Cool bananas. So you're saying that Linux is not ready for the general market yet.
Huh? How did you get that from my comment?
Linux is completely ready for the general market. Just like Windows and OSX, you can buy it pre-installed on computers and it works great.
I disagree. I think any OS should be 'installable' by normal users. People can easily install Windows, and have since the 3.1 days. People can easily install OS X (and MacOS, System 7, etc before it). Why does Linux have to be different?
You can think that all you want, but it doesn't make it true. "Normal users" have *never* been able to "easily install" any OS. Not Windows. Not Mac OS. An OS is installed when they get a computer, and that OS stays installed until they replace the whole computer.
If you want Linux to reach the masses, attitudes like yours need to change. You need to target those random plumbers, school teachers and bartenders, making the OS easier than Windows for them. *That* is the best potential selling point - being *easier* to use than Windows, but free as well.
That's like saying "if you want Toyota cars to reach the masses, your attitude that people don't change their own oil filters needs to change". It's simply not true. Installing an OS simply isn't something that most of computer users will ever do or even think about doing.
Linux has already "reached the masses", pre-installed on embedded devices. It's currently in the process of "reaching the masses" on cheap computers. If any attitudes need to change to help it along, it's the attitude that Linux is something that you install on your existing computer rather than something you select as an option on your new computer. Everyone who's interested in personally installing Linux did it long ago.
Get back to me when you do that without broadband. My grandparents use dial-up since it's their only option.
Lots of software comes on the Ubuntu DVD and can be installed without broadband - including enough single player card games to provide for any grandparents. Hell, if you're willing to leave the computer up overnight you can even install large software packages from the repository over dialup - I've done it myself. But dial-up is really obsolete technology at this point. Even Windows just assumes that users can download tens or hundreds of megs of updates every couple weeks.
When you're discussing that sort of thing, you want to say "Use the Add/Remove tool in the Applications menu to install the ubuntu-restricted-extras package". Apt-get is easier, but the command line is too "scary" to talk about unless you're giving one specific person instructions that they're going to immediately type into a terminal.
Does Windows support mice? How about sound? I heard that Windows 98 doesn't even support USB storage devices - normal users use USB fobs all the time, so Windows definitely isn't ready for the desktop. I hear that Nvidia still hasn't released signed drivers for Vista.
Once Hardy comes out, I suggest you give it a spin. Then at least you can be up to date on your complaints.
Hardy recovers in graphical "safe mode" with the graphical config editor up if X ever breaks. Xorg.conf actually isn't even required more, you can even just delete the file and Hardy will work perfectly by regenerating a default config file automatically. This was actually true in Gutsy too.
Now... X doesn't generally fail like that - Ubuntu worked fine for non-technical users for years without this feature - but now your complaint isn't even a little bit valid anymore.
If you've bought laptops that many times and tried Linux on all of them, then why haven't you just picked a laptop with supported wireless hardware at some point? I mean - Intel brand wireless that *works perfectly* is a required part of the Intel Centrino(tm) platform - it's not like it's rare or anything.
Seriously, it's like you're punching yourself in the face and complaining that it hurts. I'm not feeling much sympathy here.
No, there still legitimately are wireless chipsets that don't work under Ubuntu. Most commonly, Dell brand wireless cards fall into this category.
If you try to install Ubuntu on a machine with such a wireless card, the card won't work. This is a commonly known problem, and if you run into it it's your own damn fault. Wireless cards that work are commonly available, and not having one is no more interesting than complaining that Windows won't run on your PS3.
No, no, no. Did OS X work perfectly on this random Dell that you tried to install Hardy on?
Seriously. When you first started using OS X, you bought a new machine that was specifically built to run that OS. Comparing that experience to trying to install Ubuntu on random hardware is absurd. If you want to compare your OS X experience to anything, compare it to a Dell with Ubuntu pre-installed.
But there's no way he could have gotten the wireless working on his own (even in the 8.04 beta, I still had to download and install drivers, then muck around with/etc/networking/interfaces file to make it work).
And he shouldn't be expected to.
