I wouldn't put it past id Software to release their next game -only- for linux and MacOS. You know - as a philosophical stance. Probably wouldn't happen, but I wouldn't bet on it.
The question is: how do we make them willing to switch (if we even want them to, which is another debate entirely)?
Games. Get enough, good games, and the gamers will switch. Techies have already switched for the most part. If the techies and gamers switch (specifically the teenage gamer set, there won't be anyone to fix Windows machines (willingly, for less than the cost of a new system), and the problem will fix itself.
Either that, or companies will start selling more computers as a result of Windows problems, and geeks will get a lot more free second-hand hardware. Win-win.
It's like combat: the force with the superior size and resources is going to be unbeatable until they make a major tactical or technical mistake. Use the Iraqi War if you want an analogy: the US is cleaning shop, and it's because of superior technology, tactics, and sheer size (of the establishment, not the deployment). Training, too: Windows (say, all the futuristic military tech) is damn easy to set up and install, and everyone knows how to use it, so anyone can use it. Linux, on the other hand (say, a trial-and-error mortar system) is difficult to use for someone unfamiliar with it than Windows is, and it's not always as straightforward to get a system up and running.
The Vietnam War would be a good example of how the superior force (size and resources) can still lose. Shitty M-16 rifles, poor coordination, and the disadvantage of not being on home ground (ie, the other side had "home team" advantage) all made things difficult for them. If Linux were to get a wide corporate install base, I think things would slowly start to get away from Microsoft.
Also, I think RedHat (the company) is a big problem for Linux adoption. Their support is pretty bad, and they tend to still have a very "non-corporate" software attitude. Bug in your kernel? "Here, try this beta kernel." It's not a very corporate-friendly attitude, in my opinion. Are there any other good corporate options out there? No, not really, unfortunately.
I wonder, though, how those mechs would do against, say, comparatively armored humvees with a 2-man crew each? Probably not too well, particularly if the MVs have mark19s and.50 cal evenly distributed from HV to HV (ie, 5 with m-19 and 5 with.50 cal or whatever). (Or is that mk-17?)
The HVs would be faster and likely have better firepower. Unless, of course, the mechs had a high amount of accuracy machinery built in instead of relying on the soldier's aim.
A de facto standard is the standard by default - nothing else exists, or can compete in terms of market share. This is different from a natural standard which exists naturally - not as a default, but as the result of a healthy ecosystem.
A natural standard, in practice, is no different than an "open standard": they both serve the same purpose and have the same end result. Take the SMB protocol for instance (at least for the most part).
How many of you have said, "The only way Longhorn will even approach a useable OS is if it uses Unix-style permissions and doesn't require the user to run as Administrator to get work done"? I know I have. And I've been a Windows admin longer.
Seems they might actually have people htinking about problems and solving them.
Re:I, for one, welcome our new Exoskeleton Overlor
on
Commercial Exoskeletons
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· Score: 3, Interesting
I disagree.
Take a squad of 25 men, and put them in suits (albiet suits somewhat more advanced than these). Like Heinlein's, to a large degree. Making them nuclear powered might be practical, to some degree, if they were to give a significant edge in battle.
If the suits were 8' fall or so and had thick (ie, tank-level reactive) body armor, the squad of 25 could very likely out-maneuver most tank/armor batallions of the world, and most certainly out-gun all but the most intense infantry. They'd be able to withstand multiple RPG-type hits (possibly, provided the soldier isn't injured due to percussion), and would be harder to hit than a vehicle by far. With the assistance of advanced machinery and electronics, they'd likely be able to do a better, faster job sniping than most snipers, and be able to carry much larger guns than an unarmored soldier - though probably not quite as big as a vehicle-mounted weapon.
Think of them as something between a soldier on foot with a troop rifle (M16 or BAR) and a HV with a 100mm cannon. Maybe they'd carry a 30mm cannon with a couple thousand rounds, a decent sniper rifle, and a 20mm grenade launcher with plenty of ammo for it - significantly more power than even a squad could dish out, but not as much as an armored vehicle.
I don't imagine such suits being used to replace, say, foot infantry or even advanced groups like 1st Recon USMC or Navy SEAL. I think they'd largely be used in support capacity for those squads, or for the troops with less prowess. They'd likely get carted around on a transport truck, just like any other piece of specialized machinery - only deployed when needed (such as, say, for guard duty).
I obviously don't think such things are near to implimentation or deployment, but provided things don't tank in the near future, I suspect something similar - or at least a step in that direction - will be coming to the US Armed Forces within a while.
