My experience with IBM has generally been favorable (bulky and slightly expensive products, but as solid as a rock).
My own personal machine, a Dell laptop, has a Dell MagStar mini hard drive that is always making weird noises. I actually RMA'd the first drive I had because I thought it was broken, but the new drive acted in the same way.
Diagnostically it runs fine, and I've never had any file transfer problems (outside the fact that it, like most laptop drives, are just slow). But it has always been a little noisy.
Re:Palm is just not exciting anymore
on
Pocket PC 2002
·
· Score: 1, Flamebait
"Right now, Palm is the Unix of PDAs, works, doesn't look sexy, just works."
Horse-drawn carriages "just work". Good thing I still drive one.
Re:The Palm is already dying
on
Pocket PC 2002
·
· Score: 2
"What matters are ease of use, battery life, and cost."
But when a person is buying a machine at CompUSA, and all they see is the pretty colors, guess what sways their opinion?
"When the project was opened two years ago, it was missing online help, spell-checking, and printing which had been based on proprietary commercial libraries. With release 6 the open source community has replaced these missing features."
"from the another-promising-one dept."
*Groan*. Yup, I actually have a version of a file explorer I'm coming out with. It doesn't open files or perform basic file operations, but the icons are there and they look pretty. I expect to have the "missing features" done, but it's GPL'd. That should mean something, right?
"having used Linux and WIndows for years, can assure the recent Suse distro is at least as easy to use as Windows."
You just shot down your own statement. Of course an operating system is "at least as easy to use as Windows" if you've been using it for years. Heck, I thought the menu screen on the TI-99/4A was just dandy.
I think from a "this metaphor works" standpoint, Mac OS got it right the first try (too bad the underlying code sucks -- we'll see with OS X slowly gaining popularity). Windows 95 was pretty revolutionary on a few fronts. XP is bar none the easiest Windows system to use, with the task panes on the folders saying "here you can delete, here you can write to this CD". I showed that to my mom and she instantly understood it (even though, like most of America, she still doesn't know what a "shortcut" in the Start Menu means).
On the *NIX side, I find KDE to be my desktop of choice. But I've noticed something -- I think I like it because it's so close to Windows. You tend to like OS's you work with often enough, once you learn the underlying tricks (that's one of the reasons I installed POSIX utilities for the command line in Windows 2000/XP).:)
Hey, I want to see more articles where *Windows* compares more favorably than Linux at something. Seriously. It doesn't help to have totally one-sided technical reviews all the time, for either platform.
That said, I was kind of expecting XP to perform slower than 2000. 2000 is a modicum of strong engineering -- the only example of truly great software I've ever seen come out of Microsoft. Now, they add the sheen which -- while more user-friendly -- is sure to drag everything else down.
I'm an ardent support of Office itself (one of three really good MS products nowadays, along with the latest version of IE and the service pack 2 release of Windows 2000). However, I was sorely disappointed by the "improvements" offered by Office XP.
A lot of what was in it was already offered in Office 2000 (an underrated application suite) without the messy product activation. I recommend if you can get a copy of Office 2000, do so. It's very stable and runs like a champ.
The feature-touting list is actually pretty strong for this version. I used StarOffice briefly back in its 5.1 days, and while I found it to be a capable word processor, its Microsoft Office support was sorely lacking.
Now, not only does it contain the basic file filters, but it sensibly starts utilizing things like the default Outlook address book. Will all of this stuff work? It's questionable. But one of my best arguments for the Mac was "and this program can read Word files". Now, hopefully, I can say the same thing for Linux.
"1) why was X dying? I've never had X die except in the rarest occasions or more routinely on systems I had really futzed with. "
X dies frequently on my system. It really depends on the version of XFree86 you use + your vid card. The error messages aren't terribly helpful to a newbie either.
"2) why would fsck cause damage to half their filesystem? while I've on occasion hit reset or powered down without a proper shutdown I have never had fsck cause any damage to my filesystem."
Ever have a newbie try to answer some of the questions fsck puts up? "Your iNode is supposed to be 64, it's 8." "What?" Windows's automatically check in the beginning of the 9x series sucked, but at least it ran pretty much automatically.
"Furthermore, if that was a concern, a journaling FS like XFS could have solved your problem."
Um, right answer to the wrong question. Journaling file systems help, but if you fsck fuck have your drive (or the media itself) forget it. Ask anyone running Windows 2000, even with journaling already turned.
"3) why were newbies having to "figure out" the desktop? what kind of training did you give them?"
For certain users, no amount of training helps. I'm still teaching people how to click and drag, and I've repeated the instructions to some of them 20 times. There is a difference in innate usability, however, between desktops like KDE and Mac OS. Mac OS X is perhaps the most intuitive GUI I've ever seen, with Windows XP following in second. I like KDE, but it's confusing to most new users.