Installing operating systems is for 1.) technicians, who can handle it and 2.) hobbyists, who asked for it. The idea that Ubuntu is going to gain a bunch of market share because random plumbers, school teachers, and bartenders will decide to download the install CD and install a new OS themselves on their current computers is absurd. Most users buy computers with the operating system already installed. If you want to do that for Ubuntu, try either System76 or Dell.
And if not, then why only in this one case are you so willing to claim fraud?
I don't know much about the ISO process or about previous ISO standards, but it's entirely possible that this is the first time that an ISO standards process has been gamed so thoroughly.
There is evidence that multiple new countries signed up as ISO members *specifically* to vote in OOXML. If so, that's an extremely large scale procedural attack. If this is the first time that a procedural attack on that scale has been attempted, then the whole situation only implies that the ISO wasn't prepared to withstand an attack of that magnitude (and now are trying to cover their asses in response).
Now, if that is what occurred and the ISO goes on refusing to admit to the problem rather than trying to fix it then the ISO name will no longer be worth trusting - but the ISO still has a month or so to make a procedural catch on this issue, fix the problem, and save their reputation.
BadAnalogyGuy said: Just because the metric system exists, it does not mean that the Imperial system should cease to exist.
Living up to your name, I see.
Two absolutely key requirements for a standard are that it be well specified and possible to usefully implement. The OOXML processes wasn't even long enough for someone to *read* the standard, and all the criticisms that were submitted by standards bodies were ignored in bulk - hence there is *no way* that the ISO could have known that OOXML met those requirements.
Build a space elevator, and mine heavy asteroids for fissionable materials.
Just straight using the fissionable materials we currently have access to on earth along with current fuel reprocessing technologies gives us ten thousand years easily.
I'm all for building a space elevator and mining asteroids, but if we decide to solve our energy problems with nuclear fission we can just start building the plants tomorrow.
C++ is not a superset of C, and is definitely not supposed to be written like C.
C++ is damn close to being a superset of C. Any C code examples given in this book are almost sure to be valid C++. Further, the fact that C code makes for awkward and ugly C++ code doesn't mean that it isn't *valid* C++ code.
C and C++ are very different languages in programming style, but anyone who knows C++ already knows the C syntax and semantics - at most they'll need to learn the modern C programming style to actually use it.
How hard would it be for a C++ coder to dig into this book?
Should be pretty easy. All the code examples are valid C++. All you need to do is remember that "class" is called "struct" and that you have to mangle your own names.
I hate to say it, but it sounds like you need to move if laws that you don't believe in are on the books and are being enforced.
That plan would work great if laws were generally made at a reasonably local level of government. Unfortunately, stupid laws in the USA tend to be made at the federal level (i.e. drug laws). Even Europe is starting to follow the same terrible path with the EU.
What's left? Live in Sri Lanka? Hope that New Zealand happens to have laws that I like?
It's true that there is an innate "Yankee" cultural distrust of government - but to simply assume that's wrong because your personal culture didn't leave you with any such warning is foolish.
There are some very few governments in the world today that seem to work well and generally do good. The necessary but not sufficient requirements seem to be 1.) a rich and well educated populace 2.) a population under 10 million.
But even in those places, there's always a risk that *any* power structure can be co-opted for evil. It happens constantly; assuming that it's not going to happen to your government is ignorant and dangerous.
You shouldn't need a "cookbook".
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If you actually understand the language that you're using and the basics of programming, you should be able to handle most simple cookbook-type programming problems without any help.
Now, sitting down and reading one of these "cookbooks" (straight through, like a novel) when you're learning a new language might be a good idea; it helps get an idea of the programming style used in the community around the language. But, if you find yourself constantly using one of these things as a reference book for solutions then you should take that as a sign that you should probably go pick up a "Learning Language X" book and actually read it.
There is no alternative in rural areas, where our cell service is marginal.
There's a perfectly good alternative: run fiber. I'm sure you already have phone lines - decent network infrastructure is the 21st century version of that. And no, it's not "impossible" or "too expensive" - it's "doing it right". Being in a rural area with a electricity co-op should just make this easier. It makes no sense to screw around with crap technologies like BPL.
Sadly, Microsoft has been pulling this sort of shit for *years*, and they always seem to get away with it. With the way things are going, I bet they could assassinate a competitor (say... Steve Jobs for argument's sake), publicly admit to it, and still get off with a stern warning as long as they promise not to do it again in the next 18 months.
