"In order to beat Windows, which all Linux users think sucks, they should try to make it more like Windows."
Yeah. That plan's not doomed to failure.
What's wrong with the plan? In order to beat Windows, which sucks at the core level, we need to make Linux, which "sucks" (call it Joe-sixpack-confusing) at the UI level more like the Windows UI. No contradiction at all.
BTW, the problem has already been solved: OS X - because it's easier to make Unix user-friendly than it is to make Windows stable:)
Thanks for pointing these out, I didn't know of them. I would expect any decent OS to allow these features, looks like Windows just took a while to get there:)
Your statement: There is very little you cant do via command line, and absolutely nothing you cant do via scripting or programmatic access. applies equally to *nix, except that the access to the tools feels more natural to me as the OS is text/script based from the start.
I have another point though, one which I find has made many of our (long-time) windows admins stop and think: I have been learning/using *nix since about 1988. I have not yet had to "throw away" any knowledge as the core of the system, the tools and the functionality hasn't really changed. Yes, implementation details have changed, but once you have grokked the system these changes don't bug you. Even going from Linux to OSX has been easy (and fun - try it).
On the DOS/Windows platform, I have used nearly every version of DOS since 2.2 and every version of Windows up to 2000. There is a lot of knowledge which I really no longer use, and every update "breaks" some existing knowledge. There is no such thing as an XP admin with 30 years experience (or even 3), and the time and effort lost through the breakage is not worth it to me.
Picture a company with several subsidiaries, geographrically diverse (Asia, Canada, Europe), each needing some local servers (DB, mail, DHCP etc).
With *nix tools you can:
Create (bootable) server images which you can send to the offices to install on the server to be.
Login remotely when required to do the minor fixups.
You can have a small group of gurus who can maintain the whole infrastructure. This is both because *nix boxen usually require less TLC, and because you can have one database maestro keeping all machines (worldwide) happy, logging in remotely where necessary.
Compare this to M$ servers, where each office needs its own M$-Monkey who supposedly runs the servers. Where when the Finnish M$-Monkey phones the Taiwanese DB person for help you have the wonderful "Click here then right-click there --- whaddaya mean the dialog box isn't there" conversation. Compare this to "ssh db.se.xxx.com" --- aha, there is your problem.
M$ admins are only cheaper per body, they are definitely less bang for the buck. *nix is a leveraging technology --- not even a really good M$ admin can match a decent *nix admin for effectiveness per unit time as the *nix admin has significantly more scope available to him/her in the systems they administer.
Try Apple's iChat AV. I am in Germany using DSL, my Dad is in South Africa on an ISDN line --- we get phone quality connections with no lag (and packets to.za generally wander through New York on the way there).
We had previously tried netmeeting and yahoo chat and the quality was unacceptable. iChat rocks.
d) Debian is, in my experience, the easiest of all distros to KEEP up to date. The occasional "apt-get update && apt-get upgrade" gives you the updated version of all your installed software. No mess, no fuss.
Re:The tongue of the savage foreign hordes
on
Does Google = God?
·
· Score: 1
Americans may speak funny but generally its still known as english.
Sorry but Debian installation is a pain in the ass. The average user can't install it.
a) That is an (old) prejudice, the Debian install is pretty easy by now (including the tasklist --- if you want X, then click "X-Windows".
b) "Pain in the ass" to the average user means full control for me. Debian will give you a tight, small system by default. The amount of software that Mandrake tries to call a "basic install" is scary.
c) Debian will give you a very happy text-only system if necessary. Again, this may be a pain in the ass for the "average user" but I prefer the command line, thanks.
What I love about Debian is that you can start with a very basic install which I can expand as much or as little as I want. Painlessly. For example, I can take my console only system, type "apt-get install gimp" and have all required libraries etc installed automatically (and working).
Mandrake is about the lowest common denominator, Debian is about control.
So, we have a nasty hack to replace the proper design solution: make it difficult for a program to pose as a login prompt.
The fact remains --- if someone can sit in front of the PC (which is virtually a prerequisite to logging into an NT/w2k machine) the security has already been breached.
Please, please, please, someone co-ordinate the following protest.
Get lots of people to buy a copy-protected album, but buy it from a chain store (WalMart?) and spread the purchases over many branches nationwide. Then return the CDs the next day as unplayable.
If every music division of every branch is getting this crap, and yes, returns are mucho expensive for stores as they cost a lot of time to do, how long until the stores start telling the music distributors to take DRM off their CDs.