Yeah, you're right. America isn't the best country in the world. We've not been at the top of every single largely desireable list for the last 50 years, or anything. Our economic structure isn't embraced rabidly by people wanting a better way of life, and our government isn't one of the most stable governments that the world has ever seen. Our culture isn't emulated the world over. People don't struggle to get here in adverse conditions, traveling around the entire globe, like they do in Russia, China, or Europe. We're not at the forefront of every single emerging scientific field. Our scientists didn't invent every major device that helped "quality of life" advancement that society has seen i nthe last 50 years. We haven't been the most powerful military force in the world for the last 70+ years , now able to exert unprecidented force at any location in the world in mere hours. Na. The US isn't the best at all.
I mean, shit. We didn't invent writing or Mahjjong, but we sure as hell excel where it matters. Fuck off - the USA is indeed the best at damned near anything that is actually competitive.
The problem, however, is that no matter how efficient your filters are, they will lack the motivation of a learning, growing human being to learn. They will not notice things as a human would; they won't notice things at all. They'll simply take input and use a pre-determined algorythm to produce output.
I wonder how an alphanumeric, "leetspeak" password would hash out? I know a lot of people that (IMO, foolishly) use such passwords; eg, "sp133n" and what have you.
Yes, most certainly. I always turn off the grammar checking function. One of my biggest pet peeves is when "that" is suggested in the place of "which". For instance, "The thingie is located next to the whosit, which controls the whatsit's timer."
I rationalize it by thinking, "If I am late, they will fucking fire my fucking ass, and I'll have to get up early anyway to look for another shitty job." One slight pain to defer another.
As you may or may not know, melatonin is something naturally created by your body when it has sunlight and vitamin D. You could try just getting about an hour or two of sunlight and taking a vitamin D suppliment, too, so that it would be "natural" if you're concerned with that, but I'd not worry about it at all. It's not all that different than the "natural" chemical in your body.
I live in an unpleasant climate where I don't get much sun, and I suffer from depression. Melatonin also helps with moods (you may have noticed). I basically need the stuff to not suffer severe insomnia (no sun to go out in, even if it wasn't too cold to do so).
If you were to do a 30-minute exercise routine in the morning, you'd quickly find that it's both easier to fall asleep at night, and easier to wake up in the morning, naturally. That, and consume sufficient water, and cut down on coffee, soda, and other dehydrates.
Try exercise. Failing that, try not drinking coffee/soda, and consume at least 4 large glasses of water a day - preferably 8. You'll piss like crazy the first couple days while your body de-putrifies, but then you'll hydrate and not feel so damn tired.
Wouldn't work. I sleep too soundly. Even if I sleep in a room with large, open windows pointing to the east during the summer, I'd sleep until 11 or so without an alarm.
That probably wouldn't work for me. I've successfully navigated the hallway between my bed and the toilet to take a piss, all while missing things like intentionally-sharp and hostile plastic toys, without consciously waking up. I've done this many times.
What I need is something that wakes me up either by pain, or by fear for my life. I have a really difficult time getting my heart rate going in the morning (possibly due to dehydration, lack of sleep, or simply hating life - I don't know).
Maybe if I installed a holographic projector in my bedroom ceiling and put military-grade armor on the inside of my bedroom walls. Then I can just have the projector have a random baddie get projected into thin air so I can punch a leaden hole through his light particles. Maybe work accuracy sensors into it, too, so I'd have motivation in the long-term to be accurate.
Or I might have to migrate to electroshock to get my heart started.
It would seem as if Britian is experiencing socialism's endgame scenario. Between the government not listening to its constituents, things like WWII RAF vets getting deprived the legal ability to defend themselves and their homes, healthcare bullshit, and the increase in violent (firearm) crime since firearms were made illegal.
I wonder how long until it capitulates the state, or has another sort of "conclusion", such as a slightly-more-than-gradual governmental change (eg, to communism, another kind of totalitarian state, or a more libertarianistic state).
any of those 35% that fell for it 4 years ago should immediately be sacked. you'd think that after such a drastic fuck up, someone might take it to heart...
Wouldn't it make more sense to project it from beneath, ala a projection TV? Then you wouldn't have the irritating light glaring in your eyes at about 15 degrees.
However, after a little thought, it would make sense to not support ARM if they're intending to increase the frequency of release. Embedded software needs to be solid, regardless of whether it's a cell phone, PBX, etc. Keeping ARM would be contrary to both properly supporting ARM, and releasing on a shorted schedule.
I imagine there will be a branch of the ARM debian release. ARM stuff isn't likely to need many of the same packages that x86 compatible processors will, and I suspect it's highly likely that most of them are not often used.
What's a square meal? Is it anything like a well-rounded meal? Or is a square meal one of the kinds that come in a box on a square tray - as opposed to one cooked at home and served on a round plate?
Slashdot Mirror
I wouldn't put it past id Software to release their next game -only- for linux and MacOS. You know - as a philosophical stance. Probably wouldn't happen, but I wouldn't bet on it.