They already send census forms by postal mail. The door-knocking is for households that don't fill out the forms. Maybe they could increase the response rate with a website - it's probably worth trying - but there'd still need to be knocking on doors.
It's awfully useful to have data in computer storage if you want to query it for information.
Consider this question: What is the median income of urban black males ages 30-37?
Now consider answering that on a computer - if the data's in an SQL database, that's like two queries. In contrast, answering that that given a warehouse full of filing cabinets is basically impossible.
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Huh? How did you get that from my comment?
Linux is completely ready for the general market. Just like Windows and OSX, you can buy it pre-installed on computers and it works great.
You can think that all you want, but it doesn't make it true. "Normal users" have *never* been able to "easily install" any OS. Not Windows. Not Mac OS. An OS is installed when they get a computer, and that OS stays installed until they replace the whole computer.
That's like saying "if you want Toyota cars to reach the masses, your attitude that people don't change their own oil filters needs to change". It's simply not true. Installing an OS simply isn't something that most of computer users will ever do or even think about doing.
Linux has already "reached the masses", pre-installed on embedded devices. It's currently in the process of "reaching the masses" on cheap computers. If any attitudes need to change to help it along, it's the attitude that Linux is something that you install on your existing computer rather than something you select as an option on your new computer. Everyone who's interested in personally installing Linux did it long ago.
lol. Whoosh.
Lots of software comes on the Ubuntu DVD and can be installed without broadband - including enough single player card games to provide for any grandparents. Hell, if you're willing to leave the computer up overnight you can even install large software packages from the repository over dialup - I've done it myself. But dial-up is really obsolete technology at this point. Even Windows just assumes that users can download tens or hundreds of megs of updates every couple weeks.
When you're discussing that sort of thing, you want to say "Use the Add/Remove tool in the Applications menu to install the ubuntu-restricted-extras package". Apt-get is easier, but the command line is too "scary" to talk about unless you're giving one specific person instructions that they're going to immediately type into a terminal.
Does Windows support mice? How about sound? I heard that Windows 98 doesn't even support USB storage devices - normal users use USB fobs all the time, so Windows definitely isn't ready for the desktop. I hear that Nvidia still hasn't released signed drivers for Vista.
Once Hardy comes out, I suggest you give it a spin. Then at least you can be up to date on your complaints.
Hardy recovers in graphical "safe mode" with the graphical config editor up if X ever breaks. Xorg.conf actually isn't even required more, you can even just delete the file and Hardy will work perfectly by regenerating a default config file automatically. This was actually true in Gutsy too.
Now... X doesn't generally fail like that - Ubuntu worked fine for non-technical users for years without this feature - but now your complaint isn't even a little bit valid anymore.
If you've bought laptops that many times and tried Linux on all of them, then why haven't you just picked a laptop with supported wireless hardware at some point? I mean - Intel brand wireless that *works perfectly* is a required part of the Intel Centrino(tm) platform - it's not like it's rare or anything.
Seriously, it's like you're punching yourself in the face and complaining that it hurts. I'm not feeling much sympathy here.
What's confusing about the Ubuntu "Add/Remove..." tool?
It's not the same as a Best Buy, but being able to browse and install (for $0) thousands of programs is sort of nice.
No, there still legitimately are wireless chipsets that don't work under Ubuntu. Most commonly, Dell brand wireless cards fall into this category.
If you try to install Ubuntu on a machine with such a wireless card, the card won't work. This is a commonly known problem, and if you run into it it's your own damn fault. Wireless cards that work are commonly available, and not having one is no more interesting than complaining that Windows won't run on your PS3.
No, no, no. Did OS X work perfectly on this random Dell that you tried to install Hardy on?
Seriously. When you first started using OS X, you bought a new machine that was specifically built to run that OS. Comparing that experience to trying to install Ubuntu on random hardware is absurd. If you want to compare your OS X experience to anything, compare it to a Dell with Ubuntu pre-installed.
And he shouldn't be expected to.
Installing operating systems is for 1.) technicians, who can handle it and 2.) hobbyists, who asked for it. The idea that Ubuntu is going to gain a bunch of market share because random plumbers, school teachers, and bartenders will decide to download the install CD and install a new OS themselves on their current computers is absurd. Most users buy computers with the operating system already installed. If you want to do that for Ubuntu, try either System76 or Dell.