Saying you are d/loading off Kazaa to stick it to the music companies is childish, you are merely giving the music co's more ammo. You need to create the direct connection between wallet and brain on their side. Even the top management of EMI reports to shareholders at some point and saying "The good news is, nobody can copy our CDs, the bad news is, we aren't selling any as no-one will distribute our CDs, so we are not declaring a dividend this year" is not going to go down too well.
Economics will always win, failing to attack a problem economically will result in disaster --- always.
A honeypot for spam - mentioned here previously, I think - would be one answer. It would recognize a spammer and, instead of disconnecting, it would accept all the spam - very sllloooowwwly, then discard it.
This exists --- google for Teergrube (which is German for "tar pit", the more you agitate, the tighter you get stuck).
Uhhhhh. Firestone regrets to inform you that we see no problems in our tires, thanks. Have a rolling good time out there.
MS has a product out. The product has a flaw. The product is within the timeframe of their so-called support. Fix the fscking problem, guys.
OTOH, this is great stuff for any "let's switch to an OSS architecture presentation". The suits are always ragging on OSS for lack of support --- this news just shows that you can't count on safe-as-houses MS *cough* either.
But we won't allow anyone in to see if they REALLY have one. We'll just bomb the smoke out of them, just in case.
What? They didn't have one? Oh, sorry. Here --- we'll rebuild your country, complete with a new dictator^Wmilitary leader (except he's OUR military leader), using our own companies (which hopefully gets the credits flowing back home).
Both statements are crap CNN may well sanitise its stories, and portray the US side (hey..it's a US company)
No. It's a news provider which means they are supposed to provide objective coverage.
Does AJ show pics and video of Iraqi troops hiding among civilians and using them as shields? No
Does AJ show report on the Iraqi troops using a hospital for a weapons cache? No
The only reason you believe this is happening is because you read it in the media (unless you have/. access in Iraq --- please send photos and props to those satellite ISPs). You don't know it is happening, but you are trusting whatever media outlet that reported this to you to be telling the truth.
Take note, I am not saying it isn't happening! Just think about where you got the info from and what assumptions you are making about the veracity of the source.
"A lie repeated often enough becomes the truth" and all that. And, even if the coalition forces find WMD in Iraq, will we ever know whether they were merely planted after the fact to justify the invasion? There would be enough opportunity to do so in the turmoil.
Again, I am not saying Iraq does or doesn't have WMDs, I don't know. But always question what you hear.
I bet eight out of ten first year electronic engineering students, given the question "Given a chip, figure out whether your input clock has been screwed around with", would come up with this solution (or something like it).
The other two students will flunk the course:)
Seriously, the underlying principle here (compare it to a reference you know is correct) is so basic, it applies to nearly everything --- not only engineering.
Slashdot Mirror
What's wrong with the plan? In order to beat Windows, which sucks at the core level, we need to make Linux, which "sucks" (call it Joe-sixpack-confusing) at the UI level more like the Windows UI. No contradiction at all.
BTW, the problem has already been solved: OS X - because it's easier to make Unix user-friendly than it is to make Windows stable
Your shareware copy of LandingGear 2.0 has expired, please contact www.ohshit.com to buy a full licence.
Known as Hofstadters Law, and is actually:
It always takes longer than you expect, even when taking Hofstadters law into account.
He states it in his book "Godel, Escher, Bach" (a good read if you can wrap your mind around it).
Google for "ebay escrow BMW" :) Little lesson on how to actually determine who a trusted third party is.....
Shouldn't that be rated "funny"? Think about it -- what if everybody were to do this?
Thanks for pointing these out, I didn't know of them. I would expect any decent OS to allow these features, looks like Windows just took a while to get there :)
Your statement: There is very little you cant do via command line, and absolutely nothing you cant do via scripting or programmatic access. applies equally to *nix, except that the access to the tools feels more natural to me as the OS is text/script based from the start.
I have another point though, one which I find has made many of our (long-time) windows admins stop and think: I have been learning/using *nix since about 1988. I have not yet had to "throw away" any knowledge as the core of the system, the tools and the functionality hasn't really changed. Yes, implementation details have changed, but once you have grokked the system these changes don't bug you. Even going from Linux to OSX has been easy (and fun - try it).
On the DOS/Windows platform, I have used nearly every version of DOS since 2.2 and every version of Windows up to 2000. There is a lot of knowledge which I really no longer use, and every update "breaks" some existing knowledge. There is no such thing as an XP admin with 30 years experience (or even 3), and the time and effort lost through the breakage is not worth it to me.
ax
I assume that means that there isn't a general website where people can view the feeds.
Yet.
