I bought the Dell inspiron 1420 with Ubuntu preinstalled. I had a little trouble putting Gentoo on it because Dell used bleeding-edge hardware that they had linux drivers for, but weren't in the main kernel yet. Heck, the standard Ubuntu CD that they shipped with the laptop couldn't boot the laptop because of missing drivers. They did eventually release a remastered Ubuntu CD that had the required drivers.
Hopefully, these issues no longer remain, but I'd be hesitant to buy another Dell with Ubuntu preinstalled unless you actually intend to use Ubuntu on it or have heard success stories from others using your choice distro.
What will nerds do when the computer is a disposable consumer product?
We will rejoice!
Nobody cares what brand their CD or DVD player is, they buy according to features and price point. I can't wait until I can do the same for a general purpose computer.
It's such a small portion of the energy stored in the atmosphere (and dumped into it daily by the sun and radiated away daily into space) that we'd never be able to measure the difference. It would get lost in the noise.
I've been told numerous times that having extra binaries for other platforms is "bloat"
It's only "bloat" if it's in the default install. If it's something you specifically want installed, it's not "bloat". Besides, servers and desktops already have different software profiles, so it would be trivial to include such software on a desktop install but not have it present on a server install.
Another, related, example is hardware upgrades. It is easy to have the OS pull software from a previous machine with GNUStep, but for the server admins (myself included) prefer building from scratch and mostly run OSS software anyway, so re-installing and re-registering is not an issue as it is for desktops.
I'm not sure what you're trying to say here.
I was speaking of Linux distros in general, not necessarily the Linux kernel, as that is what the article is about.
Well, if you're talking software stack, there's lots of software that is written just for desktop use or just for server use. If there's a piece of software that would improve your desktop experience, then there's no reason that it shouldn't be written. To claim that it would be detrimental to a server is stupid, since if it offers no value to a server, it wouldn't be installed on the server.
The people who are telling you this stuff need a reality check.
(please forgive me if I've misunderstood or misrepresented anything from your post)
Re:I hear lots of negative criticism about Linux.
on
Linux Needs Critics
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· Score: 1
You have a strange notion of "basic functions".
My mother doesn't have two monitors, nor does she have a docking station for her laptop. Linux can do "out of the box" what she requires a computer to do.
What you describe are power-user behaviors and, yes, they should be fixed if they're broken, but it's disingenuous to claim that they are basic functionality.
Much could be done to make Linux a better desktop, but because it would make it a poorer server and appliance OS, those things are not likely to happen.
Please, elaborate. What improvements could be made that would benefit the desktop but haven't been pursued because they would be detrimental to the server?
If I remember correctly, improvements to the kernel to improve server or desktop operation generally either have no impact on the other mode or benefits both.
Then you profile your code to see where the bottlenecks are and implement the bottlenecks in C, leaving 99% of your code unchanged, but getting 99% of the speed you'd get if you rewrote the whole thing in C.
Sounds like win-win to me.
If you really need that extra 1%, use some of the money you saved on development time and purchase a faster machine.
Without knowing why IBM is interested in buying Sun, isn't it a bit presumptuous to think that Sun's position in the FOSS world might not have something to do with it?
In TN, the rule is that your rear tire needs to be past the stop line when the light turns red for you to be okay. If your tire is behind the line when the light turns red and you go through, you've just run the light.
I think it's a state law. It could just be local (Germantown, TN).
You don't need to grow new Jatropha plants each year. The same plant will produce nuts every year. That's part of why it's so cheap to grow...plant once, harvest many times.
Slashdot Mirror
So, when will Ubuntu start its new ad campaign?
Security is only an issue of there is exposure.
Sufficiently locked down and inaccessible to the outside world, even an XP machine can be made safe.
I thought that APIs (like header files and other interface specifications) couldn't be copyrighted.
Or did I misinterpret what you said?
I bought the Dell inspiron 1420 with Ubuntu preinstalled. I had a little trouble putting Gentoo on it because Dell used bleeding-edge hardware that they had linux drivers for, but weren't in the main kernel yet. Heck, the standard Ubuntu CD that they shipped with the laptop couldn't boot the laptop because of missing drivers. They did eventually release a remastered Ubuntu CD that had the required drivers.
Hopefully, these issues no longer remain, but I'd be hesitant to buy another Dell with Ubuntu preinstalled unless you actually intend to use Ubuntu on it or have heard success stories from others using your choice distro.