If that's true, it just makes the credibility of the voting results even worse.
I don't know much about the ISO process or about previous ISO standards, but it's entirely possible that this is the first time that an ISO standards process has been gamed so thoroughly.
There is evidence that multiple new countries signed up as ISO members *specifically* to vote in OOXML. If so, that's an extremely large scale procedural attack. If this is the first time that a procedural attack on that scale has been attempted, then the whole situation only implies that the ISO wasn't prepared to withstand an attack of that magnitude (and now are trying to cover their asses in response).
Now, if that is what occurred and the ISO goes on refusing to admit to the problem rather than trying to fix it then the ISO name will no longer be worth trusting - but the ISO still has a month or so to make a procedural catch on this issue, fix the problem, and save their reputation.
Living up to your name, I see.
Two absolutely key requirements for a standard are that it be well specified and possible to usefully implement. The OOXML processes wasn't even long enough for someone to *read* the standard, and all the criticisms that were submitted by standards bodies were ignored in bulk - hence there is *no way* that the ISO could have known that OOXML met those requirements.
Just straight using the fissionable materials we currently have access to on earth along with current fuel reprocessing technologies gives us ten thousand years easily.
I'm all for building a space elevator and mining asteroids, but if we decide to solve our energy problems with nuclear fission we can just start building the plants tomorrow.
Was it really the *terrorists* who had that goal?
C++ is damn close to being a superset of C. Any C code examples given in this book are almost sure to be valid C++. Further, the fact that C code makes for awkward and ugly C++ code doesn't mean that it isn't *valid* C++ code.
C and C++ are very different languages in programming style, but anyone who knows C++ already knows the C syntax and semantics - at most they'll need to learn the modern C programming style to actually use it.
Should be pretty easy. All the code examples are valid C++. All you need to do is remember that "class" is called "struct" and that you have to mangle your own names.
That plan would work great if laws were generally made at a reasonably local level of government. Unfortunately, stupid laws in the USA tend to be made at the federal level (i.e. drug laws). Even Europe is starting to follow the same terrible path with the EU.
What's left? Live in Sri Lanka? Hope that New Zealand happens to have laws that I like?
It's true that there is an innate "Yankee" cultural distrust of government - but to simply assume that's wrong because your personal culture didn't leave you with any such warning is foolish.
There are some very few governments in the world today that seem to work well and generally do good. The necessary but not sufficient requirements seem to be 1.) a rich and well educated populace 2.) a population under 10 million.
But even in those places, there's always a risk that *any* power structure can be co-opted for evil. It happens constantly; assuming that it's not going to happen to your government is ignorant and dangerous.
If you actually understand the language that you're using and the basics of programming, you should be able to handle most simple cookbook-type programming problems without any help.
Now, sitting down and reading one of these "cookbooks" (straight through, like a novel) when you're learning a new language might be a good idea; it helps get an idea of the programming style used in the community around the language. But, if you find yourself constantly using one of these things as a reference book for solutions then you should take that as a sign that you should probably go pick up a "Learning Language X" book and actually read it.
There's a perfectly good alternative: run fiber. I'm sure you already have phone lines - decent network infrastructure is the 21st century version of that. And no, it's not "impossible" or "too expensive" - it's "doing it right". Being in a rural area with a electricity co-op should just make this easier. It makes no sense to screw around with crap technologies like BPL.
Sadly, Microsoft has been pulling this sort of shit for *years*, and they always seem to get away with it. With the way things are going, I bet they could assassinate a competitor (say... Steve Jobs for argument's sake), publicly admit to it, and still get off with a stern warning as long as they promise not to do it again in the next 18 months.
They already send census forms by postal mail. The door-knocking is for households that don't fill out the forms. Maybe they could increase the response rate with a website - it's probably worth trying - but there'd still need to be knocking on doors.
It's awfully useful to have data in computer storage if you want to query it for information.
Consider this question: What is the median income of urban black males ages 30-37?
Now consider answering that on a computer - if the data's in an SQL database, that's like two queries. In contrast, answering that that given a warehouse full of filing cabinets is basically impossible.