Actually, I have already discovered my "true purpose" on this earth, and it didn't require Jesus, a fictional book, or jackasses like you preaching to me.
I've decided I really like computers. Beyond that, I've decided I like working on them. Hence, I've acquired a job in a field that will allow me to do so (in my case, IT support in a college environment).
Look at that. I found a purpose for myself in life, I have a job, a roof over my head (that I'm purchasing, not renting), a reliable car to get me to work (that I'm buying, not leasing, and it's brand new, not a junker). Why? Because I believed in myself. I knew I could do anything I wanted in this world, so long as I was willing to devote time/resources to it. I didn't have to get told by some "man of the cloth" that "only through (jesus/the lord/god/Him) (circle one, or collect them all!)" could I have the strength to get where I am. I didn't need to know that there is "someone" out there, looking down on me, to get me through the day. The fact that I'm alive and doing what I enjoy for a living is all I need. What happens after death? I dunno, and I'm not going to turn to a fictional book to tell me how things will be. I'll find out soon enough.
So, please, go preach somewhere else. Or, to put it in the words I have on my front door for the fucktards that have decided to show up nearly every weekend, only to get rejected (at night, no less, when I'm trying to wind down for bed): "If I wanted to believe in your god, I'd already be going to your church."
Now, I'm sure I've pretty well offended you (and, if not you, someone). Go prey for a while. I'm sure "He" will give you some insight to help you through your miserable life.
Actually, Luke was quoting Jesus and His sermon on the mount (Matthew 7:12). Luke was a physician who never actually met Jesus. He became an disciple of the apostle Paul and was more of a scribe in his writings, taking down what the disciples told him and what he witnessed of the early church. Luke also wrote the book of Acts, which chronicles the early church. Some wisdom is universal. God created it all. But, the beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord.
Before mocking the Bible, you really should spend a little time trying to understand it. It will open your eyes to greater truth and wisdom than anything else in this world possibly can, and you'll find your true purpose in it.
So, in other words, they were playing a game of "operator"? I remember playing this when I was in grade school. The message at the end was *never* like the original message...
Luke was quoting the Talmud, which was quoting Moses, who was quoting God.
Naa, naaa.. You got it all wrong, 'ya see.. It's.. uhh.. "Do unto others.."...."uhh.."... "Do unto others before they do unto you. I can't get fooled again." "heh heh heh heh heh..."
I'll be ordering a laptop in the next couple months and will be doing exactly this. I'm hoping by the time I *have* to upgrade, something new will have become available.:)
I don't know about that. I know people who are buying new computers and wiping Vista from the drive and putting on XP. Eventually they will have to upgrade but there's a huge resistance to it.
This is what makes these "what if" type discussions ultimately useless.
If IBM hadn't done their PC, *someone* would eventually have stepped up with the right combination. Hell, if there wasn't the "PC", MS could have worked on an OS for Apple hardware, and gone from there. For that matter, since they were great at marketing, they could have taken the Amiga (probably one of the better platforms of the time, from what I saw (I never owned an Amiga)) hardware, created/extended what existed, and we'd all be using Amiga hardware (or a clone).
Thing is, we'll never know. It could have taken longer for us to get where we are now, it could have happened more quickly, but to assume it simply wouldn't have happened at all (as others had suggested) is just silly. To also assume that only MS and IBM could have possibly made a hit machine we'd all have on our desktops is equally silly. I mean, look how far Linux has come. Now, imagine if there were a giant company behind it, throwing TONS of money and dollars behind it, selling it like crazy (a MS clone, or even MS themselves)... In the next 10, 20, or 30 years, with MS digging holes further and further into the ground, we could *eventually* be using Linux. Hell, with the way Apple is progressing, the market could shift THEIR direction.
That's the fun thing with human nature. Things change, whether people want them to, or not.:)
I think that's a big assumption. Corporate IBM was all about mainframes. The PC was developed by a special team in Boca Raton, but corporate IBM had no clue how to market it (I would argue that Microsoft is really the one that pushed the PC and made it a ubiquitous platform). Apple was good at marketing, but was (and is) all about proprietary hardware (I'm thinking of the Macintosh, not Apple II). Amiga and BeOS were really ahead of their time, but suffered from mediocre marketing and competition from Microsoft. Atari and Commodore were good, but nothing special and also suffered from mediocre marketing.
