A little while ago I was called in to teach a Solaris course. I asked the lab admins to install the Solaris Community CD. They were like "Oh, no. We've got a system that works. We don't want to change anything". The fear in their voice was palpable.
I was dumfounded for a second. All I was asking them to do was add a CD's worth of random software. Nothing was even being enabled... then it dawned on me. "Oh. You're used to Windows aren't you? This is Unix. It's actually stable when you add software to it.
Ultimately I had my students add in the software. It was easier. I just mounted the CD image and made it available by NFS. They installed the software and all was well.
The fact that people are so scared of making changes to Windows disgusts me, but I don't think it's going to change. It's part of their FUD campaign. "If WIndows is so bad, what's it going to be like to go to a new system?"
Oh give me a break! This is not new! Hey peltiers get hot on one side and cold on the other, so lets bolt heatsinks and fans to both sides! Hey we have something here!
Sometimes a basic idea is well known, but turning it into something that is commercially viable for a given application can still be a real issue. The idea of using a fillament to turn electricity into light was well known before Edison became famous for creating a bulb that was reasonably efficient, and long-lived.
Creating a simple cooler with a commercial peltier device should be an almost trivial project. Creating something that would be a viable vehicle air conditioner really might have required some decent work to scale it up probably.
An example of the problem would be Nuclear power plants: (early?) US designs were apparently a simple scale-up of breeder and/or nuclear submarine plants. That didn't work to well, and resulted in systems that needed to be shut down on a regular basis (According to one Arizona resident I talked to their power plants have more than a 50% downtime). Canada's Candu system, on the other hand was designed from scratch as a commercial power generation system with a near-100% uptime, and significant downtimes for the Ontario plants are national news.
(This is slashdot, after all). With the millions of people who haven't updated from the (now unsupported) Windwos 95 and 98, this is just going to be one more source of confuseion, Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.. First we'll have to change our clocks, on the 'wrong' dates, then we'll have to re-adjust on the 'old' dates -- either that, or update to a version of Windows that still has support and will, thus, get the appropriate updates to their timezone tables.
Real simple.. We'll have Daylight Savings Time, and Daylight Standard time. That way we don't have to keep changing the abbreviation all the time.. Here on the West coast it'll just be "PST" all year 'round.
(Patent Pending)
Given that the minigame is about as raunchy as an episode of Sex and the City, cannot be accessed without entering a long string of cheat codes, and takes several hours of effort to access, [.....]
Back in the late 70s there were two hits one year: "Good Girls Don't [but I do]" and "High School Confidential" (or was that "Blinded by the Light"). The former (rather tame song) got all of the attention, and heat, but if you actually listened to the latter, it was just short of obscene. Simple explanation: The former made easier headlines.
A recent study determined that, as of this spring, US and allied forces had killed at least 8000 Iraqi civilans. A similar number have died in the lawless that followed the US disolving the existing Iraqi security forces with no effective replacements, and somewhat fewer have died at the hand of suicide bombers and the like.
We have only minor quams about blowing little kids to bits, but one private gets knocked up while forcing prisoners to pose nude and the nation goes ballistic.
Face it: the problem that the US has with sex isn't that it's intrinsically bad -- it's that it's tittilating, and it gets our attention. That leads to headlines and those attract politicians -- who ban sexual things because that'll get them more money and power and make it easier for them to get sex.
Rinse. Repeat.
Europe got relaxed about sex a long time ago.. When the Clinton thing hit the headlines in the US, the EU conversation pretty much went:
"He got laid?"
"No he got blown -- then he got his cover blown!" "Stupid ghit."
It's good to prevent kids being exploited for sex. It's something else entirely to try and prevent them finding out about it.
Lemme see now: I've got $.15 for the next two days. I can either buy a comdom and have nobody to use it with, or I can buy two coconuts so that me and that hot chick over there will have the energy for a night of hot sex.....
Guess which choice most young (and often uneducated) poor teenagers will make?
