I have found the plans for the Top Secret Big Screen Simulator that THEY don't want you to see! Banned in 52 states! And I'm not even going to charge you:
1. Close eyes
2. Place forehead against monitor
3. Open Eyes
Voila! Experience the field of view, the giant pixels, the intense headaches without even having to alter your current setup.
Anyone wonder if this might be an illegial modification of your Television, depriving the TV producers of the money you would have paid for larger sets?
No more than mixing your chocolate and peanut butter deprives Hershey of money. Hmm, Maybe that's illegal too.
Sshhh! I know, but Stallman and Torvalds winning the "techno-entrepreneurial achievement in social/economic well-being award" being in Duh magazine isn't NEARLY as funny, now is it?;)
Where does this Democracy rumor keep coming from? The US is not a democracy. Did you get a vote on the USA bill? No? In a democracy, you would. What we have is a republic, where you get to vote only on a guy that you HOPE will represent your interests and your only recourse if he doensn't is to NOT vote for him next time. When the damage is already done.
It seems we have the technology to become a democracy; the question now becomes whether lawmaking (well ratifying) is best left to those whose career is to study law, or if the average joe can vote intelligently. After reading adequacy.org and seeing how many people can't recognise satire when they see it, I have my doubts.
I have a feeling the current session of Congress is going to go down in history as McCarthyism Part II. That is, if it's still legal to say anything against the government. After all, if I speak out against the powers that be, aren't I encouraging terrorists, and myself a terrorist? Seems like more than enough reason to tap my phone and search my house without my knowledge....
For those who don't know adequacy is a humorous, sarcastic site and the Mandrake "review" seems to be an in-depth attempt at satire. However from the discussion underneath I think many people missed that. Some of the better part of the review:
the release of Linux Mandrake 8.1, aggressively timed to coincide with that of Microsoft's much vaunted Windows XP, marks the start of the final battle for domination of the computer industry.
The Linux operating system was born in 1991 and was created by one man, a Finnish student coincidentally named Linux Torvalds.
Previous versions of Linux have been named Red Hat, Slack Ware, Storm and Coral. In stark contrast to the mundane names such as 98, ME or NT preferred by Microsoft, the crazy names of each Linux release hint at its renegade nature.
why isn't the industry standard web browser, Internet Explorer, included with Linux? Despite the best efforts of the experts at the Internet Engineering Task Force to encourage adoption of the Internet Explorer standard, the creators of Linux seem to think that they know better.
But here's the dead giveaway: Computer security is also an area that seems to have been overlooked by the developers of Linux. In these times when hacking and viruses are commonplace, it defies belief to learn that no anti-virus software is available for Linux. To add insult to injury, there is no Linux version of the popular ZoneAlarm firewall. By using Linux, you are issuing an open invitation to the hordes of ne'er-do-wells on the Internet.
The shortcomings of Linux are obvious. Without even installing Linux Mandrake, I have exposed several fundamental flaws.
As with most Satire, the danger lies in the unwashed masses taking it literally...
I can't believe people are seriously discussing this. THE HORSE IS ALREADY OUT OF THE BARN. Do you think they'll try the exact same thing again? Doubtful. Next time it will be tanker trucks or something; something people aren't guarding against.
Hey, ships might not have exploded so much in the Pearl Harbor attack if they used hydrogen!! Quick, switch the navy to hydrogen before the Japanese attack again!
Which raises the question: Why is slashdot posting ALPHA releases? all this will lead to is a couple months from now people will comment "Yeah I tried Gnome 3 and it sucked."
isnt every security hole important? seems like a pretty bad attitude..
No.
There is a security hole where any user with physical access who randomly guesses the root password on the first try immediately gains full access to the system!!!! There is NO KNOWN FIX!!!!!!
Nowadays, with a net/LAN gaming café on every corner it is much easier just going there instead
Where the heck do you live? I gotta move there...
I never considered a cafe type situation. I assumed that those computers were all web-surfing stations and not game stations. Do they have late-model 3d video cards? Do they have decent games installed (or can you install your own -- I doubt it)?
I got the Boomslang mouse encountered nothing but trouble... And I gave it more than enough chance so I'd get accustomed....Sure it's great that it's USB but...