I don't see any of them (except maybe Apple, but then you're stuck with their proprietary hardware and software) having the marketing clout to dominate the market.
I would argue that the fortuitous combination of IBM PC's open architecture (which allowed cloning) and Microsoft's ruthless marketing of first DOS and then Windows (and pirating of DOS and Windows on cloned PC hardware! don't want to forget that!) that drove their competitors (expect Apple) out of business and, almost accidently, established the PC as the industry standard architecture.
What you are failing to take into account is that, if the PC as we knew it back when IBM was "the hardware to have", didn't exist, everyone would have gravitated to at least ONE of the other platforms. THAT platform would have taken off, gotten cheaper, and ended up where MS/Intel is now.
You can't just assume that the rest would have remained expensive and small. Hell, ALL of those guys were around when MS/Intel/IBM were getting the PC off the ground. Subtract "the PC", and one of the others would just as quickly have filled the hole.
Through Bill Gate's sheer ruthlessness Microsoft incidentally created an ubiquitous hardware platform that allowed the development of standardized interfaces; everything from keyboards and mice to video cards and optical drives. Which, arguably, incidentally allowed Google to standardize on massive numbers of cheap, industrial standard computers running Linux instead of more expensive, proprietary computers with a proprietary operating system; i.e. Apple, Amiga, Atari or BeOS.
What's worse, MS really never had to do any of the work. All they had to do was document their protocols (and provide them in a GPL friendly way) so that the Samba folks (for example) could create *all* the software to make everything work. On top of that, MS could have reaped TONS of free positive publicity.
Though I am stuck using MS at work, and at home (for a couple games I like to play that aren't available/playable on any other platform), and don't really mind using the products (because, in this case, they are the right tool for the job), I very much dislike the company (in the way it does business... I'm sure at least some of the people that work there are great people otherwise...)
Not to be flippant, but wouldn't a "smart and efficient way" include a decision on the part of Microsoft to stop "not interoperating"? Seems to me that over the years they've actively and repeatedly pursued a course that was designed to maintain monopoly and thwart interoperability of any sort.
No, MS-DOS 5 had a virus (michaelangelo? - it was on my media...) on some of the 5.25" floppies. 6 had the stolen tech from Stac Electronics (named Drvspace), and 6.2 "fixed" that problem, and was renamed to dblspace.
With a quick search of google, I wasn't able to find any references to the MS-DOS 5 5.25" disks (well, some of them) having a virus from the factory, but I do remember that it was being reported in the media at the time. The MS-DOS entry on wikipedia doesn't seem to have anything on it, either.:(
Oh well..
It was also the death knell for Stak Electronics with the release of DriveSpace in 5.
It is amazing how hyped corporations get over this crap. The whole part on how much money corporations would make never really transpired. It really translates into the money Microsoft made.
There are so many things wrong with your statement, it's pathetic. You are taking *way* too many assumptions, and using WAAAY to many "what if's" just to try to make your point valid. It doesn't work. For one, there are laws that protect people in situations like the ones you are attempting to use as examples, especially for what I've quoted below.
This will be the last reply from me, to you. The only conclusion I can come to is that you are a spammer that was, in some way, affected by what Spamhaus was doing. The logical end to this conclusion is that you don't want to see a fellow spammer (e360) added to such a list and therefore support their lawsuit.
True? Untrue? I can't guarantee it, but your replies/statements in this thread seem to support it.
Have a nice day.
If it doesn't matter what I say as long as I don't guarantee it's true, would you not hold me responsible for anything? What if I put up a billboard near your local school with your photo and "PEDOPHILE". In small print it will say "we don't know, but he might be". When people smash your windows at night will you still be quite so at ease with libel?
You don't get it, either. The list that was proposed was a list of murderers. A check with the police department (or whatever other department) would reveal that, no, I am not a murderer, and the employer would no longer put stock in the list that was proposed.