"4) you say you kept trying several combinations. wouldn't that tend to lead to increased confusion about and disdain for the new environment? seems like picking one thing after careful evaluation and sticking with it would solve some headdache."
The average user upgrades their GUI (Windows) every 2-3 years. Things are going to change rapidally. The only problem, as it's been said many times before, is that Linux doesn't have the "advantage" of having a single, standardized desktop. At least if you know one version of Windows, you pretty much have a good idea how the next one is going to act.
"5) If your bank requires IE, maybe you should consider a new bank? I mean that may seem drastic, but if they are uncapable of supporting the system your business wants to use, I'm sure another bank would be happy to hold on to your money."
My company has $100 million worth of assets. Some companies are easily in the billions. Do you have any idea how difficult it would be to move that amount of money simply because your browser doesn't work? The bank is supporting 92% of the internet browsing populations -- what more can you ask for? If you go to the vast majority of banks and ask "Does your banking portal work with Linux broswers?" they won't have a clue what you are talking about.
I find it hard to believe that a majority of these "counterpoint" arguments were even thought out.
0. We have two FreeBSD machines, but they act web and email servers respectively, not clients. For better or for worse, Windows (particularly 2000 and XP) are best for desktop usage.
It may just be me, but doesn't this one map set look suspiciously like the startup screens for the XBox?:) Microsoft is taking over the internet after all.
I don't know about everyone else, but @Home hasn't exactly been a maven of security for me. Ever since Code Red, the original, I've been bombarded with evil packets that [fortunately] have bounced off my firewall. Even still, I'm convinced it's slowed my connection down.
AT&T makes a lot of mistakes, but their WorldNet service was pretty solid when I had dialup. My only other concern is the tie-in my cable provider (Comcast) might now have to AT&T. SpongeBob Squarepants over the phone, anyone?
"You don't understand, the vast majority of people are clueless when it comes to those issues, they can't make the difference between WMA or RAM files"
There is a large number of clueless people still driving Buicks, which I consider a POS car. Is it my job to go tell them there are alternatives (when, for their purposes, the Buick works fine)? No. Since when are computer mavens "required" to tell others what is "right and wrong"? Another disappointing, and annoying, activist viewpoint.
You're missing one critical aspect: Digital Rights Management specifically refers to protected WMA files. They don't reference unprotected WMA files, and they certainly don't mention any other format like MP3 or OGG.
That said, Microsoft seems to be simply protecting its file format. They can only affect software that can read protected WMA files (which, at this point, only includes Media Player). It would be silly to assume, especially in a lawsuit-driven atmosphere like copyright infringement, that Microsoft would allow other software to visibly change/take over rights management from the OS. Just think if record companies started getting into a lawsuit war with Microsoft!
Bottom line: it's their file format, not an open one, people. They are free to control it however they wish. If you don't like it, don't use it.
"Habitat For Humanity [habitat.org] is a fairly high profile organisation."
Um, and IBM isn't? If you already have one of Earth's largest companies spending over $1 billion to promote Linux, what will Habitat for Humanity help?
... are a bit of a misnomer. No one is knocking down your IT department's door, demanding money and thrusting a CD in your hand. They don't break your kneecaps if you don't upgrade to Windows XP Super Hyper Edition in 5 years.
The truth is, the new upgrading scheme might become a boon for other "movements", including Open Source. IT directors will see the new scheme and make one of two choices:
1.) Follow it, and receive the "discounts" incurred with every 2-year upgrade.
2.) Not purchase anything.
This is different than previous licenses, where "not purchase anything" meant skipping an upgrade cycle. If Microsoft penalizes IT directors for skipping a cycle by charging more for the next cycle, IT directors will simply skip that one too. They aren't stupid. They will wait until they have enough money to purchase the latest and greatest upgrade, and move everyone at that point (at a much longer base than every 2-3 years).
"Locked in" means absolutely nothing. In fact, if this plays out logicially, the opposite will come true.
The ZDNet black flag article had a particularly interesting piece of rhetoric:
"But there is another option. Companies, like individuals, have the power to disobey. An embargo of Microsoft products, of buying them, licensing them, paying fees due or any other action that puts money in Microsoft's bank account, would do the trick."
Which I do. I use Linux. The problem is, I also use Windows on an equal basis, and there is simply no reason in my mind why I shouldn't. If I want to run the plethora of programs coded into binaries for Win32, I use Windows. If I'm just browsing the internet, or listening to music, I use Linux. It's just the way things stand.
This all or nothing attitude is what kills the Open Source movement. I for one want a "get my cake and eat it too" mandate. I will use Linux, but the zealots are ignored at this point.
