Re:The Achilles heel of this...
on
Phoenix BIOSOS?
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· Score: 1
No. Unlike hardware (peripherals), software does become outdated. It ceases to work as it did when it was new (because nobody else is using it or targeting it, so it becomes incompatible: office, IE, Netscape Navigator, etc.) and it becomes insecure to the point where you can not safely use it to connect elsewhere.
The hardware, on the other hand (such as a webcam) is fundamentally unchanged. It does low-quality image capture and audio capture. It's no different than a newer device in function - except the newer device has drivers targeted at it.
Re:The Achilles heel of this...
on
Phoenix BIOSOS?
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· Score: 1
I think a large part of the problem with open source is that drivers which work in one version do not work in the next - frequently. I'm not saying "the drivers aren't there", I'm saying they don't work. And it's not just "old" hardware that's the problem, it's (frequently) new hardware.
This seems to becoming more of a problem, too. It used to be (5+ years ago) that in Linux, hardware only became supported, not unsupported (in my experience). Until the 2.6 kernel, I never had a situation where hardware I had became "unsupported", whether through an included-but-broken driver or a driver getting phased out.
For instance, I've got a thinkpad x30 with an integrated ricoh based IR/firewire/CF/PCMCIA controller. It stopped working* when I upgraded from Ubuntu Debian Etch (4.0) to Ubuntu 8.10 - it's a kernel change, not a distro change. The drivers are all still there, they just shipped (intentionally) broken. I can only use the CF and PCMCIA slots when I boot with a device in said slot, and not use them both. But in either case, I'm unable to use the miniPCI wifi card at the same time (didn't look into it too much, might be IRQ related). I was able to hunt down the reason: they developers broke support due to a refactoring of the code for PCMCIA, to make it more 'modern' - claiming they might fix it later down the line. (Very doubtful; it's been about a year, and no change yet.)
Also, I've got a brand new USB based "multiport" device for my new computer. It's literally 2 weeks old. It doesn't work. It supposedly worked in Ubuntu 8.10, but does not in 9.04.
Linux, as a kernel, really needs to change how it does development if we're going to keep seeing all these functional regressions. It's not just this, either: seemingly, ext3 performance has degraded (in practice) for desktops. CFQ is/was a nightmare. But the developers don't really care, because they don't use those: they use the cutting edge stuff in the kernel that's still only in git, and they run the latest, greatest hardware. Us lowly peons who don't do git checkouts or run older hardware are SOL.
So were you saying that "yes, it's true that DNF is not coming out" or were you saying you think that DNF is going to come out and is indeed finished, and this is Abel's contribution to advertising?
Hopefully all the rights go to T2, including the 3DR name. If DNF actually, you know, gets finished, it'd feel almost wrong for there to not be the "3drealms" logo at the start, right before the nuclear symbol.
Yep. They already likely have a very substantial number of skinned alien models for DNF, as well as their textures and light models. They've got levels, explosions and other rendered things.
All they've got to do now (I assume) is import all this data into a better render engine, improve the lighting models, etc. and they're likely to have all the special effects they'd need to make a movie. Write, cast, shoot on a bluescreen, and impose Duke (and strippers) into the "game" (movie) world. Voila, you've got a movie which would net you > 12M.
Don't waste time with the desiccant packets, if you want desiccant. That cat litter that turns blue when the cat pisses on it? (Can't remember the name right now.) Go to the store, get that - $15 for 10lb or so, probably get it in smaller alotments. Put it in an old sock, tie it off. Replace it when it starts to get blue.
Personally, I've always just kept them in the anti-static bags. Or on my desk in the open. Or maybe under some papers, or in a stack with sharpie labels in the corner.
I don't doubt that a drive could probably die from mistreatment. But I've never seen or heard of a drive failing from ESD, and I've never dropped one (that wasn't spinning) and had it fail subsequently.
A cost effective backup system? Why not another 1.5Tb (offline) RAID array? 2x eSATA enclosures @ $20 each (or one of these: http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/usb-gadgets/a7ea/) and a couple 1.5Tb disks, and use them a raid1 array.
Currently, the WindPC (Atom platform) can be gotten for under $200, once you add a hard drive and 2Gb of RAM.
The next generation of Atoms is, supposedly, going to be a dual core SoC with integrated video and memory controller. Undoubtedly, it'll be possible to just solder the DDR to the board and save a couple bucks in manufacturing that way, as well. Personally, I expect a $200 price mark for the Atom 2 SoC to be a very tenable possibility. And, at the very least, with Intel's more recent graphics chips, at least video isn't so horrid it's almost unusable (compiz sorta works).