If it were a list like the first person that replied to me proposed, it would be much more time consuming to check (assuming the potential employer wanted to do as thorough a job as possible), but being as I've not stolen items like pens, paper, and other things that were mentioned, I'd *still* be OK.
Most places that do background check pay some third party to do it. If that third party relied in whole or in part on the list in question, perhaps to fill gaps in other records, then, no, the background check would not reveal the list would be wrong, it would return the results of relying on the list.
Certainly. A simple background check (which has been done at every job I've ever held) would reveal your list to be shite, and I'd still get the job (assuming I was qualified, had good references, blah, blah, blah).
I'm going to create a list of murderers.
It's up to the people who/use/ my list, such as employers, to determine the accuracy of the list, and whether they should use it for their purposes. I give no warranty and I have no liability of the information in the list.
I can tell you one problem they'd solve. CHALK DUST. I hate chalk dust. You should see some of the teaching consoles at my place of employment. What makes it worse is that 'housekeeping' doesn't clean them. It just builds and builds until I get pissed off enough to go down and do it myself.
Hell, whiteboards would be FAR better than a blackboard. So long as they are cleaned properly, they will last a good long time. Of course, that would mean not using the same harsh cleaners on the whiteboard as they use on the desks, and all of the cleaning people I've run into couldn't give two flying mouse turds what they use. It doesn't help that their budgets always get cut, which makes them buy ONE type of cleaner, and use that for everything they have to do.
Then, look at whether the technology will solve that/those problem(s). We're talking math here. Is the technology going to allow you to better explain some difficult concepts or will the focus end up being on the technology
You must have a weird definition of "pretty soon". Have you *any* idea what kind of money will have to be spent on infrastructure before that can happen?
You must have forgotten that no where *near* enough of the US is fiber'ed up for something so silly to happen.
Nah. Look at the direction we're going with AppleTV and so forth...I bet on-demand video over fiber obviates DVDs pretty soon.
Not a problem with the Dells I work with every day.
Each model comes with a driver disk that has the drivers for each piece of hardware that is an option for that line -- often these disks will work on several models.
A cost saving measure. Not because of the CDROM disk, but because of keeping the disk in sync with the hardware. A change of a component would probably mean a change in the recovery disk. Now you have to worry about pressing disks along with each hardware change. Not to mention if you wanted to include newer patches and such in windows, that would also require pressing a new CD. You already need an image for the hard drive, and keeping this up to date is easy. So just putting a utility to burn the image onto a CD means you get a disk that was in theory in sync with where your hardware was at.
I say screw the recovery disk crap. Give me the INSTALL disks like they used to.
...aren't they going after Microsoft, the postfix folks, etc? They make software that can be used to send automated emails, too. For that matter, I'm sure Novel has a product that does as well. That doesn't even speak to all the "shareware" mail software that can do the same.
Why just pick AOL, Amazon, Borders, Google, IAC, and Yahoo?
I didn't say the SE30 ran OSX. I didn't even hint at it. I said I didn't like the interface. The interface, save for what I consider minor cosmetic changes, has remained the same (apple menu, the application menu stuck to the top of the screen instead of on whatever window it belonged to, no drive letters (instead you see the actual drives/partitions), etc. I don't like the interface. The only thing OSX adds is the stupid dock, and some enhancements to the drive-browsing interface (yes, yes, a few other enhancements, too, but looking at the big picture, the interface layout is the same).
For reference, I work IT for a college -- The Math & CS department, especially, has a lot of Apple wielding students. I even have a MacBook Pro in my office that I can tinker with, if I so desired (right now I'm fighting a sound issue with Boot Camp -- plug *anything* into the headphone ports, sound goes away -- completely. Only an OS re-install will fix it, until the next time someone plugs something into the port).
As a side note, $599 on the PC side of things will get me a *far* more powerful computer, a keyboard and mouse, *and* a 19" (or bigger, depending on sales/coupons/etc) monitor.