The question is: how do we make them willing to switch (if we even want them to, which is another debate entirely)?
Games. Get enough, good games, and the gamers will switch. Techies have already switched for the most part. If the techies and gamers switch (specifically the teenage gamer set, there won't be anyone to fix Windows machines (willingly, for less than the cost of a new system), and the problem will fix itself.
Either that, or companies will start selling more computers as a result of Windows problems, and geeks will get a lot more free second-hand hardware. Win-win.
It's like combat: the force with the superior size and resources is going to be unbeatable until they make a major tactical or technical mistake. Use the Iraqi War if you want an analogy: the US is cleaning shop, and it's because of superior technology, tactics, and sheer size (of the establishment, not the deployment). Training, too: Windows (say, all the futuristic military tech) is damn easy to set up and install, and everyone knows how to use it, so anyone can use it. Linux, on the other hand (say, a trial-and-error mortar system) is difficult to use for someone unfamiliar with it than Windows is, and it's not always as straightforward to get a system up and running.
The Vietnam War would be a good example of how the superior force (size and resources) can still lose. Shitty M-16 rifles, poor coordination, and the disadvantage of not being on home ground (ie, the other side had "home team" advantage) all made things difficult for them. If Linux were to get a wide corporate install base, I think things would slowly start to get away from Microsoft.
Also, I think RedHat (the company) is a big problem for Linux adoption. Their support is pretty bad, and they tend to still have a very "non-corporate" software attitude. Bug in your kernel? "Here, try this beta kernel." It's not a very corporate-friendly attitude, in my opinion. Are there any other good corporate options out there? No, not really, unfortunately.
I wonder, though, how those mechs would do against, say, comparatively armored humvees with a 2-man crew each? Probably not too well, particularly if the MVs have mark19s and .50 cal evenly distributed from HV to HV (ie, 5 with m-19 and 5 with .50 cal or whatever). (Or is that mk-17?)
The HVs would be faster and likely have better firepower. Unless, of course, the mechs had a high amount of accuracy machinery built in instead of relying on the soldier's aim.
A de facto standard is the standard by default - nothing else exists, or can compete in terms of market share. This is different from a natural standard which exists naturally - not as a default, but as the result of a healthy ecosystem.
A natural standard, in practice, is no different than an "open standard": they both serve the same purpose and have the same end result. Take the SMB protocol for instance (at least for the most part).
Goddamn. Half the people that replied to you are bloody communists.
Of course we've got a right to make money, as its (in essence) a constitutional right. Goddamn traitors.
How many of you have said, "The only way Longhorn will even approach a useable OS is if it uses Unix-style permissions and doesn't require the user to run as Administrator to get work done"? I know I have. And I've been a Windows admin longer.
Seems they might actually have people htinking about problems and solving them.
I disagree.
Take a squad of 25 men, and put them in suits (albiet suits somewhat more advanced than these). Like Heinlein's, to a large degree. Making them nuclear powered might be practical, to some degree, if they were to give a significant edge in battle.
If the suits were 8' fall or so and had thick (ie, tank-level reactive) body armor, the squad of 25 could very likely out-maneuver most tank/armor batallions of the world, and most certainly out-gun all but the most intense infantry. They'd be able to withstand multiple RPG-type hits (possibly, provided the soldier isn't injured due to percussion), and would be harder to hit than a vehicle by far. With the assistance of advanced machinery and electronics, they'd likely be able to do a better, faster job sniping than most snipers, and be able to carry much larger guns than an unarmored soldier - though probably not quite as big as a vehicle-mounted weapon.
Think of them as something between a soldier on foot with a troop rifle (M16 or BAR) and a HV with a 100mm cannon. Maybe they'd carry a 30mm cannon with a couple thousand rounds, a decent sniper rifle, and a 20mm grenade launcher with plenty of ammo for it - significantly more power than even a squad could dish out, but not as much as an armored vehicle.
I don't imagine such suits being used to replace, say, foot infantry or even advanced groups like 1st Recon USMC or Navy SEAL. I think they'd largely be used in support capacity for those squads, or for the troops with less prowess. They'd likely get carted around on a transport truck, just like any other piece of specialized machinery - only deployed when needed (such as, say, for guard duty).
I obviously don't think such things are near to implimentation or deployment, but provided things don't tank in the near future, I suspect something similar - or at least a step in that direction - will be coming to the US Armed Forces within a while.
Yeah, you're right. America isn't the best country in the world. We've not been at the top of every single largely desireable list for the last 50 years, or anything. Our economic structure isn't embraced rabidly by people wanting a better way of life, and our government isn't one of the most stable governments that the world has ever seen. Our culture isn't emulated the world over. People don't struggle to get here in adverse conditions, traveling around the entire globe, like they do in Russia, China, or Europe. We're not at the forefront of every single emerging scientific field. Our scientists didn't invent every major device that helped "quality of life" advancement that society has seen i nthe last 50 years. We haven't been the most powerful military force in the world for the last 70+ years , now able to exert unprecidented force at any location in the world in mere hours. Na. The US isn't the best at all.