Correct me fi I'm wrong, but I thought the Atom architecture was limited to 2gb - or maybe that was yet-another artificial requirement put on manufactures?
Personally, I'd have bought a dual core Atom last month if I could've put a Nvidia graphics card and 4+ Gb of RAM in it - in a heartbeat. But I opted to get a Phenom x3 710 instead. I figured that if I wasn't going to buy "efficiency" and still get the features I wanted (lower power use, silent operation while still maintaining decent power), I might as well buy price/performance.
I've been reasonably satisfied with my x3 w/ all three cores running at 800MHz.
Re: Intel's dislike of other's use of the Atom to manufacture a "solution"...
Look into Intel's plans for the "Atom 2", which is due at the end of this year/beginning of next. From wiki:
The next generation of the Atom, "Lincroft," architecture is scheduled to be launched in Q4 2009 for a dual core and Q1 2010 for single core and is code-named Pineview[30]. It will be used in Netbook/Nettop systems, and feature a system-on-chip (SOC) with an integrated single-channel DDR2 memory controller and an integrated graphics core. Pineview, like Diamondville, will be available in single and dual-core versions. It will feature HyperThreading, and is to be manufactured on a 45 nm[31] or 32 nm[32] process.
(em mine)
Looks like they figured out how to make the whole "system" pie their own piece. A 2GHz+ dual core x86 SoC is something AMD, Nvidia, and pretty much anyone who makes x86 hardware should be concerned about - never mind the ARM SoC makers who are trying to get into the 'netbook' arena.
No, they don't "need" VMware themselves. They have a product which "fits" that niche - "that niche" being Windows desktop and server virtualization products (and only for MS's more expensive OS versions).
But if you consider the facts of VMware being cross-platform for both host and client OS, supporting a myriad more client operating systems than MS does, and the fact that VMware is working on emulation applications for mobile devices, well: the picture changes somewhat.
VMware is only competition in the very small world of Windows on Windows emulation. You have a significant diminished return on your hardware when your virtual hardware is sitting on top of a Microsoft OS: you need a lot more hardware.
Not only that, but VMware is heavily used in Linux by both companies and individuals. They offer the Only mature set of virtualization tools for OS X and Linux. Yes, Linux has KVM and Xen, and there's also Virtualbox - but Linux kernel virtualization lacks a cohesive, 'available' interface for management, and Virtualbox is easily several years behind even VMware workstation in terms of features, stability, and general solidness.
If MS were to buy VMware, they'd offer it as a move towards expanding their virtualization services to other OSes - to 'infuse' MS tech into VMware products to make them better. Then, the Windows versions of VMware products would slowly become much, much more "windowsy", while the Linux and Mac versions stagnate in features and usability - while useless or half-broken features are added, making the package as a whole less usable. Eventually, they'll be canceled outright.
That would be a very, very bad thing; after all, we IT folks are trying to move towards a more fully virtualized software/hardware environment: it makes things easier for us. Microsoft, on the other hand, has spent its entire existence making new hardware slow and glitchy with new OS releases. They want to maintain and perpetuate the status quo, which is a world of MS domination in every realm of a network's architecture.
Products can't be ahead of their time, granted. But ideas can: ideas are transitive and have value beyond their initial implementations.
The people who made the Eee didn't revolutionize anything but the cost of the device. There were several - many - examples of similar devices (many of which were implemented in a technically superior-for-their-day fashion).
They've been working on the game for, what, 13+ years? That's a freaking bold, ballsy move. Just like not releasing anything of significance for the past 4 years on development progress. So is this, if indeed it's an advertising stunt.
Their site was down the entire day after the news broke, presumably from all the traffic. If it was really a super secret publicity stunt, they would have been able to plan ahead to have enough capacity on their server/network to handle all the extra traffic from the "stunt."
That's part of the stunt. It leads to speculation, guessing, and ultimately anticipation. When people are curious, they're more likely to talk about it with others: what's going on? Did you hear? What do you think?
That's good (free) marketing. Why put in extra effort for not only a diminished return ("Their site's up, what's the big deal?"), but an actual negative return (because they'd make more advertising impressions by not spending the money in the first place).
I could very well be wrong, but this feels like a game pre-release to me, not a game release. As I said earlier today, and the other day when the news first broke (on/. both times), this does not feel like the bitch-and-moan, ala fuckedcompany.com, you'd expect. Everyone's blogs and all the info is upbeat. That has "joke's on you" written all over it.