As I said, Apple has put together some nice hardware/software packages, but until the price difference is *far* lower than it is today, they will remain an insignificant portion of the market (when compared to all the PC's that are sold yearly). It's great that their laptop sales seem to have burst through the roof, but I don't believe it will last long. I'd love to be wrong, but I do know I will not be adding to those sales numbers myself.
I respect your opinion and your preference, but, you talk about SE30's running OS X. That my friend was Mac OS 7.6 or older. Have you taken a look at the OS X interface recently? It's much, much different, than anything that was Mac OS 9 or older. I was never a big fan of the "Classic" Mac operating system, but I tolerated it. OS X is a joy to use. And you can get it running on a Mac Mini (and use your old keyboard and mouse) for $599.... then again, if you're happy with Windows... it's probably all a moot point.
I forgot to mention -- the HP laptop I'm looking at is the HP dv9500t. I was looking at the new Dell Vostro's, but didn't like hearing about static/other noises in the sound output when using headphones, and I started to look at the XPS 'till I saw how stupid they looked (really, how do all those stupid ass LED's help improve battery life? All they do is show how much of a tool you are -- I equate them to "ground effects" lights on cars...)
Anyway, I just figured I'd clarify specifically which computer I was comparing to the MacBook Pro.
Actually, no, it dosn't suck, however, it was $2800, whereas the laptop I'm currently looking at (which only differs in that it has a 2.2ghz as the max processor speed HP provides as an option) is only $1507 after a $150 instant rebate. There is actually a $300 off coupon (NB9495) which would make it even less. Still 2gb RAM, still 160gb SATA 5400rpm HDD, same 1680x1050 17" widescreen, same DVD burner (but this one has litescribe..), 256mb GeForce 8600 GS (only *slight* difference between it and the GT) $1300 (or more) LESS
Now that we got the hardware differences out of the way, lets talk about software.
I'll be able to play the games I like (not just the few that happened to get ported), boot into Linux if I desire (without a specially designed piece of software that has to emulate a BIOS), and natively run any Windows apps I happen to run (other than games, I don't really run any Windows specific software; at least not at home).
We can debate the merits of OSX vs. Windows 'till we're both blue in the faces -- I don't care. I like Windows. I'm comfortable in Windows. I don't like OSX. I haven't liked the interface style since it was in whatever version that was on the SE30 I had to use in High School. It's a personal preference.
Please, though, don't assume I hate the way in which Apple has designed/packaged their computers. They are very nice. I'm just not the type of person who will pay a $1300 premium for something that looks pretty when I can get something considerably cheaper with basically the same functionality, which frakly, isn't really *that* much "less pretty". For example, I have a 25" CRT TV instead of some form of "flat", gigantic TV; I drive a Dodge Caliber instead of any number of gigantic SUV's or expensive cars; I bought a 1080 sq ft older house instead of some gigantic monstrosity I'll be spending an entire paycheck per month on for *just* the house payment.
So, my MacBook Pro with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo and a GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB of RAM sucks at gaming compared to your PC laptop?
and the fact that it still has bad latency issues you never deal with using DSL or cable broadband. (You click to start a new transfer, and literally wait 1-2 seconds before anything starts. Acceptable for a large file upload/download or clicking to check one's email, but unusable for most Internet gaming and annoying for lots of random web surfing.) You DO realize that this is a fact of life with satellite, because it has to make a 44k-ish mile round trip, PLUS has to go through the NOC and out to/back from the internet, right? This is *going* to add delay into the process. Until we figure out how to break the speed of light, higher latency will be a factor with satellite communications.
I had StarBand back before they had 10k subscribers (with the 180 modem -- the best modem they ever used!)
I know exactly how it works, and what it is good for. That wasn't my point, though. "Most people" will never even *get* that far, because of the up-front costs of obtaining the service in the first place.
SSH and Telnet aren't great on it, either. About all it *was* good for was browsing web pages and downloading large files. Beyond that, it sucked, however, that is exactly what a *lot* of the population does. If the up-front costs went down, or at least "appeared" to go down, it'd get adopted much more readily.