One problem is that the wheel is very low on the mouse, near the heel of your hand. This is a 'feature' designed to get you to hold it differently than a 'normal' mouse. It does have some benefit, and works well with the big sensitive buttons. HOWEVER, the Scroll wheel is NOT slid back so if you hold the mouse the way they describe scrolling is nearly impossible.
The side buttons are a good idea, but are awkward and not good to use in 'fast fire' situations. There is a cool feature that lets you adjust the mouse sensitivity on the fly, but this is tied to one of these side buttons (combined with the scroll wheel) so you don't want to have to change sensitivity while somebody is on your ass!
Finally, and this may just have been a problem with my hardware or something, but occasionally when I'd hit the right-mouse button, the left-mouse button would also signal. This can be a big problem if you have rockets equipped and you're in front of a wall, or if you're trying to sneak up on somebody. Has anyone else encountered this?
Eventually I went to the MS Intellimouse Optical. I love it. I never really encounter problems with tracking at high speeds because, if you're flailing your mouse about THAT much, you're out of control anyway. Adjust your sensitivity.
How long before we start seening adds on our bios and windows boot-up screens..
My Windows boot up screen has a an ad for "Microsoft Windows". The really annoying thing is that it makes me view it for like 2 minutes before it lets me log in!
Slashdot Mirror
The questions in my mind that the articles didn't (and seemingly never) address:
1) How long until I can go pick one up?
2) How many patents are going to keep the price of this sky high for the next 20 years?
Somehow my pointing out that 100 inches=8 1/3 feet is flamebait, but your acknledging it is hilarious.
Dear Moderators,
I hate you all.
Oh wait I'm a moderator too.
I have found the plans for the Top Secret Big Screen Simulator that THEY don't want you to see! Banned in 52 states! And I'm not even going to charge you:
1. Close eyes
2. Place forehead against monitor
3. Open Eyes
Voila! Experience the field of view, the giant pixels, the intense headaches without even having to alter your current setup.
No more than mixing your chocolate and peanut butter deprives Hershey of money. Hmm, Maybe that's illegal too.
That would have been funny, except 100 inches is over 8 feet.
I was protected from viewing due to the Slashdot effect. Thanks, Slashdot!
Obviously, they're waiting to hear David Hasselhoff's opinion. Becase as we all know...
<Norm MacDonald>Germans LOVE David Hasselhoff.</Norm MacDonald>
In a way, everyone is a Mac user as soon as they surf to a design-heavy site full of giant jpgs and rollover animated gifs. ;)
May I suggest using the tactic many mass-emailers use: Assume EVERYONE is a Linux user, and force them to opt out if they DON'T want to be counted.
Sshhh! I know, but Stallman and Torvalds winning the "techno-entrepreneurial achievement in social/economic well-being award" being in Duh magazine isn't NEARLY as funny, now is it? ;)
Stallman and Torvalds win an Open Source Prize? Shocking! Also in this issue of Duh:
Jim Henson posthumously awarded the Kermit the Frog Award for Puppetry
McDonalds awarded the Ray Crock award for tastiest burger joint with a Clown Themed Mascot
Bill Gates awarded the MCSE lobby's Man of the Millennium, Ballmer heartbroken
Where does this Democracy rumor keep coming from? The US is not a democracy. Did you get a vote on the USA bill? No? In a democracy, you would. What we have is a republic, where you get to vote only on a guy that you HOPE will represent your interests and your only recourse if he doensn't is to NOT vote for him next time. When the damage is already done.
It seems we have the technology to become a democracy; the question now becomes whether lawmaking (well ratifying) is best left to those whose career is to study law, or if the average joe can vote intelligently. After reading adequacy.org and seeing how many people can't recognise satire when they see it, I have my doubts.
I have a feeling the current session of Congress is going to go down in history as McCarthyism Part II. That is, if it's still legal to say anything against the government. After all, if I speak out against the powers that be, aren't I encouraging terrorists, and myself a terrorist? Seems like more than enough reason to tap my phone and search my house without my knowledge....
the release of Linux Mandrake 8.1, aggressively timed to coincide with that of Microsoft's much vaunted Windows XP, marks the start of the final battle for domination of the computer industry.
The Linux operating system was born in 1991 and was created by one man, a Finnish student coincidentally named Linux Torvalds.
