Frankly, I don't think most "flip-floppers" change their positions at all. I think they simply lie about their positions based on whatever they think will get them elected.
I could respect someone who honestly changed his mind based on new information, but I have absolutely no respect for someone who changes his spin just to get into power.
The thing about OSS is that it's POSSIBLE to maintain "abandoned" software. That doesn't guarantee that such software WILL be maintained, but it's still better than proprietary software, which guarantees that abandonware WON'T be maintained by anyone.
No? How about walking out of your house and to the nearest subway station (for me, 4 minutes), waiting for the next train (3-8 minutes, depending on the time of day) and being taken to your destination, or within a five-minute walk of it. There's no need to buy fuel, no need to have a car serviced, freedom to do what I want while I travel (read, use a phone, sleep, be drunk), much greater safety.
Subway? Train? What ARE those things?? My house is probably 5-10 minutes from a bus stop, but since my job isn't on that bus route, I would have to change busses twice, and since I'd probably just miss the connecting bus, I'd have at least a 15 minute wait for each one. The waiting alone would take as long as the entire drive in my car! Assuming all the busses were on time.
If you can carry it, you can take it on public transport (Mattress: no. New computer: yes).
Are you REALLY going to take your new $2,000 computer on the bus with that gang-banger in the next seat? The guy carring a blade that would make Croc Dundee green with envy?
If you particularly need to arrive on time, leave a bit earlier -- just like you would if you were driving and allowing for unusual traffic. If you don't need to arrive on time, and if there's a delay, you say "sorry, the train was 10 minutes late" or "sorry, the heavy rain slowed down my cycling" -- just like when you say "sorry I'm late, there was an accident on the highway" or "sorry, the traffic was really bad".
On the bus, you have very little control on when you get there. You have to choose between being 5 minutes late, or 30-40 minutes early. And since you will probably just miss your connection between busses, you will probably be standing in the rain for 15-20 minutes.
Waaay back in prehistoric times (mid to late 90s), Comp USA sold Linux in its stores. It had all the main distros (RH, SuSe, Mandrake), and some of the lesser ones (Slackware). After awhile they cut it to the Big 2 (RH, SuSe), and then dropped it completely.
Frankly, I'm glad to see a B&M store carrying Linux again. It won't make any difference to the/. crowd, but it gives it some extra exposure.
IMO, the system requirements for Linux were never as low as advertised. True, you could (and still can) run Linux on some wimpy machines, but if you wanted KDE/Gnome, you needed a powerful box with lots of RAM.
On most machines, 100% of the disk space is partitioned for Windows. Even if 80GB is available, you can't just install Ubuntu on a NTFS partition. And last I heard, Ubuntu's partitioning tools were YMMV. Some people say they worked great, others say they borked their box.
As for the LiveCD, isn't it very slow? And you can't save OpenOffice files on a LiveCD.
Oddly, whenever I read about someone being 1/2 black & 1/2 white, I think of that Star Trek episode with those aliens who are white on one side and black on the other.
Unless Obama's makeup people are better than I thought, he doesn't look anything like that!
MS versions give me a headache. Apparently they think 3.0 is higher than 386! And 7, which hasn't been released, is higher than 95, which is over a decade old. And how do you shoehorn alphabetic versions like ME & XP among all those numbers. What is MS on?
However, if I could "rename" myself online without losing my history, I probably would
On most of the websites I'm on, I use a pseudonym. However, on one site I registered with my real firstname. At the time, I didn't expect to be active there, but I got sucked into its community. If I were starteing there now, I'd probably use a pseudonym, but I'm already known by my realname, so I don't bother.
Iraqi resistance is more of a never ending PITA than an effective path to something better than tyranny. Where were these freedom fighters before Saddam was toppled?
And yet, as ineffective as they are, they're STILL holding their own against the strongest military in the world.
And how would a theoretical equivalent situation play out in the US?
IIRC, the population of Iraq is about 20 million. The population of the US is over 300 million! Short of destroying the very cities they want to rule, an armed rebellion here would make Iraq look like a walk in the park.
And I don't see why I should have to take on the onerous task of defending myself as well when you can have a trained force of people who can become expert in such things and do it better for you
So does that mean you can afford to hire personal bodyguards? Because the regular police aren't going to follow you around to protect you. When I've called 911, it took the police a minimum of 15 minutes to arrive. A bad guy can do a lot in 15 minutes.