It isn't just about up front cost. It's about the ongoing cost, and the sucky service you get for the cost. Satellite internet service isn't bad for just gaming, it also makes VPN basically impossible.
I'm speaking here from personal experience. Satellite internet is no better than dial-up.
I was always amazed that so few people knew about or considered satellite broadband despite the millions of bucks a year that HughesNet throws at advertising, especially on DirecTV. WildBlue now also has big co-marketing programs with DirecTV, DISH Network and AT&T. So I'm curious - do people not know about satellite or do they know and just don't want it? I can tell you *exactly* why satellite doesn't have more "penetration" than DSL/Cable. You answered it in your own statement. Up. Front. Cost.
People in America (I've seen myself fitting into this mold) are used to "sign this contract, we'll considerably reduce/eliminate the upfront cost". For the most part, you don't get this with satellite. I know you didn't when I had Starband living in Yarrow, MO (population, about a dozen or so). I had to pay something like $400 up front (or so, it was quite expensive for what little I was making at the time).
People are spoiled by the phone/cable companies "giving" the modem to you. The satellite equipment is just too expensive. Add to that the *required* non-free (most of the time, 'less there is a promotion) installation.
For stores (like TWE, that was linked from the main article), satellite would work, if the Mall they are located in will allow them to have it installed on the roof. I have a feeling many malls won't, and some just aren't built for it (multi-story, etc -- the cables would probably just be too long, adding MORE cost for amplifiers, or whatever is used for long runs..)
Actually, that's *exactly* what Linux could use for "the desktop". Having to recompile your kernel every time you change a tiny piece of hardware sucks. Yes, on these fast and modern machines, that isn't a *huge* issue, but do you really thing the average user is going to (want to) do that?
At the least, parts, that can be, should be set as M, so they can get loaded as they are detected during boot. Just have something that does a scan on first boot, stores the hardware it finds in some location, then each boot after that it can scan for changes (shouldn't take long -- it doesn't in Windows land...) and compare the findings to the already stored config from first boot.
He probably talks about "kernel modules", which are very far from KDE/Gnome stuff. They are runtime loadable parts of the kernel frequently used for device driver kernel code etc. Your kernel does not need to contain code allowing it to handle all NICs (network cards), only the ones you have physically connected at the moment.
If you want defaults, go elsewhere. Gentoo never was, has never professed, and never has been about making things easy for those who don't know the first thing about linux. That's the good thing about it. We have a choice.
What you (and a few others) are advocating is a MS-like structure.
Two words, dude: sane default.
Why make the user configure something that can be reliably detected 99 out of 100 times?
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I've decided I really like computers. Beyond that, I've decided I like working on them. Hence, I've acquired a job in a field that will allow me to do so (in my case, IT support in a college environment).
Look at that. I found a purpose for myself in life, I have a job, a roof over my head (that I'm purchasing, not renting), a reliable car to get me to work (that I'm buying, not leasing, and it's brand new, not a junker). Why? Because I believed in myself. I knew I could do anything I wanted in this world, so long as I was willing to devote time/resources to it. I didn't have to get told by some "man of the cloth" that "only through (jesus/the lord/god/Him) (circle one, or collect them all!)" could I have the strength to get where I am. I didn't need to know that there is "someone" out there, looking down on me, to get me through the day. The fact that I'm alive and doing what I enjoy for a living is all I need. What happens after death? I dunno, and I'm not going to turn to a fictional book to tell me how things will be. I'll find out soon enough.
So, please, go preach somewhere else. Or, to put it in the words I have on my front door for the fucktards that have decided to show up nearly every weekend, only to get rejected (at night, no less, when I'm trying to wind down for bed): "If I wanted to believe in your god, I'd already be going to your church."
Now, I'm sure I've pretty well offended you (and, if not you, someone). Go prey for a while. I'm sure "He" will give you some insight to help you through your miserable life. Actually, Luke was quoting Jesus and His sermon on the mount (Matthew 7:12). Luke was a physician who never actually met Jesus. He became an disciple of the apostle Paul and was more of a scribe in his writings, taking down what the disciples told him and what he witnessed of the early church. Luke also wrote the book of Acts, which chronicles the early church. Some wisdom is universal. God created it all. But, the beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord.