I mean, shit. We didn't invent writing or Mahjjong, but we sure as hell excel where it matters. Fuck off - the USA is indeed the best at damned near anything that is actually competitive.
The problem, however, is that no matter how efficient your filters are, they will lack the motivation of a learning, growing human being to learn. They will not notice things as a human would; they won't notice things at all. They'll simply take input and use a pre-determined algorythm to produce output.
I wonder how an alphanumeric, "leetspeak" password would hash out? I know a lot of people that (IMO, foolishly) use such passwords; eg, "sp133n" and what have you.
Yes, most certainly. I always turn off the grammar checking function. One of my biggest pet peeves is when "that" is suggested in the place of "which". For instance, "The thingie is located next to the whosit, which controls the whatsit's timer."
I rationalize it by thinking, "If I am late, they will fucking fire my fucking ass, and I'll have to get up early anyway to look for another shitty job." One slight pain to defer another.
As you may or may not know, melatonin is something naturally created by your body when it has sunlight and vitamin D. You could try just getting about an hour or two of sunlight and taking a vitamin D suppliment, too, so that it would be "natural" if you're concerned with that, but I'd not worry about it at all. It's not all that different than the "natural" chemical in your body.
I live in an unpleasant climate where I don't get much sun, and I suffer from depression. Melatonin also helps with moods (you may have noticed). I basically need the stuff to not suffer severe insomnia (no sun to go out in, even if it wasn't too cold to do so).
If you were to do a 30-minute exercise routine in the morning, you'd quickly find that it's both easier to fall asleep at night, and easier to wake up in the morning, naturally. That, and consume sufficient water, and cut down on coffee, soda, and other dehydrates.
Try exercise. Failing that, try not drinking coffee/soda, and consume at least 4 large glasses of water a day - preferably 8. You'll piss like crazy the first couple days while your body de-putrifies, but then you'll hydrate and not feel so damn tired.
It's helped me significantly.
Wouldn't work. I sleep too soundly. Even if I sleep in a room with large, open windows pointing to the east during the summer, I'd sleep until 11 or so without an alarm.
That probably wouldn't work for me. I've successfully navigated the hallway between my bed and the toilet to take a piss, all while missing things like intentionally-sharp and hostile plastic toys, without consciously waking up. I've done this many times.
What I need is something that wakes me up either by pain, or by fear for my life. I have a really difficult time getting my heart rate going in the morning (possibly due to dehydration, lack of sleep, or simply hating life - I don't know).
Maybe if I installed a holographic projector in my bedroom ceiling and put military-grade armor on the inside of my bedroom walls. Then I can just have the projector have a random baddie get projected into thin air so I can punch a leaden hole through his light particles. Maybe work accuracy sensors into it, too, so I'd have motivation in the long-term to be accurate.
Or I might have to migrate to electroshock to get my heart started.
Damn skippy. That's pretty cool. How much did it all cost?
I'd love to get an alarm clock like that.
It would seem as if Britian is experiencing socialism's endgame scenario. Between the government not listening to its constituents, things like WWII RAF vets getting deprived the legal ability to defend themselves and their homes, healthcare bullshit, and the increase in violent (firearm) crime since firearms were made illegal.
I wonder how long until it capitulates the state, or has another sort of "conclusion", such as a slightly-more-than-gradual governmental change (eg, to communism, another kind of totalitarian state, or a more libertarianistic state).
any of those 35% that fell for it 4 years ago should immediately be sacked. you'd think that after such a drastic fuck up, someone might take it to heart...
Hah! I'll show them. Little do they know I don't buy anniversary presents!
Welcome to the 21st century, Mr. Gates!
Imagine the splendor of advancement and innovation which is before us! The future!
Wouldn't it make more sense to project it from beneath, ala a projection TV? Then you wouldn't have the irritating light glaring in your eyes at about 15 degrees.
That was the exact same reaction I had.
However, after a little thought, it would make sense to not support ARM if they're intending to increase the frequency of release. Embedded software needs to be solid, regardless of whether it's a cell phone, PBX, etc. Keeping ARM would be contrary to both properly supporting ARM, and releasing on a shorted schedule.
I imagine there will be a branch of the ARM debian release. ARM stuff isn't likely to need many of the same packages that x86 compatible processors will, and I suspect it's highly likely that most of them are not often used.
What's a square meal? Is it anything like a well-rounded meal? Or is a square meal one of the kinds that come in a box on a square tray - as opposed to one cooked at home and served on a round plate?
So confused!