"With a copy protected cd you will hear most effects. So a copy protected cd has a lower quality."
Have you verified this? Bought one of the "lower quality CD's" and tried smudging it? Has anyone?>
"And I'm deprived from my right of fair use, too."
If I hear this "fair use" bullshit one more time... listen, you don't have a RIGHT to anything. Fair use was mentioned in a single paragraph in a single congressional bill, with hundreds of other bills promoting copyright restrictions. That's like saying the old argument that "God hates homosexuals" because some people interpret 2-3 lines in the whole bible as such. It's ludicrous.
Did I miss something? Since when does someone have a right to complain when the run below the minimum system requirements recommended by the company that creates the product?
And with the insanely powerful Starcat server talked about yesterday (blatant plug for a story I submitted that was actually accepted), Sun can track everyone anytime, anywhere, for the rest of eternity.
Slashdot Mirror
But not as pretty.
+1 Flamebait
Outside of congress, what do you believe the president's current take on technology and freedom is?
My own personal machine, a Dell laptop, has a Dell MagStar mini hard drive that is always making weird noises. I actually RMA'd the first drive I had because I thought it was broken, but the new drive acted in the same way.
Diagnostically it runs fine, and I've never had any file transfer problems (outside the fact that it, like most laptop drives, are just slow). But it has always been a little noisy.
Horse-drawn carriages "just work". Good thing I still drive one.
But when a person is buying a machine at CompUSA, and all they see is the pretty colors, guess what sways their opinion?
"from the another-promising-one dept."
*Groan*. Yup, I actually have a version of a file explorer I'm coming out with. It doesn't open files or perform basic file operations, but the icons are there and they look pretty. I expect to have the "missing features" done, but it's GPL'd. That should mean something, right?
Com'on, it's "promising"!
You just shot down your own statement. Of course an operating system is "at least as easy to use as Windows" if you've been using it for years. Heck, I thought the menu screen on the TI-99/4A was just dandy.
I think from a "this metaphor works" standpoint, Mac OS got it right the first try (too bad the underlying code sucks -- we'll see with OS X slowly gaining popularity). Windows 95 was pretty revolutionary on a few fronts. XP is bar none the easiest Windows system to use, with the task panes on the folders saying "here you can delete, here you can write to this CD". I showed that to my mom and she instantly understood it (even though, like most of America, she still doesn't know what a "shortcut" in the Start Menu means).
On the *NIX side, I find KDE to be my desktop of choice. But I've noticed something -- I think I like it because it's so close to Windows. You tend to like OS's you work with often enough, once you learn the underlying tricks (that's one of the reasons I installed POSIX utilities for the command line in Windows 2000/XP). :)
That said, I was kind of expecting XP to perform slower than 2000. 2000 is a modicum of strong engineering -- the only example of truly great software I've ever seen come out of Microsoft. Now, they add the sheen which -- while more user-friendly -- is sure to drag everything else down.
A lot of what was in it was already offered in Office 2000 (an underrated application suite) without the messy product activation. I recommend if you can get a copy of Office 2000, do so. It's very stable and runs like a champ.
Now, not only does it contain the basic file filters, but it sensibly starts utilizing things like the default Outlook address book. Will all of this stuff work? It's questionable. But one of my best arguments for the Mac was "and this program can read Word files". Now, hopefully, I can say the same thing for Linux.
X dies frequently on my system. It really depends on the version of XFree86 you use + your vid card. The error messages aren't terribly helpful to a newbie either.
"2) why would fsck cause damage to half their filesystem? while I've on occasion hit reset or powered down without a proper shutdown I have never had fsck cause any damage to my filesystem."
Ever have a newbie try to answer some of the questions fsck puts up? "Your iNode is supposed to be 64, it's 8." "What?" Windows's automatically check in the beginning of the 9x series sucked, but at least it ran pretty much automatically.
"Furthermore, if that was a concern, a journaling FS like XFS could have solved your problem."
Um, right answer to the wrong question. Journaling file systems help, but if you fsck fuck have your drive (or the media itself) forget it. Ask anyone running Windows 2000, even with journaling already turned.
"3) why were newbies having to "figure out" the desktop? what kind of training did you give them?"
For certain users, no amount of training helps. I'm still teaching people how to click and drag, and I've repeated the instructions to some of them 20 times. There is a difference in innate usability, however, between desktops like KDE and Mac OS. Mac OS X is perhaps the most intuitive GUI I've ever seen, with Windows XP following in second. I like KDE, but it's confusing to most new users.
"4) you say you kept trying several combinations. wouldn't that tend to lead to increased confusion about and disdain for the new environment? seems like picking one thing after careful evaluation and sticking with it would solve some headdache."