As my mom once said -- "One of these days, you'll lose your head..... probably over a piece of tail."
Politicians will often say whatever looks like it will get them the most votes/money/power in the moment. Personal preferences and morals are often meaningless.
Personally, I'd go for the Tricorder.. Federation Credits wouldn't be worth anything here and now, and Doohan's credit cards are probably already cancelled -- but I could probably sell the tricordor on ebay for Millions.
Like Rycros said: People will pay for support whether the job is easy to do or not. Also: If only for the time being, most of the fight is to take things away from Microsoft In terms of that battle, the easier it is to use Linux the better. Even after MS is a niche player, then the different distros will be fighting each other for the crown of 'easiest to use'.
That's part of where competition comes into play, and why the GPL is such a good thing for customers.. No vendor can claim a monopoly with GPL software, so they have to differentiate themselves on things like quality of both design and support.
At that point, the cheaper it is to support a machine, the better your profits per machine and the better your ability to gain and hold customers.
I wouldn't tell people that they'll save the cost of the OS. As I said, they normally don't. What works far better is to tell them that they can do all of their normal work without having to worry about gobs of exploits.
If/when Linux hits the 90% morket share that Microsoft now holds, then that argument might go away (although I expect that it will still be a lesser issue with Linux than with Windows), but in the meantime, it's a far more powerful argument for most newbies.
Ironically, the fragility of Windows is part of the FUD that keeps people from moving to the (far more stable) Linux OS.
The party names don't matter. What's important is the process. I could have thrown in what happened to the Green party in 1999/2000, but that would have just muddied the waters.
That's definitely part of the problem for the NDP. Part of what let the NDP get, and stay, in in the 90's was the right wing split between the moribund Socreds and the budding Liberals.
The Internet has arrived, and all of those people are now just like ITU: IETF has become the ITU."
Not a big shock... about 15 years ago, the two power centers in BC Politics were the NDP and the Social Credit Party.. The left wing was in the NDP who had power at the time, and the Socreds had pretty much lost favour as the reigning right-wing party (( yeah that belies their name, but having been decades in power, the right wing had taken them over )). Then an upstart Liberal party maaged to worm their way into the leaders debate and caught fire, becomming the official opposition.
By the next election, the formeer Socred political machine had taken over the Liberal Party and kicked out it's leader. These are the people who now run the province.
The problem with our political/media system is that the only people who tend to end up in positions of power are those who really want it (and are willing to do whatever it takes to get that power). Unfortunately, these are precisely the people you don't want in power.
Back in the 80's during the Non-Con science fiction and fantasy convention in Edmonton, somebody learned that Doohan was in town doing a promo at a local car dealership. They invited him over, and he agreed -- with the stipulation that no autographs would be allowed (he claimed contractual obligations).
He arrived as the con chair (who was a big 'Scotty' fan) was speaking to the closing ceremonies. They snuck him in unseen and he walked up to her and gave her a big bear hug from behind.
Swinging around to slap him, a growl of disapproval changed to a squeal of glee almost mid-swing.
They later made her a button that read "Feel Me Up Scotty!".
Where they really save is not having to spend that time cleaning up viruses, and spyware and installing 3 or 4 different anti-malware products, and keep them up to date. They also save in having a generally stable system.
Saving the cost of a MS license is pretty much meaningless (although one friend of mine did comment about worring about having to pay $1k for the next replacement for XP-pro.), since most people already have some version of Windows on their box already, and the only way to avoid the MS tax when buying a single box from the likes of Dell is to refuse the license and go thru the rebate process.
Windows appears to be an incredibly fragile system, and people learn not to rock the boat with it. Most of the fear with going to Linux appears to be fear that it's going to be as bad to use as Windows -- only different. When they realize that it's actually easier, more stable and nicer, most don't bother looking back.
I suggest that you start cultivating connections in NZ, then. If they don't have suitable school management systems now, I expect that they will by the end of next year.