Re:Apple needs much better gameing hardware at a b
on
Apple Eyeing EA?
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· Score: 1
Last I checked, you could run Crysis at a pretty damn good clip with 2Gb RAM and a GF9400. What's your beef?
I'd like you to spec a nice system, parts only, from somewhere like NewEgg and tell me how much it costs comparable to what Apple offers in the iMac line. You wouldn't be able to get close without open box parts. I say this, having just done it. When you include the case, the 20-22" monitor, the keyboard, and support (for simple security of mind) you're not going to be able to do it. Apple offers a very nice platform for a competitive price.
For what it's worth, I didn't buy the mac. I'm a linux user, through and through, and had parts I'd be using - so I could cut a couple costs, as I'm sure you can. But comparing Apple to Dell is something else entirely. Their hardware is comparable.
Re:Gamers are going to be pissed!
on
Apple Eyeing EA?
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· Score: 1
Well, here's hoping the last valid reason for a home user to use Windows gets destroyed by Apple, then.
Re:What do you get combining Apple + gaming compan
on
Apple Eyeing EA?
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· Score: 1
There is one major IT/electronics market segment where Apple hasn't put any effort yet: games.
Sure, the iPhone/iTouch can play games. And so can the iMac, sorta. But they've got no "game" products. You could argue that most of Apple's software products are surface products, in that they're the 'starter' version of whatever is available in the genre: there's not a terrific software selection, and arguably a lot of features are missing at times. At the least, gaming has been an afterthought for Apple's efforts to this point (despite it being much of what many people care about).
But personally, I think the might make a move in that direction. I'm not talking about publishing games (though they'll obviously want a piece of that cake, as that's where all the profit comes from in games). Reasonably, that's where EA comes from. And Apple has the entire distribution system in place and working well, too, so they've already got that hurdle beaten.
Whether or not they scale down a PC (x86) or upscale a phone (ARM) doesn't really matter, though I'd guess they'd go the multicore ARM route and tightly integrate a gaming platform w/ OS X and iPhone OS to allow people to share game data, and have games with multi-device roles. (I seem to recall reading about something to this effect recently.) Not just as a "neat feature" but an actual feature that makes the games more enjoyable (maybe even providing some fresh ideas to gaming). I can think of a couple fantastical (hazy) things which might be done with a cross-platform game which relies upon an iPhone's portability and interfaces, and I think ti could certainly be made 'fun'.
I mean, seriously: what sense does it make for the world's most powerful super computer (note sarcasm) to not be able to play games? Being able to play the best games only on Apple hardware sounds like a great marketing ploy.
You must know nothing about India if you think a place with pipes (never mind running water, we're just talking drainage), four solid walls, a roof and a floor is anything short of "middle class".
Maybe in 40, 50 years the places would be considered slums/projects, if India continues to improve at the rate it has been. But from the looks of things, they should serve as suitable housing until they're ready for replacement. And if they leave room between the buildings/complexes, and don't make the complexes too large, they'll be able to blend properly with the surrounding area buildings as people become more affluent.
The projects in the US failed because they were the spear tip of a political movement (ie, politicians did it) to bid for their own election. "Here's a house if you vote for us" kind of thing. No foresight was given for things like jobs or infrastructure - and there were a lot of other things fundamentally wrong about the 1950s era planning mentality.
Yep, just like the "new, completely rewritten" operating systems they've released (like Vista, 2000, and W7). SpiderTCP is still floating around in part.
I didn't use a disk - I took the i386 directory which came with the HP laptop off the c: drive, put it in unattended, and installed over the network with it (surprise, Windows was hosed beyond sensible repair) and the "sticker key" on the underside of the laptop. (Of course, this was likely caused by the fact that said key was actually never used for the initial installation: HP likely used a VLK for the initial install, because imaging with individual product keys is a PITA.)
Spell? Not a single spelling mistake in my post. However, you did misread (and then misquote) what I wrote; learn how to read.
No, not "Windows, right" - BSD, Linux, WXP, and Vista. The actual upstream route is unavailable. DNS is unreachable. Pings to outside hosts (by IP or hostname) fail. Et cetera.
You remember when everyone and their mother was just getting used to using Windows around 1998, and everyone was an expert? Yeah, I do. It was fucking irritating, is what it was. They'd install Windows and it'd be the best thing since sliced bread, and they'd rant and rave about it and... well, if you didn't find a good place for the body soon, it'd start to stink.