Previous versions of Linux have been named Red Hat, Slack Ware, Storm and Coral. In stark contrast to the mundane names such as 98, ME or NT preferred by Microsoft, the crazy names of each Linux release hint at its renegade nature.
why isn't the industry standard web browser, Internet Explorer, included with Linux? Despite the best efforts of the experts at the Internet Engineering Task Force to encourage adoption of the Internet Explorer standard, the creators of Linux seem to think that they know better.
But here's the dead giveaway:
Computer security is also an area that seems to have been overlooked by the developers of Linux. In these times when hacking and viruses are commonplace, it defies belief to learn that no anti-virus software is available for Linux. To add insult to injury, there is no Linux version of the popular ZoneAlarm firewall. By using Linux, you are issuing an open invitation to the hordes of ne'er-do-wells on the Internet.
The shortcomings of Linux are obvious. Without even installing Linux Mandrake, I have exposed several fundamental flaws.
As with most Satire, the danger lies in the unwashed masses taking it literally...
It's now:
GNU/Citizen and GNU/IBM to make a GNU/Linux GNU/Watch
What about the hydrogen fuel cell that keeps on ticking as long as it's supplied with fuel? (MTBF issues notwithstanding)
You gotta love the focus.
.Net, Hailstorm and other M$ attempts at digital domination:
Linus on the competition:
I don't actually follow other operating systems much.
Linus on
See my answer about not caring what the competition does
Linus on Linux vs GNU/Linux:
I don't mind what rms calls the system...I really couldn't care less.
Linus on the marketing of Linux in the years to come:
I don't use a marketing eye, I simply don't care.
Linus rules the kernel, and the kernel is good. His ability to avoid distraction, rhetoric and bullshit is highly commendable.
Of course if we all had that kind of focus then slashdot wouldn't have any comments, now would it?
I can't believe people are seriously discussing this. THE HORSE IS ALREADY OUT OF THE BARN. Do you think they'll try the exact same thing again? Doubtful. Next time it will be tanker trucks or something; something people aren't guarding against.
Hey, ships might not have exploded so much in the Pearl Harbor attack if they used hydrogen!! Quick, switch the navy to hydrogen before the Japanese attack again!
I love the way you basically make the same joke I made and you get modded up. Maybe it's the emote tags.
Which raises the question: Why is slashdot posting ALPHA releases? all this will lead to is a couple months from now people will comment "Yeah I tried Gnome 3 and it sucked."
No.
There is a security hole where any user with physical access who randomly guesses the root password on the first try immediately gains full access to the system!!!! There is NO KNOWN FIX!!!!!!
Where the heck do you live? I gotta move there...
I never considered a cafe type situation. I assumed that those computers were all web-surfing stations and not game stations. Do they have late-model 3d video cards? Do they have decent games installed (or can you install your own -- I doubt it)?
I got the Boomslang mouse encountered nothing but trouble... And I gave it more than enough chance so I'd get accustomed....Sure it's great that it's USB but...
One problem is that the wheel is very low on the mouse, near the heel of your hand. This is a 'feature' designed to get you to hold it differently than a 'normal' mouse. It does have some benefit, and works well with the big sensitive buttons. HOWEVER, the Scroll wheel is NOT slid back so if you hold the mouse the way they describe scrolling is nearly impossible.
The side buttons are a good idea, but are awkward and not good to use in 'fast fire' situations. There is a cool feature that lets you adjust the mouse sensitivity on the fly, but this is tied to one of these side buttons (combined with the scroll wheel) so you don't want to have to change sensitivity while somebody is on your ass!
Finally, and this may just have been a problem with my hardware or something, but occasionally when I'd hit the right-mouse button, the left-mouse button would also signal. This can be a big problem if you have rockets equipped and you're in front of a wall, or if you're trying to sneak up on somebody. Has anyone else encountered this?
Eventually I went to the MS Intellimouse Optical. I love it. I never really encounter problems with tracking at high speeds because, if you're flailing your mouse about THAT much, you're out of control anyway. Adjust your sensitivity.
Can you say Hindenburg?
So if I am interested in the ad I'll never even reach the Salon article I originally clicked to get.
It will also make statisticians go nuts since you can't count click-throughs: you're already there.
My Windows boot up screen has a an ad for "Microsoft Windows". The really annoying thing is that it makes me view it for like 2 minutes before it lets me log in!