[grr: meant to use 'preview'] And as it is Linux on the desktop we're talking about, they'll be using that [support] a great deal.
Only for the first couple of months, and then
Only because it's a bit different than what they're used to.
I've pushed most of my recent roommates over to Linux. I'd get a month or so of extra questions about "how do I do this?" and "what program does this function?", then things go real quiet.
After a couple of months of abject silence, I then get questions like: "What are some good Linux advocacy sites", and "Could you just remove my Windows partition?". (seriously!)
I still haven't gotten used to the fact that the silence implies that they've actually settled down, as opposed to my presumption that they've given up on Linux and gone back to windows (I've only had a few roommates since I've started using Linux). My experience has pretty much convinced me that Linux really is ready for the Desktop. About the only barrier that I've had is finding drivers for really esoteric hardware.
Right now, I'd suggest that -- even if friends don't currently use Linux, that you have them make sure that they get peripherals with Linux support, because, if/when they decide to switch over, they really don't want to find themselves stuck because their voice recorder or multifunction printer has no Linux support (ran into both of those).
On that line: Tell them not to buy Brother printers.....(sigh).
Only because it's a bit different than what they're used to.
I've pushed most of my recent roommates over to Linux. I'd get a month or so of extra questions about "how do I do this?" and "what program does this function?", then things go real quiet.
After a couple of months of abject silence, I then get questions like: "What are some good Linux advocacy sites", and "Could you just remove my Windows partition?".
I still haven't gotten used to the fact that the silence implies that they've actually settled down, as opposed to my presumption that they've given up on Linux and gone back to windows (I've only had a few roommates since I've started using Linux). My experience has pretty much convinced me that Linux really is ready for the Desktop. About the only barrier that I've had is finding drivers for really esoteric hardware.
Right now, I'd suggest that -- even if friends don't currently use Linux, that you have them make sure that they get peripherals with Linux support, because, if/when they decide to switch over, they really don't want to find themselves stuck because their voice recorder or multifunction printer has no Linux support (ran into both of those).
On that line: Tell them not to buy Brother printers.....(sigh).
And just how is removing competition supposed to encourage these companies to increase their rollout of new services? I seems like a complete crock to me.
Some years ago, I bought a used Voodo 3 for my computer. When the guy I was buying it from showed up, I said that I wanted to test the card in my computer to make sure it (at least minimally) worked. He was a bit concerned.. he was intending to be somewhere else in about 1/2 an hour...
No problem I said. We went into my space. I popped the side off of my computter, pulled the old card out and inserted his Voodo card.. then I booted the box...I think it was RedHat 7.2 at the time.
Kudzu popped up:
It looks like you removed your old video card -- confirm [yes]
It looks like you have a new video card (Voodo 3) -- confirm [yes].
The system then finished booting, and came to the (GUI) login screen... I was happy.
I turned to the seller, and he was in the process of picking his jaw off of the ground.... "Thats it??!
I understood his surprise when I went to boot the same box into Windows later... It took a lot more time and energy to get Windows working with the new video card. I understand why Windows users are so paranoid about the idea of doing any sort of changes to their systems.
Slashdot Mirror
That's like asking SCO for evidence that Linux violates their copyrights.
A little while ago I was called in to teach a Solaris course. I asked the lab admins to install the Solaris Community CD. They were like "Oh, no. We've got a system that works. We don't want to change anything". The fear in their voice was palpable.
I was dumfounded for a second. All I was asking them to do was add a CD's worth of random software. Nothing was even being enabled... then it dawned on me. "Oh. You're used to Windows aren't you? This is Unix. It's actually stable when you add software to it.
Ultimately I had my students add in the software. It was easier. I just mounted the CD image and made it available by NFS. They installed the software and all was well.
The fact that people are so scared of making changes to Windows disgusts me, but I don't think it's going to change. It's part of their FUD campaign. "If WIndows is so bad, what's it going to be like to go to a new system?"