Picture a company with several subsidiaries, geographrically diverse (Asia, Canada, Europe), each needing some local servers (DB, mail, DHCP etc).
With *nix tools you can:
Compare this to M$ servers, where each office needs its own M$-Monkey who supposedly runs the servers. Where when the Finnish M$-Monkey phones the Taiwanese DB person for help you have the wonderful "Click here then right-click there --- whaddaya mean the dialog box isn't there" conversation. Compare this to "ssh db.se.xxx.com" --- aha, there is your problem.
M$ admins are only cheaper per body, they are definitely less bang for the buck. *nix is a leveraging technology --- not even a really good M$ admin can match a decent *nix admin for effectiveness per unit time as the *nix admin has significantly more scope available to him/her in the systems they administer.
Try Apple's iChat AV. I am in Germany using DSL, my Dad is in South Africa on an ISDN line --- we get phone quality connections with no lag (and packets to .za generally wander through New York on the way there).
We had previously tried netmeeting and yahoo chat and the quality was unacceptable. iChat rocks.
And the truly sophisticated can spell the word :)
Full marks for consistency though.....
That's the second leading cause of obesity (staying out of pie shops is number one.)
And the zeroth one is knowing that "obese" means fat and not thin.....
Pretty ironic comment from somebody who'se slashdot name translates to "I bite heads off chickens"
All programs expand until they can send mail. Except Outlook :)
I would like to add another point to my post:
d) Debian is, in my experience, the easiest of all distros to KEEP up to date. The occasional "apt-get update && apt-get upgrade" gives you the updated version of all your installed software. No mess, no fuss.
Americans may speak funny but generally its still known as english.
At least they think it is still known as English.
Yup, dselect sux.
# apt-get install aptitude
End of problem.
So, we have a nasty hack to replace the proper design solution: make it difficult for a program to pose as a login prompt.
The fact remains --- if someone can sit in front of the PC (which is virtually a prerequisite to logging into an NT/w2k machine) the security has already been breached.
ax
Perfectly OK once she's your wife though, right?
Please, please, please, someone co-ordinate the following protest.
Get lots of people to buy a copy-protected album, but buy it from a chain store (WalMart?) and spread the purchases over many branches nationwide. Then return the CDs the next day as unplayable.
If every music division of every branch is getting this crap, and yes, returns are mucho expensive for stores as they cost a lot of time to do, how long until the stores start telling the music distributors to take DRM off their CDs.
Saying you are d/loading off Kazaa to stick it to the music companies is childish, you are merely giving the music co's more ammo. You need to create the direct connection between wallet and brain on their side. Even the top management of EMI reports to shareholders at some point and saying "The good news is, nobody can copy our CDs, the bad news is, we aren't selling any as no-one will distribute our CDs, so we are not declaring a dividend this year" is not going to go down too well.
Economics will always win, failing to attack a problem economically will result in disaster --- always.
This exists --- google for Teergrube (which is German for "tar pit", the more you agitate, the tighter you get stuck).
Uhhhhh. Firestone regrets to inform you that we see no problems in our tires, thanks. Have a rolling good time out there.
MS has a product out. The product has a flaw. The product is within the timeframe of their so-called support. Fix the fscking problem, guys.
OTOH, this is great stuff for any "let's switch to an OSS architecture presentation". The suits are always ragging on OSS for lack of support --- this news just shows that you can't count on safe-as-houses MS *cough* either.
But we won't allow anyone in to see if they REALLY have one. We'll just bomb the smoke out of them, just in case.
What? They didn't have one? Oh, sorry. Here --- we'll rebuild your country, complete with a new dictator^Wmilitary leader (except he's OUR military leader), using our own companies (which hopefully gets the credits flowing back home).
No. It's a news provider which means they are supposed to provide objective coverage.
The only reason you believe this is happening is because you read it in the media (unless you have
Take note, I am not saying it isn't happening! Just think about where you got the info from and what assumptions you are making about the veracity of the source.
"A lie repeated often enough becomes the truth" and all that. And, even if the coalition forces find WMD in Iraq, will we ever know whether they were merely planted after the fact to justify the invasion? There would be enough opportunity to do so in the turmoil.
Again, I am not saying Iraq does or doesn't have WMDs, I don't know. But always question what you hear.
..... nonobvious ....
:)
I bet eight out of ten first year electronic engineering students, given the question "Given a chip, figure out whether your input clock has been screwed around with", would come up with this solution (or something like it).
The other two students will flunk the course
Seriously, the underlying principle here (compare it to a reference you know is correct) is so basic, it applies to nearly everything --- not only engineering.