Sure, people will disagree, but that doesn't prevent us from learning something from the comparisons and resulting discussion.
Some experts would say the the NT Kernel is actually just as good if not better then the Linux kernel
If you've got links to kernel comparisons, please share them.
Which cards?
I've got 3 dell laptops (DL600, DL630, and Latitude 1420) and all of them work just fine with no fiddling beyond making sure the firmware is loaded.
Windows, however, has full native support for Windows applications.
Thanks for the chuckle.
That's the funniest thing I've read all day.
What will nerds do when the computer is a disposable consumer product?
We will rejoice!
Nobody cares what brand their CD or DVD player is, they buy according to features and price point. I can't wait until I can do the same for a general purpose computer.
It's such a small portion of the energy stored in the atmosphere (and dumped into it daily by the sun and radiated away daily into space) that we'd never be able to measure the difference. It would get lost in the noise.
I've been told numerous times that having extra binaries for other platforms is "bloat"
It's only "bloat" if it's in the default install. If it's something you specifically want installed, it's not "bloat". Besides, servers and desktops already have different software profiles, so it would be trivial to include such software on a desktop install but not have it present on a server install.
Another, related, example is hardware upgrades. It is easy to have the OS pull software from a previous machine with GNUStep, but for the server admins (myself included) prefer building from scratch and mostly run OSS software anyway, so re-installing and re-registering is not an issue as it is for desktops.
I'm not sure what you're trying to say here.
I was speaking of Linux distros in general, not necessarily the Linux kernel, as that is what the article is about.
Well, if you're talking software stack, there's lots of software that is written just for desktop use or just for server use. If there's a piece of software that would improve your desktop experience, then there's no reason that it shouldn't be written. To claim that it would be detrimental to a server is stupid, since if it offers no value to a server, it wouldn't be installed on the server.
The people who are telling you this stuff need a reality check.
(please forgive me if I've misunderstood or misrepresented anything from your post)
You have a strange notion of "basic functions".
My mother doesn't have two monitors, nor does she have a docking station for her laptop. Linux can do "out of the box" what she requires a computer to do.
What you describe are power-user behaviors and, yes, they should be fixed if they're broken, but it's disingenuous to claim that they are basic functionality.
Much could be done to make Linux a better desktop, but because it would make it a poorer server and appliance OS, those things are not likely to happen.
Please, elaborate. What improvements could be made that would benefit the desktop but haven't been pursued because they would be detrimental to the server?
If I remember correctly, improvements to the kernel to improve server or desktop operation generally either have no impact on the other mode or benefits both.
My Octane does a pretty good job of holding the carpet down.
Stupid uppity carpets
IBM learned long ago the money is in selling support contracts. None of the other vendors ever seemed to really grasp that idea.
Actually, it's a lesson that HP has learned also (witness their growing services arm).
Forgive my ignorance, but why couldn't you just use a cross-over cable for moving data from one machine to the other?
How does firewire compare to gigabit ethernet?
Then what? Rewrite?
Then you profile your code to see where the bottlenecks are and implement the bottlenecks in C, leaving 99% of your code unchanged, but getting 99% of the speed you'd get if you rewrote the whole thing in C.
Sounds like win-win to me.
If you really need that extra 1%, use some of the money you saved on development time and purchase a faster machine.
I wish I had mod points today. Excellent post.
Is that true in areas where the carrier is given a monopoly in order to better serve the local community?
In that case, aren't they required to offer services to everyone who can pay who lives in the monopolized area?
Do traffic cops really come out of the same pool that fighting/investigating real crimes comes out of?
I sort of assumed it would come out of the same pool as, say, meter maids.
Without knowing why IBM is interested in buying Sun, isn't it a bit presumptuous to think that Sun's position in the FOSS world might not have something to do with it?
In TN, the rule is that your rear tire needs to be past the stop line when the light turns red for you to be okay. If your tire is behind the line when the light turns red and you go through, you've just run the light.
I think it's a state law. It could just be local (Germantown, TN).
Transfer cops away from fighting violent crime to enforce red-light laws?
Where I live, Cops mostly just show up after the fact.
Where do you live that the cops actually interfere with crimes currently in progress?
How do they know where to be?
This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.
The younger generation isn't interested in having physical copies of the music and older farts like me have already fleshed out our collections.
You don't need to grow new Jatropha plants each year. The same plant will produce nuts every year. That's part of why it's so cheap to grow...plant once, harvest many times.