Sometimes a basic idea is well known, but turning it into something that is commercially viable for a given application can still be a real issue. The idea of using a fillament to turn electricity into light was well known before Edison became famous for creating a bulb that was reasonably efficient, and long-lived.
Creating a simple cooler with a commercial peltier device should be an almost trivial project. Creating something that would be a viable vehicle air conditioner really might have required some decent work to scale it up probably.
An example of the problem would be Nuclear power plants: (early?) US designs were apparently a simple scale-up of breeder and/or nuclear submarine plants. That didn't work to well, and resulted in systems that needed to be shut down on a regular basis (According to one Arizona resident I talked to their power plants have more than a 50% downtime). Canada's Candu system, on the other hand was designed from scratch as a commercial power generation system with a near-100% uptime, and significant downtimes for the Ontario plants are national news.
All of this just to keep Microsoft happy.
Real simple.. We'll have Daylight Savings Time, and Daylight Standard time. That way we don't have to keep changing the abbreviation all the time.. Here on the West coast it'll just be "PST" all year 'round.
(Patent Pending)
We have only minor quams about blowing little kids to bits, but one private gets knocked up while forcing prisoners to pose nude and the nation goes ballistic.
Face it: the problem that the US has with sex isn't that it's intrinsically bad -- it's that it's tittilating, and it gets our attention. That leads to headlines and those attract politicians -- who ban sexual things because that'll get them more money and power and make it easier for them to get sex.
Rinse. Repeat.
Europe got relaxed about sex a long time ago.. When the Clinton thing hit the headlines in the US, the EU conversation pretty much went:
"He got laid?"
"No he got blown -- then he got his cover blown!"
"Stupid ghit."
It's good to prevent kids being exploited for sex. It's something else entirely to try and prevent them finding out about it.
Guess which choice most young (and often uneducated) poor teenagers will make?
As my mom once said -- "One of these days, you'll lose your head ..... probably over a piece of tail."
Politicians will often say whatever looks like it will get them the most votes/money/power in the moment. Personal preferences and morals are often meaningless.
Personally, I'd go for the Tricorder.. Federation Credits wouldn't be worth anything here and now, and Doohan's credit cards are probably already cancelled -- but I could probably sell the tricordor on ebay for Millions.
That's part of where competition comes into play, and why the GPL is such a good thing for customers.. No vendor can claim a monopoly with GPL software, so they have to differentiate themselves on things like quality of both design and support.
At that point, the cheaper it is to support a machine, the better your profits per machine and the better your ability to gain and hold customers.
If/when Linux hits the 90% morket share that Microsoft now holds, then that argument might go away (although I expect that it will still be a lesser issue with Linux than with Windows), but in the meantime, it's a far more powerful argument for most newbies.
Ironically, the fragility of Windows is part of the FUD that keeps people from moving to the (far more stable) Linux OS.
The party names don't matter. What's important is the process. I could have thrown in what happened to the Green party in 1999/2000, but that would have just muddied the waters.
That's definitely part of the problem for the NDP. Part of what let the NDP get, and stay, in in the 90's was the right wing split between the moribund Socreds and the budding Liberals.
Not a big shock... about 15 years ago, the two power centers in BC Politics were the NDP and the Social Credit Party.. The left wing was in the NDP who had power at the time, and the Socreds had pretty much lost favour as the reigning right-wing party (( yeah that belies their name, but having been decades in power, the right wing had taken them over )). Then an upstart Liberal party maaged to worm their way into the leaders debate and caught fire, becomming the official opposition.
By the next election, the formeer Socred political machine had taken over the Liberal Party and kicked out it's leader. These are the people who now run the province.
The problem with our political/media system is that the only people who tend to end up in positions of power are those who really want it (and are willing to do whatever it takes to get that power). Unfortunately, these are precisely the people you don't want in power.