Before mocking the Bible, you really should spend a little time trying to understand it. It will open your eyes to greater truth and wisdom than anything else in this world possibly can, and you'll find your true purpose in it.
G.W. as you would have them do to you". Luke 6:31
If IBM hadn't done their PC, *someone* would eventually have stepped up with the right combination. Hell, if there wasn't the "PC", MS could have worked on an OS for Apple hardware, and gone from there. For that matter, since they were great at marketing, they could have taken the Amiga (probably one of the better platforms of the time, from what I saw (I never owned an Amiga)) hardware, created/extended what existed, and we'd all be using Amiga hardware (or a clone).
Thing is, we'll never know. It could have taken longer for us to get where we are now, it could have happened more quickly, but to assume it simply wouldn't have happened at all (as others had suggested) is just silly. To also assume that only MS and IBM could have possibly made a hit machine we'd all have on our desktops is equally silly. I mean, look how far Linux has come. Now, imagine if there were a giant company behind it, throwing TONS of money and dollars behind it, selling it like crazy (a MS clone, or even MS themselves)... In the next 10, 20, or 30 years, with MS digging holes further and further into the ground, we could *eventually* be using Linux. Hell, with the way Apple is progressing, the market could shift THEIR direction.
That's the fun thing with human nature. Things change, whether people want them to, or not.
I don't see any of them (except maybe Apple, but then you're stuck with their proprietary hardware and software) having the marketing clout to dominate the market.
I would argue that the fortuitous combination of IBM PC's open architecture (which allowed cloning) and Microsoft's ruthless marketing of first DOS and then Windows (and pirating of DOS and Windows on cloned PC hardware! don't want to forget that!) that drove their competitors (expect Apple) out of business and, almost accidently, established the PC as the industry standard architecture.
You can't just assume that the rest would have remained expensive and small. Hell, ALL of those guys were around when MS/Intel/IBM were getting the PC off the ground. Subtract "the PC", and one of the others would just as quickly have filled the hole. Through Bill Gate's sheer ruthlessness Microsoft incidentally created an ubiquitous hardware platform that allowed the development of standardized interfaces; everything from keyboards and mice to video cards and optical drives. Which, arguably, incidentally allowed Google to standardize on massive numbers of cheap, industrial standard computers running Linux instead of more expensive, proprietary computers with a proprietary operating system; i.e. Apple, Amiga, Atari or BeOS.
Though I am stuck using MS at work, and at home (for a couple games I like to play that aren't available/playable on any other platform), and don't really mind using the products (because, in this case, they are the right tool for the job), I very much dislike the company (in the way it does business... I'm sure at least some of the people that work there are great people otherwise...) Not to be flippant, but wouldn't a "smart and efficient way" include a decision on the part of Microsoft to stop "not interoperating"? Seems to me that over the years they've actively and repeatedly pursued a course that was designed to maintain monopoly and thwart interoperability of any sort.
With a quick search of google, I wasn't able to find any references to the MS-DOS 5 5.25" disks (well, some of them) having a virus from the factory, but I do remember that it was being reported in the media at the time. The MS-DOS entry on wikipedia doesn't seem to have anything on it, either.
Oh well.. It was also the death knell for Stak Electronics with the release of DriveSpace in 5.
It is amazing how hyped corporations get over this crap. The whole part on how much money corporations would make never really transpired. It really translates into the money Microsoft made.
As far as advertising goes, this one sucks!
"RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!" Plus, this takes important jobs away from corn farmers in the USA.
This will be the last reply from me, to you. The only conclusion I can come to is that you are a spammer that was, in some way, affected by what Spamhaus was doing. The logical end to this conclusion is that you don't want to see a fellow spammer (e360) added to such a list and therefore support their lawsuit.
True? Untrue? I can't guarantee it, but your replies/statements in this thread seem to support it.
Have a nice day. If it doesn't matter what I say as long as I don't guarantee it's true, would you not hold me responsible for anything? What if I put up a billboard near your local school with your photo and "PEDOPHILE". In small print it will say "we don't know, but he might be". When people smash your windows at night will you still be quite so at ease with libel?