Basically, imagine the Ubuntu userbase, but half as competent and twice as loud. Let's not go there.
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No. Unlike hardware (peripherals), software does become outdated. It ceases to work as it did when it was new (because nobody else is using it or targeting it, so it becomes incompatible: office, IE, Netscape Navigator, etc.) and it becomes insecure to the point where you can not safely use it to connect elsewhere.
The hardware, on the other hand (such as a webcam) is fundamentally unchanged. It does low-quality image capture and audio capture. It's no different than a newer device in function - except the newer device has drivers targeted at it.
I think a large part of the problem with open source is that drivers which work in one version do not work in the next - frequently. I'm not saying "the drivers aren't there", I'm saying they don't work. And it's not just "old" hardware that's the problem, it's (frequently) new hardware.
This seems to becoming more of a problem, too. It used to be (5+ years ago) that in Linux, hardware only became supported, not unsupported (in my experience). Until the 2.6 kernel, I never had a situation where hardware I had became "unsupported", whether through an included-but-broken driver or a driver getting phased out.
For instance, I've got a thinkpad x30 with an integrated ricoh based IR/firewire/CF/PCMCIA controller. It stopped working* when I upgraded from Ubuntu Debian Etch (4.0) to Ubuntu 8.10 - it's a kernel change, not a distro change. The drivers are all still there, they just shipped (intentionally) broken. I can only use the CF and PCMCIA slots when I boot with a device in said slot, and not use them both. But in either case, I'm unable to use the miniPCI wifi card at the same time (didn't look into it too much, might be IRQ related). I was able to hunt down the reason: they developers broke support due to a refactoring of the code for PCMCIA, to make it more 'modern' - claiming they might fix it later down the line. (Very doubtful; it's been about a year, and no change yet.)
Also, I've got a brand new USB based "multiport" device for my new computer. It's literally 2 weeks old. It doesn't work. It supposedly worked in Ubuntu 8.10, but does not in 9.04.
Linux, as a kernel, really needs to change how it does development if we're going to keep seeing all these functional regressions. It's not just this, either: seemingly, ext3 performance has degraded (in practice) for desktops. CFQ is/was a nightmare. But the developers don't really care, because they don't use those: they use the cutting edge stuff in the kernel that's still only in git, and they run the latest, greatest hardware. Us lowly peons who don't do git checkouts or run older hardware are SOL.
So were you saying that "yes, it's true that DNF is not coming out" or were you saying you think that DNF is going to come out and is indeed finished, and this is Abel's contribution to advertising?
Hopefully all the rights go to T2, including the 3DR name. If DNF actually, you know, gets finished, it'd feel almost wrong for there to not be the "3drealms" logo at the start, right before the nuclear symbol.
Yep. They already likely have a very substantial number of skinned alien models for DNF, as well as their textures and light models. They've got levels, explosions and other rendered things.
All they've got to do now (I assume) is import all this data into a better render engine, improve the lighting models, etc. and they're likely to have all the special effects they'd need to make a movie. Write, cast, shoot on a bluescreen, and impose Duke (and strippers) into the "game" (movie) world. Voila, you've got a movie which would net you > 12M.
Who's Alan Abel, or more significantly, why is it important that he's the primary stock holder?
Yep.
I'd take a Service school graduate over an MIT or Cal Tech graduate any day of the week - whether he's guarding my ass or my computer. :P
Don't waste time with the desiccant packets, if you want desiccant. That cat litter that turns blue when the cat pisses on it? (Can't remember the name right now.) Go to the store, get that - $15 for 10lb or so, probably get it in smaller alotments. Put it in an old sock, tie it off. Replace it when it starts to get blue.
Personally, I've always just kept them in the anti-static bags. Or on my desk in the open. Or maybe under some papers, or in a stack with sharpie labels in the corner.
I don't doubt that a drive could probably die from mistreatment. But I've never seen or heard of a drive failing from ESD, and I've never dropped one (that wasn't spinning) and had it fail subsequently.
A cost effective backup system? Why not another 1.5Tb (offline) RAID array? 2x eSATA enclosures @ $20 each (or one of these: http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/usb-gadgets/a7ea/) and a couple 1.5Tb disks, and use them a raid1 array.
Currently, the WindPC (Atom platform) can be gotten for under $200, once you add a hard drive and 2Gb of RAM.