That's why companies like Red Hat, IBM and Novell can make money 'selling' free software. What they're selling is the support program.
He arrived as the con chair (who was a big 'Scotty' fan) was speaking to the closing ceremonies. They snuck him in unseen and he walked up to her and gave her a big bear hug from behind.
Swinging around to slap him, a growl of disapproval changed to a squeal of glee almost mid-swing.
They later made her a button that read "Feel Me Up Scotty!".
Might as well throw in The CBC Obit, as well (given that he was born in Canada).
Saving the cost of a MS license is pretty much meaningless (although one friend of mine did comment about worring about having to pay $1k for the next replacement for XP-pro.), since most people already have some version of Windows on their box already, and the only way to avoid the MS tax when buying a single box from the likes of Dell is to refuse the license and go thru the rebate process.
Windows appears to be an incredibly fragile system, and people learn not to rock the boat with it. Most of the fear with going to Linux appears to be fear that it's going to be as bad to use as Windows -- only different. When they realize that it's actually easier, more stable and nicer, most don't bother looking back.
I suggest that you start cultivating connections in NZ, then. If they don't have suitable school management systems now, I expect that they will by the end of next year.
And as it is Linux on the desktop we're talking about, they'll be using that [support] a great deal.
Only for the first couple of months, and then Only because it's a bit different than what they're used to.
I've pushed most of my recent roommates over to Linux. I'd get a month or so of extra questions about "how do I do this?" and "what program does this function?", then things go real quiet.
After a couple of months of abject silence, I then get questions like: "What are some good Linux advocacy sites", and "Could you just remove my Windows partition?". (seriously!)
I still haven't gotten used to the fact that the silence implies that they've actually settled down, as opposed to my presumption that they've given up on Linux and gone back to windows (I've only had a few roommates since I've started using Linux). My experience has pretty much convinced me that Linux really is ready for the Desktop. About the only barrier that I've had is finding drivers for really esoteric hardware.
Right now, I'd suggest that -- even if friends don't currently use Linux, that you have them make sure that they get peripherals with Linux support, because, if/when they decide to switch over, they really don't want to find themselves stuck because their voice recorder or multifunction printer has no Linux support (ran into both of those).
On that line: Tell them not to buy Brother printers.....(sigh).
I've pushed most of my recent roommates over to Linux. I'd get a month or so of extra questions about "how do I do this?" and "what program does this function?", then things go real quiet.
After a couple of months of abject silence, I then get questions like: "What are some good Linux advocacy sites", and "Could you just remove my Windows partition?".
I still haven't gotten used to the fact that the silence implies that they've actually settled down, as opposed to my presumption that they've given up on Linux and gone back to windows (I've only had a few roommates since I've started using Linux). My experience has pretty much convinced me that Linux really is ready for the Desktop. About the only barrier that I've had is finding drivers for really esoteric hardware.
Right now, I'd suggest that -- even if friends don't currently use Linux, that you have them make sure that they get peripherals with Linux support, because, if/when they decide to switch over, they really don't want to find themselves stuck because their voice recorder or multifunction printer has no Linux support (ran into both of those).
On that line: Tell them not to buy Brother printers.....(sigh).
And just how is removing competition supposed to encourage these companies to increase their rollout of new services? I seems like a complete crock to me.
No problem I said. We went into my space. I popped the side off of my computter, pulled the old card out and inserted his Voodo card.. then I booted the box...I think it was RedHat 7.2 at the time.
Kudzu popped up:
- It looks like you removed your old video card -- confirm [yes]
- It looks like you have a new video card (Voodo 3) -- confirm [yes].
The system then finished booting, and came to the (GUI) login screen... I was happy.I turned to the seller, and he was in the process of picking his jaw off of the ground. ... "Thats it??!
I understood his surprise when I went to boot the same box into Windows later... It took a lot more time and energy to get Windows working with the new video card. I understand why Windows users are so paranoid about the idea of doing any sort of changes to their systems.