If it were a list like the first person that replied to me proposed, it would be much more time consuming to check (assuming the potential employer wanted to do as thorough a job as possible), but being as I've not stolen items like pens, paper, and other things that were mentioned, I'd *still* be OK. Most places that do background check pay some third party to do it. If that third party relied in whole or in part on the list in question, perhaps to fill gaps in other records, then, no, the background check would not reveal the list would be wrong, it would return the results of relying on the list.
It's up to the people who
So is it OK with you if I put you on the list?
Hell, whiteboards would be FAR better than a blackboard. So long as they are cleaned properly, they will last a good long time. Of course, that would mean not using the same harsh cleaners on the whiteboard as they use on the desks, and all of the cleaning people I've run into couldn't give two flying mouse turds what they use. It doesn't help that their budgets always get cut, which makes them buy ONE type of cleaner, and use that for everything they have to do. Then, look at whether the technology will solve that/those problem(s). We're talking math here. Is the technology going to allow you to better explain some difficult concepts or will the focus end up being on the technology
You must have forgotten that no where *near* enough of the US is fiber'ed up for something so silly to happen. Nah. Look at the direction we're going with AppleTV and so forth...I bet on-demand video over fiber obviates DVDs pretty soon.
Each model comes with a driver disk that has the drivers for each piece of hardware that is an option for that line -- often these disks will work on several models. A cost saving measure. Not because of the CDROM disk, but because of keeping the disk in sync with the hardware. A change of a component would probably mean a change in the recovery disk. Now you have to worry about pressing disks along with each hardware change. Not to mention if you wanted to include newer patches and such in windows, that would also require pressing a new CD. You already need an image for the hard drive, and keeping this up to date is easy. So just putting a utility to burn the image onto a CD means you get a disk that was in theory in sync with where your hardware was at.
I say screw the recovery disk crap. Give me the INSTALL disks like they used to.
...aren't they going after Microsoft, the postfix folks, etc? They make software that can be used to send automated emails, too. For that matter, I'm sure Novel has a product that does as well. That doesn't even speak to all the "shareware" mail software that can do the same.
Why just pick AOL, Amazon, Borders, Google, IAC, and Yahoo?
I didn't say the SE30 ran OSX. I didn't even hint at it. I said I didn't like the interface. The interface, save for what I consider minor cosmetic changes, has remained the same (apple menu, the application menu stuck to the top of the screen instead of on whatever window it belonged to, no drive letters (instead you see the actual drives/partitions), etc. I don't like the interface. The only thing OSX adds is the stupid dock, and some enhancements to the drive-browsing interface (yes, yes, a few other enhancements, too, but looking at the big picture, the interface layout is the same).
For reference, I work IT for a college -- The Math & CS department, especially, has a lot of Apple wielding students. I even have a MacBook Pro in my office that I can tinker with, if I so desired (right now I'm fighting a sound issue with Boot Camp -- plug *anything* into the headphone ports, sound goes away -- completely. Only an OS re-install will fix it, until the next time someone plugs something into the port).
As a side note, $599 on the PC side of things will get me a *far* more powerful computer, a keyboard and mouse, *and* a 19" (or bigger, depending on sales/coupons/etc) monitor.
As I said, Apple has put together some nice hardware/software packages, but until the price difference is *far* lower than it is today, they will remain an insignificant portion of the market (when compared to all the PC's that are sold yearly). It's great that their laptop sales seem to have burst through the roof, but I don't believe it will last long. I'd love to be wrong, but I do know I will not be adding to those sales numbers myself. I respect your opinion and your preference, but, you talk about SE30's running OS X. That my friend was Mac OS 7.6 or older. Have you taken a look at the OS X interface recently? It's much, much different, than anything that was Mac OS 9 or older. I was never a big fan of the "Classic" Mac operating system, but I tolerated it. OS X is a joy to use. And you can get it running on a Mac Mini (and use your old keyboard and mouse) for $599.... then again, if you're happy with Windows... it's probably all a moot point.
