. And I'm an asshole...
"The problem is that the orginal poster was an ass..."
Show me where it says 'Thou shalt not offend'...
"...and suggested that other people spend time on his priorities."
No, I'm not personally a Mac user. They're not MY priorities.
" Since he isn't a customer he has no basis to make those demands."
Maybe not me personally, but are you SERIOUSLY going to suggest that new Mac users would like the current OO for the Mac? Come on...
"It is reasonable to say "it would be nice and useful to have an OSX version"
It would be reasonable, but it wouldn't get a fucking thing done. The squeeky wheel gets the grease.
"but stupid and childlike to say "you suck because you don't spend your time on what I want."
I never said that. What I was trying to get across was that OO developers would be better off serving Mac users by putting maximum effort into an aqua version NOW, rather than spending time on the ugly and horrid X version.
"I'm sure the OOo developers had a very good reason to finish up the 1.1.1 release instead of devoting all of their resources to the far-distant 2.0 release"
Not that I see. OO on X is bad enough that no more time should be spent on it. I say this because I have friends that ARE primarily Mac users, and they say this.
"...so unless you are willing to contribute with your own sweat and time, at the very least keep your suggestions polite."
See my earlier squeeky wheel comment. And let me suggest to YOU, Mr. Indignant, that if your're this damn easily offended, you find someplace other than Slashdot to hang out.
As to why I give a shit AT ALL what goes on with OO or any other app for the Mac, simple; I want the Mac to succeed as much as possible. When anyone is buying a new computer, I always recommend they buy a Mac now (unless they're rabid gamers), because this way I wont get called constantly about fixes for trojans and worms and spyware. Understand now? So, you can continue to look forward to my asshole opionion on this, and hell, everything else for that matter. Ain't freedom grand?
Instead of pissing in the wind with X on Mac, all of the effort should be for the native aqua version. The X version looks horrible and performs horrible. I just helped my cousin, who is a complete nube, buy an Ibook online last night for his first computer. It's a damn good thing AppleWorks is coming with it. I'd have hated to tell the guy "well, you know nothing about computers, so I guess you'll either have to shell out huge bucks for MS Office for Mac, or buy an XP box".
While we Nix people like the BSD underneath, one of the Mac's best features is that it's a great machine for for people with ZERO comp expierience to use. Asking one of these people to "put in X, and then compile OpenOffice" kinda kills the easy part, doesn't it? So quit wasting time, and get on that native version, OO.org developers...
"no, but he is criticizing someone's behavior while he is exhibiting most of those behaviors"
As the previous poster noted, I'm not displaying the bleeding heart here...
"and attacking a group of people commonly used as scapegoats, and for the most part not able to defend themselves from his attacks."
I never said a goddamned thing ABOUT the homeless and the hungry. My criticism was levled at the original dumb-ass parent poster.
My suggestion to you is that you, A- RTFA, and B- quit being such a cocksmoker. If you had actually bothered to DO A, you'd see my original point: want to help the hungry and homeless? Fine, good on you, but quit bitching about it (in unrelated subjects, like, oh, Apple and the BBB), AND GET OFF OF YOUR ANONYMOUS COWARD ASS AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Don't fucking bug the rest of us about it if you wont turn off slashdot and do it yourself.
Which makes the AC a fuckin' loser.
Oh piss off, you fucking whiner. If you're so damned concerned about the homeless and the hungry, get off your fat ass and do something about it, instead of sitting in front of a computer reading slashdot, loser.
It was a nice idea, but it went sour from the very beginning. First, the Soviet Block used the influence of other communist countries to stick it to America every chance it got. Now, after the fall of the USSR, the UN has become nothing more than a place where other countries can take out their petty jealousies, not just on the US, but on rival countries. And as George Will has noted, the UN now fancies itself a kind of world government, going as far proposing a world tax. A tax? Ummm, how many of these people did I elect to their positions?
UN staffers regulary flaunt their immunity at NYPD officers, ignoring parking tickets and mocking/threatening them if they dare to intervene, even if they're clearly doing something illegal. Unless they're committing rape or murder and their goverment pulls their immunity, too bad so sad.
So go ahead and write me off as an arrogant American. I don't care, and frankly, despite the crap you see spewed here, most Americans don't care either. Most of us are tired of the UN and all it really represents (basically, world bureacracy on a scale the makes the US goverment look like a volunteer fire brigade, endless rule-by-committee, and some guy outside the US telling me what to do). Most Americans can see the differnece between liberating a country, like Iraq, and invading one for spoils. Despite the black-helicopter-paranoia that rules here, we didn't go to Iraq for oil. The UN knows this too. You'll just never get that from them.