Slashdot Mirror
Frankly, I don't think most "flip-floppers" change their positions at all. I think they simply lie about their positions based on whatever they think will get them elected.
I could respect someone who honestly changed his mind based on new information, but I have absolutely no respect for someone who changes his spin just to get into power.
The thing about OSS is that it's POSSIBLE to maintain "abandoned" software. That doesn't guarantee that such software WILL be maintained, but it's still better than proprietary software, which guarantees that abandonware WON'T be maintained by anyone.
Okay, I'll just ask by email.
And healing from injuries.
Yeah, it would suck living to 1,000 if you were sick for 900 of those years.
Subway? Train? What ARE those things?? My house is probably 5-10 minutes from a bus stop, but since my job isn't on that bus route, I would have to change busses twice, and since I'd probably just miss the connecting bus, I'd have at least a 15 minute wait for each one. The waiting alone would take as long as the entire drive in my car! Assuming all the busses were on time.
Are you REALLY going to take your new $2,000 computer on the bus with that gang-banger in the next seat? The guy carring a blade that would make Croc Dundee green with envy?
On the bus, you have very little control on when you get there. You have to choose between being 5 minutes late, or 30-40 minutes early. And since you will probably just miss your connection between busses, you will probably be standing in the rain for 15-20 minutes.
Are you honestly suggesting that a 75 year old, 280 pound man could survive a 10 mile bike ride?
The same as when some underhanded station gives you watered-down gas - sue the socks off him!
But, their's are bigger!
Waaay back in prehistoric times (mid to late 90s), Comp USA sold Linux in its stores. It had all the main distros (RH, SuSe, Mandrake), and some of the lesser ones (Slackware). After awhile they cut it to the Big 2 (RH, SuSe), and then dropped it completely.
Frankly, I'm glad to see a B&M store carrying Linux again. It won't make any difference to the /. crowd, but it gives it some extra exposure.
IMO, the system requirements for Linux were never as low as advertised. True, you could (and still can) run Linux on some wimpy machines, but if you wanted KDE/Gnome, you needed a powerful box with lots of RAM.
On most machines, 100% of the disk space is partitioned for Windows. Even if 80GB is available, you can't just install Ubuntu on a NTFS partition. And last I heard, Ubuntu's partitioning tools were YMMV. Some people say they worked great, others say they borked their box.
As for the LiveCD, isn't it very slow? And you can't save OpenOffice files on a LiveCD.
Very true! And since there aren't many Esperanto speakers coming across the border, you're probably better off learning Spanish.
Is that a rhetorical question?
Yes, to all three questions.
Prescribing anti-depressants to someone who doesn't need them can ruin their life. Or end it, if it makes them suicidal.
I'm the opposite. I'm dangerously close to 50, but I DO use a DVR. There are still a few non-shitty shows worth recording, though not very many.
Oddly, whenever I read about someone being 1/2 black & 1/2 white, I think of that Star Trek episode with those aliens who are white on one side and black on the other.
Unless Obama's makeup people are better than I thought, he doesn't look anything like that!
I've had very good luck taking my car to the (Saturn) dealer for oil changes.
Most of the mechanics that I've seen were crooked, incompetent, or both. The only good one I found retired years ago, to be replaced by a crook.
My experiences with the dealer, in contrast, were much like my experience with Apple. Not cheap, but good.
MS versions give me a headache. Apparently they think 3.0 is higher than 386! And 7, which hasn't been released, is higher than 95, which is over a decade old. And how do you shoehorn alphabetic versions like ME & XP among all those numbers. What is MS on?
On most of the websites I'm on, I use a pseudonym. However, on one site I registered with my real firstname. At the time, I didn't expect to be active there, but I got sucked into its community. If I were starteing there now, I'd probably use a pseudonym, but I'm already known by my realname, so I don't bother.
And yet, as ineffective as they are, they're STILL holding their own against the strongest military in the world.
IIRC, the population of Iraq is about 20 million. The population of the US is over 300 million! Short of destroying the very cities they want to rule, an armed rebellion here would make Iraq look like a walk in the park.
So does that mean you can afford to hire personal bodyguards? Because the regular police aren't going to follow you around to protect you. When I've called 911, it took the police a minimum of 15 minutes to arrive. A bad guy can do a lot in 15 minutes.
Interesting saying. I'd guess most of those people don't even have shoes.