The average user upgrades their GUI (Windows) every 2-3 years. Things are going to change rapidally. The only problem, as it's been said many times before, is that Linux doesn't have the "advantage" of having a single, standardized desktop. At least if you know one version of Windows, you pretty much have a good idea how the next one is going to act.
"5) If your bank requires IE, maybe you should consider a new bank? I mean that may seem drastic, but if they are uncapable of supporting the system your business wants to use, I'm sure another bank would be happy to hold on to your money."
My company has $100 million worth of assets. Some companies are easily in the billions. Do you have any idea how difficult it would be to move that amount of money simply because your browser doesn't work? The bank is supporting 92% of the internet browsing populations -- what more can you ask for? If you go to the vast majority of banks and ask "Does your banking portal work with Linux broswers?" they won't have a clue what you are talking about.
I find it hard to believe that a majority of these "counterpoint" arguments were even thought out.
One of 12 servers, actually. Multiple RAID configurations + multiple processors. Asshole.
0. We have two FreeBSD machines, but they act web and email servers respectively, not clients. For better or for worse, Windows (particularly 2000 and XP) are best for desktop usage.
I don't see how the two correlate. So if a system is running Windows, it's physically more inclined to break??
It may just be me, but doesn't this one map set look suspiciously like the startup screens for the XBox? :) Microsoft is taking over the internet after all.
AT&T makes a lot of mistakes, but their WorldNet service was pretty solid when I had dialup. My only other concern is the tie-in my cable provider (Comcast) might now have to AT&T. SpongeBob Squarepants over the phone, anyone?
There is a large number of clueless people still driving Buicks, which I consider a POS car. Is it my job to go tell them there are alternatives (when, for their purposes, the Buick works fine)? No. Since when are computer mavens "required" to tell others what is "right and wrong"? Another disappointing, and annoying, activist viewpoint.
That said, Microsoft seems to be simply protecting its file format. They can only affect software that can read protected WMA files (which, at this point, only includes Media Player). It would be silly to assume, especially in a lawsuit-driven atmosphere like copyright infringement, that Microsoft would allow other software to visibly change/take over rights management from the OS. Just think if record companies started getting into a lawsuit war with Microsoft!
Bottom line: it's their file format, not an open one, people. They are free to control it however they wish. If you don't like it, don't use it.
Um, and IBM isn't? If you already have one of Earth's largest companies spending over $1 billion to promote Linux, what will Habitat for Humanity help?
The truth is, the new upgrading scheme might become a boon for other "movements", including Open Source. IT directors will see the new scheme and make one of two choices:
1.) Follow it, and receive the "discounts" incurred with every 2-year upgrade.
2.) Not purchase anything.
This is different than previous licenses, where "not purchase anything" meant skipping an upgrade cycle. If Microsoft penalizes IT directors for skipping a cycle by charging more for the next cycle, IT directors will simply skip that one too. They aren't stupid. They will wait until they have enough money to purchase the latest and greatest upgrade, and move everyone at that point (at a much longer base than every 2-3 years).
"Locked in" means absolutely nothing. In fact, if this plays out logicially, the opposite will come true.
"But there is another option. Companies, like individuals, have the power to disobey. An embargo of Microsoft products, of buying them, licensing them, paying fees due or any other action that puts money in Microsoft's bank account, would do the trick."
Which I do. I use Linux. The problem is, I also use Windows on an equal basis, and there is simply no reason in my mind why I shouldn't. If I want to run the plethora of programs coded into binaries for Win32, I use Windows. If I'm just browsing the internet, or listening to music, I use Linux. It's just the way things stand.
This all or nothing attitude is what kills the Open Source movement. I for one want a "get my cake and eat it too" mandate. I will use Linux, but the zealots are ignored at this point.
Have you verified this? Bought one of the "lower quality CD's" and tried smudging it? Has anyone?>
"And I'm deprived from my right of fair use, too."
If I hear this "fair use" bullshit one more time... listen, you don't have a RIGHT to anything. Fair use was mentioned in a single paragraph in a single congressional bill, with hundreds of other bills promoting copyright restrictions. That's like saying the old argument that "God hates homosexuals" because some people interpret 2-3 lines in the whole bible as such. It's ludicrous.
Did I miss something? Since when does someone have a right to complain when the run below the minimum system requirements recommended by the company that creates the product?
Only to the rippers, my friend, only to the rippers. The average "Joe Public" could care less.
Ask your mom if she cares that she can't copy it to her computer or an MP3 player.
"Can I still copy it to a cassette tape to play in my Suburban?"
"Yes, mom."
"Then how is it 'broken'?"
And with the insanely powerful Starcat server talked about yesterday (blatant plug for a story I submitted that was actually accepted), Sun can track everyone anytime, anywhere, for the rest of eternity.