I know this is going to get mod-bombed, but what the hell. Slashdot's view is not representative of most Americans. You can rail against that all you want, but it's true. If if America is a rogue for killing tyrants and terrorists while the UN endlessly debates (while declaring that Saddam's government was legitimate!), well, then I'd just as soon my country tell the UN to move its HQ to Switzerland, or some other "more civilized" country, and go it alone.
"If this happens: Would they assimiliate AIM into MSN?"
Of course they will. And resistance is futile. All AOL's Base Are Belong to MSN.
It'll take an antitrust ruling to kill this, because MS probably likes the idea of getting all thos AOL users (and IM users, too). For us Linux AIM users, heh, better hope Jabber spreads....
...in the embedded space, that is. I see NetBSD turning up in a lot of devices now, including our new office copier of all things.
:P
Competition is a good thing, mmmmmkay, as some here would say.
I have to wonder what's driving Net's adoption in the embedded space. Is it technical merit, or the the BSD license allowing vendors to keep their changes closed?
I'm just glad to see that Netcraft was wrong
"Sources? Citations? Studies? Even links to articles?"
These are friends of mine. Should I interview them and get transcripts for you?
"I have met NO Mac user to date that didn't think that OS X was an improvement on 9."
Well, then obviously you and I are talking to different people then.
"So what's your point? I think you just don't like Macs. Which is fine, but don't hide it behind unsupportable arguments and invented or anectodal evidence from your three friends."
None is invented, thanks, and if you must know, the count of Mac using friends stands at 17. Of those, 10 are classic users. Of those ten, only one of them is just dying to get OSX. He just can't afford a new Mac right now, so he has to stick with what he has. And while only one of them says she hates OSX, 6 others say they'll guess they'll have to upgrade eventually. But they're not real enthusiastic about it, at least not yet. Maybe that will change. These are also mostly older users, so maybe that has something to do with it. The last two have gotten used to Windows at work, and so have bought XP boxes for their families, and use their Macs only sporadically. They say they liked them, but think Macs are too expensive. One got a Dell, the other got an HP. Obviously, these are not fanatics (yes, there are Apple users that are not fanatics), but they ARE longtime Mac users. They don't especially like XP, they just needed new machines, and their new ones are cheap, and the kids know Windows from school.
You sound like an easily offended man, so just to rub salt in the wound some more, of those 7 OSX users I know, four are G3 Ibook users that have since added YellowDog Linux, because they think OSX is too slow on the G3. The other 3 have PowerBook G4s, and are relatively happy with their performance. As of yet, I don't know anyone that owns a G5.
So there you have it. My three friends and their invented anecdotes.
Oh, by the way, as far as me hating Macs, you're full of shit. I like OSX, it's way better than OS classic, as it inherited much of NeXT, which I always lusted after. And anytime I get a complaint about the constant assault of viruses and trojans, and people ask my advice, know what I tell them?
"Simple. Buy a Mac".
Try not to be so damn touchy.
Let's be honest. If these guys were, say, DOSing the RIAA or SCO websites, they'd be hailed as heroes. But harrassing Warez users on the sacred P2P networks? Oh, THOSE ASSHOLES.
Lots of self-righteous anger about the evil of this being a Trojan, and abusing MY PROPERTY and such, and.....hey, these complaints sound familiar. Where have I heard them before, hmmm?
For the people outraged about this, isn't getting hosed downloading warez comparible to, oh say, getting robbed in a crack house?
"Apple has a core (no pun intended) market and a loyal customer base."
Well, yes and no.
There are a lot of longtime Apple customers, but as much as we nix people like OSX for its BSD base, OSX alientated a LOT of longtime Mac users that wanted nothing to do with Unix or command lines. A prime complaint was that the Mac interface was changed too radically, and that it looks nothing like the beloved old 9X-and-lower line. I've also heard some of these people complain that OSX is too slow, especially on G3 hardware. Personally, I know more Linux people that love OSX than longtime Mac people that love it.
And now Apple has a quandry. Rather than trying for mass-market appeal but making prices competitive with PC products, Apple has tried to maintain the "join-our-exclusive-club" approach, which requires a premium in price for customers. Yes, I know you guys are going "but Macs are so much better, and you get what you pay for, and Macs are a bargain even at these prices". Well, Joe Schmo customer doesn't agree. He's out at BestBuy or CompUSA looking for a new computer, and all he sees is that Macs 1- cost a lot more, and 2- can't run the games and software that PCs can. Plus, if Joe Schmo's expierience is anything like mine, when he tries out these newer Macs at the store, he's not going to be real impressed with the quality and feel of the Apple hardware (sorry, I think the keyboards and mice have a cheap feel to them now. They generally seem more shoddy than past Macs to me). He's going to be saying "So why should I pay 900 bucks for an Emac that's slow (with it's stock 128 or 256 mb of ram) when I can get this HP for 600, or this Emachines for 400?".