I forgot to mention -- the HP laptop I'm looking at is the HP dv9500t. I was looking at the new Dell Vostro's, but didn't like hearing about static/other noises in the sound output when using headphones, and I started to look at the XPS 'till I saw how stupid they looked (really, how do all those stupid ass LED's help improve battery life? All they do is show how much of a tool you are -- I equate them to "ground effects" lights on cars...)
Anyway, I just figured I'd clarify specifically which computer I was comparing to the MacBook Pro.
Now that we got the hardware differences out of the way, lets talk about software.
I'll be able to play the games I like (not just the few that happened to get ported), boot into Linux if I desire (without a specially designed piece of software that has to emulate a BIOS), and natively run any Windows apps I happen to run (other than games, I don't really run any Windows specific software; at least not at home).
We can debate the merits of OSX vs. Windows 'till we're both blue in the faces -- I don't care. I like Windows. I'm comfortable in Windows. I don't like OSX. I haven't liked the interface style since it was in whatever version that was on the SE30 I had to use in High School. It's a personal preference.
Please, though, don't assume I hate the way in which Apple has designed/packaged their computers. They are very nice. I'm just not the type of person who will pay a $1300 premium for something that looks pretty when I can get something considerably cheaper with basically the same functionality, which frakly, isn't really *that* much "less pretty". For example, I have a 25" CRT TV instead of some form of "flat", gigantic TV; I drive a Dodge Caliber instead of any number of gigantic SUV's or expensive cars; I bought a 1080 sq ft older house instead of some gigantic monstrosity I'll be spending an entire paycheck per month on for *just* the house payment. So, my MacBook Pro with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo and a GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB of RAM sucks at gaming compared to your PC laptop?
I know exactly how it works, and what it is good for. That wasn't my point, though. "Most people" will never even *get* that far, because of the up-front costs of obtaining the service in the first place.
SSH and Telnet aren't great on it, either. About all it *was* good for was browsing web pages and downloading large files. Beyond that, it sucked, however, that is exactly what a *lot* of the population does. If the up-front costs went down, or at least "appeared" to go down, it'd get adopted much more readily. It isn't just about up front cost. It's about the ongoing cost, and the sucky service you get for the cost. Satellite internet service isn't bad for just gaming, it also makes VPN basically impossible.
I'm speaking here from personal experience. Satellite internet is no better than dial-up.
People in America (I've seen myself fitting into this mold) are used to "sign this contract, we'll considerably reduce/eliminate the upfront cost". For the most part, you don't get this with satellite. I know you didn't when I had Starband living in Yarrow, MO (population, about a dozen or so). I had to pay something like $400 up front (or so, it was quite expensive for what little I was making at the time).
People are spoiled by the phone/cable companies "giving" the modem to you. The satellite equipment is just too expensive. Add to that the *required* non-free (most of the time, 'less there is a promotion) installation.
For stores (like TWE, that was linked from the main article), satellite would work, if the Mall they are located in will allow them to have it installed on the roof. I have a feeling many malls won't, and some just aren't built for it (multi-story, etc -- the cables would probably just be too long, adding MORE cost for amplifiers, or whatever is used for long runs..)
At the least, parts, that can be, should be set as M, so they can get loaded as they are detected during boot. Just have something that does a scan on first boot, stores the hardware it finds in some location, then each boot after that it can scan for changes (shouldn't take long -- it doesn't in Windows land...) and compare the findings to the already stored config from first boot. He probably talks about "kernel modules", which are very far from KDE/Gnome stuff. They are runtime loadable parts of the kernel frequently used for device driver kernel code etc. Your kernel does not need to contain code allowing it to handle all NICs (network cards), only the ones you have physically connected at the moment.
If you want defaults, go elsewhere. Gentoo never was, has never professed, and never has been about making things easy for those who don't know the first thing about linux. That's the good thing about it. We have a choice.
What you (and a few others) are advocating is a MS-like structure.
Two words, dude: sane default.
Why make the user configure something that can be reliably detected 99 out of 100 times?