The next generation of Atoms is, supposedly, going to be a dual core SoC with integrated video and memory controller. Undoubtedly, it'll be possible to just solder the DDR to the board and save a couple bucks in manufacturing that way, as well. Personally, I expect a $200 price mark for the Atom 2 SoC to be a very tenable possibility. And, at the very least, with Intel's more recent graphics chips, at least video isn't so horrid it's almost unusable (compiz sorta works).
Correct me fi I'm wrong, but I thought the Atom architecture was limited to 2gb - or maybe that was yet-another artificial requirement put on manufactures?
Personally, I'd have bought a dual core Atom last month if I could've put a Nvidia graphics card and 4+ Gb of RAM in it - in a heartbeat. But I opted to get a Phenom x3 710 instead. I figured that if I wasn't going to buy "efficiency" and still get the features I wanted (lower power use, silent operation while still maintaining decent power), I might as well buy price/performance.
I've been reasonably satisfied with my x3 w/ all three cores running at 800MHz.
Re: Intel's dislike of other's use of the Atom to manufacture a "solution"...
Look into Intel's plans for the "Atom 2", which is due at the end of this year/beginning of next. From wiki:
The next generation of the Atom, "Lincroft," architecture is scheduled to be launched in Q4 2009 for a dual core and Q1 2010 for single core and is code-named Pineview[30]. It will be used in Netbook/Nettop systems, and feature a system-on-chip (SOC) with an integrated single-channel DDR2 memory controller and an integrated graphics core. Pineview, like Diamondville, will be available in single and dual-core versions. It will feature HyperThreading, and is to be manufactured on a 45 nm[31] or 32 nm[32] process.
(em mine)
Looks like they figured out how to make the whole "system" pie their own piece. A 2GHz+ dual core x86 SoC is something AMD, Nvidia, and pretty much anyone who makes x86 hardware should be concerned about - never mind the ARM SoC makers who are trying to get into the 'netbook' arena.
No, they don't "need" VMware themselves. They have a product which "fits" that niche - "that niche" being Windows desktop and server virtualization products (and only for MS's more expensive OS versions).
But if you consider the facts of VMware being cross-platform for both host and client OS, supporting a myriad more client operating systems than MS does, and the fact that VMware is working on emulation applications for mobile devices, well: the picture changes somewhat.
VMware is only competition in the very small world of Windows on Windows emulation. You have a significant diminished return on your hardware when your virtual hardware is sitting on top of a Microsoft OS: you need a lot more hardware.
Not only that, but VMware is heavily used in Linux by both companies and individuals. They offer the Only mature set of virtualization tools for OS X and Linux. Yes, Linux has KVM and Xen, and there's also Virtualbox - but Linux kernel virtualization lacks a cohesive, 'available' interface for management, and Virtualbox is easily several years behind even VMware workstation in terms of features, stability, and general solidness.
If MS were to buy VMware, they'd offer it as a move towards expanding their virtualization services to other OSes - to 'infuse' MS tech into VMware products to make them better. Then, the Windows versions of VMware products would slowly become much, much more "windowsy", while the Linux and Mac versions stagnate in features and usability - while useless or half-broken features are added, making the package as a whole less usable. Eventually, they'll be canceled outright.
That would be a very, very bad thing; after all, we IT folks are trying to move towards a more fully virtualized software/hardware environment: it makes things easier for us. Microsoft, on the other hand, has spent its entire existence making new hardware slow and glitchy with new OS releases. They want to maintain and perpetuate the status quo, which is a world of MS domination in every realm of a network's architecture.
Products can't be ahead of their time, granted. But ideas can: ideas are transitive and have value beyond their initial implementations.
The people who made the Eee didn't revolutionize anything but the cost of the device. There were several - many - examples of similar devices (many of which were implemented in a technically superior-for-their-day fashion).
They've been working on the game for, what, 13+ years? That's a freaking bold, ballsy move. Just like not releasing anything of significance for the past 4 years on development progress. So is this, if indeed it's an advertising stunt.
Their site was down the entire day after the news broke, presumably from all the traffic. If it was really a super secret publicity stunt, they would have been able to plan ahead to have enough capacity on their server/network to handle all the extra traffic from the "stunt."
That's part of the stunt. It leads to speculation, guessing, and ultimately anticipation. When people are curious, they're more likely to talk about it with others: what's going on? Did you hear? What do you think?
That's good (free) marketing. Why put in extra effort for not only a diminished return ("Their site's up, what's the big deal?"), but an actual negative return (because they'd make more advertising impressions by not spending the money in the first place).