Apple has to decide if it's going to stay the exclusive-club route, or try to get more converts. If they do the latter, they're going to have to price Macs more competitivly. The club route doesn't seem to be working as well. Those old Mac fans I know? Some of them are trying their best to extend the life of their beloved old Macs through upgrades, and they're using 9X for as long as they can get away with it. So Apple either has to get them back, or hope that lots more Linux users convert.
And for Segway sucking, well come on, did anyone REALLY think people were going to adopt them en-mass? The Segway was always a niche market at best.
Crimson Skies is one of the few video game-to movies I'd go see. I've always been in love with the same period of history as this director, and I can relate to his passion for the period, and the wild optimism and imagination that flourished. In so many ways, we've gone either backwards, or just settled for less. The depression and WWII came, and smashed those dreams for good. And I think we've suffered the consequences in spirit ever since.
Never work with friends or family, unless you and a wife run a business (NOT a girlfriend). And they have to be there with you from the beginning. Families that employ their kids usually do so as soon as they're old enough to work, in places like groceries and restaurants, and usually they're immigrants with high work ethics. The kids have more of a subserviant attitude to parents from foreign countries anyway, so it works out. Not among Americans, though.
If you're hiring a relative just to give them a job, well, that's a recipe for disaster. Same for friends. Same for girlfriends.
Marry her first, and if it works out and she's willing to work long hours with you, THEN bring her on.
Look, save Hubble, fine, I agree. But I sense glee that this is a setback for the administration, and there almost seems to be smugness in here that the Mars program may be in danger now.
Do NOT try to kill manned Mars exploration just because you hate Bush. That's pretty fuckin' petty.
If you've got real reasons to oppose manned Martian exploration, fine, then say so. But to root for damage to manned planetary exploration to score points against a politician is lame.
"Hello: How (specifically) can I help? I would like to assist with this process of free dissemination of information. If anyone has a suggestion how I might do that, please post here. I'm a normal user with an always-on DSL connection, run a normal webserver, and would like to assist with this. -- Kevin J. Rice"
Hi, this is the Government of the Peoples Republic of China. Just to let you know, Gwai Lo, you're one dead motherfucker. Sleep tight.
Sincerely,
The Commies
All the science and math books from that era were better than what we have today, in that they were easier to understand, got right to the point, and used common sense, interesting examples. I once borrowed a high school science textbook that a friend had, which was published in 1929. I ate it up like candy, and I think I learned more in 4 or 5 hours than I did throughout 4 years of high school. It was fantastic. It covered everthing from Newtonian physics to chemistry to some basic engineering, and to this day, I've never found a more informative introductory textbook. They truly don't make 'em like they used to.
Two years ago, we here down in Dixie established the Alabama Lugfest, with the intent that it become an annual tradition and meeting for all the statewide Linux user groups. We're now into planning our 3'rd year. I'm glad that Ohio and other states are now doing the same, and hope it spreads all across the country.
One thing we talked about two years ago was some kind of way to tie lugs together regionally, or even perhaps nationally. The idea is that perhaps once every few years, a Super Lugfest could be held (like perhaps in Atlanta or New Orleans or Nashville for the South). And while some people say that big annual events like LinuxWorld should be enough, not everyone can make it to those events. A regional event is somewhat easier to attend. The Alabama Lugfest was specifically created because, after the death of the Atlanta Linux Showcase, we were depressed that we had to go all the way to San Francisco for any kind of large Linux gathering. So we "rolled our own". We helped influence another regional event in Nashville, the Southeastern Technology Enthusiasts Conference in Nashville, which is also Open Source focused (hello, Mary!). They're into their second year of planning now.
Bottom line, if you can't get to the Bay Area every year, and you want Linux to flourish, organize a festival/expo in your own state. Start by getting in touch with the other lugs in your state, and see about creating a website or mailing list for all lugs to coordinate. Our Lugfest is now moving beyond just doing annual gatherings, and is now trying to organize in order to do things like help schools with open source projects, and influence the state legislature in relation to linux and open source subjects. So unite, organize, and achieve. You'll be surprised what you can do.
Hey Manic, do you use Linux? Contact me via email (it's in my profile) if you do.
Donald Rumsfeld has been on a crusade to transform the U.S. Military from a Cold War-style heavy military, to a light'n'fast quick strike force adapted to 21st century threats. He killed the Crusader, and you can bet the Commanche's corpse has his fingerprints all over it.
Now if he would just kill the F-22...