I could very well be wrong, but this feels like a game pre-release to me, not a game release. As I said earlier today, and the other day when the news first broke (on /. both times), this does not feel like the bitch-and-moan, ala fuckedcompany.com, you'd expect. Everyone's blogs and all the info is upbeat. That has "joke's on you" written all over it.
Last I checked, you could run Crysis at a pretty damn good clip with 2Gb RAM and a GF9400. What's your beef?
I'd like you to spec a nice system, parts only, from somewhere like NewEgg and tell me how much it costs comparable to what Apple offers in the iMac line. You wouldn't be able to get close without open box parts. I say this, having just done it. When you include the case, the 20-22" monitor, the keyboard, and support (for simple security of mind) you're not going to be able to do it. Apple offers a very nice platform for a competitive price.
For what it's worth, I didn't buy the mac. I'm a linux user, through and through, and had parts I'd be using - so I could cut a couple costs, as I'm sure you can. But comparing Apple to Dell is something else entirely. Their hardware is comparable.
Well, here's hoping the last valid reason for a home user to use Windows gets destroyed by Apple, then.
There is one major IT/electronics market segment where Apple hasn't put any effort yet: games.
Sure, the iPhone/iTouch can play games. And so can the iMac, sorta. But they've got no "game" products. You could argue that most of Apple's software products are surface products, in that they're the 'starter' version of whatever is available in the genre: there's not a terrific software selection, and arguably a lot of features are missing at times. At the least, gaming has been an afterthought for Apple's efforts to this point (despite it being much of what many people care about).
But personally, I think the might make a move in that direction. I'm not talking about publishing games (though they'll obviously want a piece of that cake, as that's where all the profit comes from in games). Reasonably, that's where EA comes from. And Apple has the entire distribution system in place and working well, too, so they've already got that hurdle beaten.
Whether or not they scale down a PC (x86) or upscale a phone (ARM) doesn't really matter, though I'd guess they'd go the multicore ARM route and tightly integrate a gaming platform w/ OS X and iPhone OS to allow people to share game data, and have games with multi-device roles. (I seem to recall reading about something to this effect recently.) Not just as a "neat feature" but an actual feature that makes the games more enjoyable (maybe even providing some fresh ideas to gaming). I can think of a couple fantastical (hazy) things which might be done with a cross-platform game which relies upon an iPhone's portability and interfaces, and I think ti could certainly be made 'fun'.
I mean, seriously: what sense does it make for the world's most powerful super computer (note sarcasm) to not be able to play games? Being able to play the best games only on Apple hardware sounds like a great marketing ploy.
You must know nothing about India if you think a place with pipes (never mind running water, we're just talking drainage), four solid walls, a roof and a floor is anything short of "middle class".
Maybe in 40, 50 years the places would be considered slums/projects, if India continues to improve at the rate it has been. But from the looks of things, they should serve as suitable housing until they're ready for replacement. And if they leave room between the buildings/complexes, and don't make the complexes too large, they'll be able to blend properly with the surrounding area buildings as people become more affluent.
The projects in the US failed because they were the spear tip of a political movement (ie, politicians did it) to bid for their own election. "Here's a house if you vote for us" kind of thing. No foresight was given for things like jobs or infrastructure - and there were a lot of other things fundamentally wrong about the 1950s era planning mentality.
Yep, just like the "new, completely rewritten" operating systems they've released (like Vista, 2000, and W7). SpiderTCP is still floating around in part.
I didn't use a disk - I took the i386 directory which came with the HP laptop off the c: drive, put it in unattended, and installed over the network with it (surprise, Windows was hosed beyond sensible repair) and the "sticker key" on the underside of the laptop. (Of course, this was likely caused by the fact that said key was actually never used for the initial installation: HP likely used a VLK for the initial install, because imaging with individual product keys is a PITA.)
Spell? Not a single spelling mistake in my post. However, you did misread (and then misquote) what I wrote; learn how to read.
Kid, you've got a lot to learn.
No, not "Windows, right" - BSD, Linux, WXP, and Vista. The actual upstream route is unavailable. DNS is unreachable. Pings to outside hosts (by IP or hostname) fail. Et cetera.
You remember when everyone and their mother was just getting used to using Windows around 1998, and everyone was an expert? Yeah, I do. It was fucking irritating, is what it was. They'd install Windows and it'd be the best thing since sliced bread, and they'd rant and rave about it and ... well, if you didn't find a good place for the body soon, it'd start to stink.
Basically, imagine the Ubuntu userbase, but half as competent and twice as loud. Let's not go there.