Well, since I have my linux machine, which is always connected via DSL, set up to also provide dialup ppp service, I am an ISP.. I set this up so that if I'm out and around town and need dialup access, I can dial into my machine and NAT through my DSL connection while also having direct access to resources on my network.. It works very well.. Since I also have accounts on my servers for my friends and family, and all of them can dial in and use this service, even under a more strict interpretation I would be an ISP..
Someone better not let them know that the machines they are using also store data in Little Endian and Big Endian byte orders.. Will this offend some Native Americans and Indians?
"Windows has been the de facto virus target, but that doesn't seem to have increased code quality..."
Yes, but Windows doesn't have it's code base available for all of us to pour over and fix..
If microsoft dumped the source code for XP out there under the GPL you'd see XP become much more secure in the long run.. Think about it, not only are all the OSS people that typically play in unix land scrutinizing the code, but also the windows only developers, who until this happens never had a voice in developing the OS, would pitch in as well..
I know what you mean.. My band's plan is to release the 1st album on our site, www.delusionalmind.com, for free.. That includes downloadable album cover, inserts, etc(in PNG format of course).. That will give people the ability to get a taste of what we're doing and decide if they like it before investing in newer albums.. The newer albums would be very cheap, and also available for download with a price break(no need for us to burn/package/ship a CD).. You'd never find me complaining about my music being shared on a p2p network.. I'd be flattered quite honestly..
As far as the bt thing goes.. Yes, it's used for illegal purposes.. Most of it's use is for illegal purposes.. Should the government shut down bt? No.. Will bt die? Yes.. Simply put, the *AA's will use scare tactics and lawyers until people are so paranoid about using it for illegal purposes that they won't do it.. And since 99.999% of the bt use out there is for illegal purposes the userbase will erode to almost nothing and it will fade into obscurity..
A better protocol will have to be developed that assures anonymity and forced bandwidth sharing before there is any real "killer app" in the p2p game(freenet possibly?)..
I read your article about why you went back to windows. I was interested to see what issues you found to be unacceptable, and for the most part I agree with them. Since the first day I installed linux( I started with and still run debian ), I've screamed it will NEVER be a common desktop OS. Trying to force a *NIX onto the average desktop user's PC is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Apple's attempt is interesting but I'm willing to bet it's problems will come to light, and cripple it, as the platform ages.
Quite simply, linux is an OS that was built using a server OS as a model. X will never be the equivalent of windows. Period. Having said that, I don't necessarily want linux and X to aspire to that end. The OS's stability and speed is hinged on the fact that it's not designed to automatically detect and install drivers for any and all hardware. It's not designed to do 99.9% of the thinking for you. It's crude, rough around the edges, amazingly stable, and fast. Being crude and rough to deal with is WHY it's amazingly stable and fast. Just as a good server OS should be. I am a UNIX admin by trade (self taught on linux). I put linux in every company I do work for when it calls for a new server to be added. I've NEVER gotten a complaint from any of them.
At home, I mostly run win98se on my main machine with a linux install multibootable. I run win98 for 1 reason only, games. Because I am an avid gamer as well, I tend to spend most of my time in windows because it's the only OS that runs my favorite games. If those games ran under linux you can bet windows would be deleted. But being that I find it intolerable to reboot to check my email, surf the web, and so on, I tend to stay in windows for those activities as well. You'll get no argument from me when you say that windows is a far superior home PC OS. It simply is, and I see no change to that anytime soon. It's not because of technical superiority or stability. It's because the apps are there, and only there. The OS is (relatively) easy to use and setup, something that is absolutely required to be accepted by the 80% of the population that can barely tell a computer from a microwave.
I understand your plight with linux, but the things you don't like, are the things I crave. The shortcomings you see are linux's strong points to me. They represent the barrier to the average user because it requires you to understand your machine in order to get the best out of it. But while that is a barrier to most, it's exactly what allows ME to get the best out of it. I know linux's place as it stands today. It's a server/workstation os, plain and simple, and I use it as such.
I installed Debian 1.3 from disk images I downloaded on a 28.8Kbps modem way back when.. I bought the 2.0 CD's for $8($3 donated to Debian), the 2.1 CD's for $15 (donating $10 to the Debian project), and the 2.2 version I had the company I work for buy for $100 (Donating $95 to Debian)..
Consider this, I make $0.64 per minute and an average reboot takes about 1.5 minutes(SCSI BIOS to recognize the RAID5 array and such).. If I were running Windows then you can figure at least 1 reboot per day due to the fact I'm pretty hard on my machine. This would total up to ~$165 per year it would cost my company if I were to run Windows on my workstation. Add to that the cost of the OS initially (~$100 for 98, substantially more for an NT variant) and the difference is clear. Also consider the cost of finding someone to replace me when the frustration of working solely with such an inferior OS drives me away. My UNIX server farm is all that keeps me from hacking the windows machines to pieces with an axe.. I have a stable environment to retreat to.
Here's an example of the linux machines in the server farm:
spasm:~# uptime
6:50pm up 454 days, 5:20, 4 users, load average: 1.00, 1.00, 1.00
(load is due to mprime running in the background)
yourlord
Slashdot Mirror
Well, since I have my linux machine, which is always connected via DSL, set up to also provide dialup ppp service, I am an ISP.. I set this up so that if I'm out and around town and need dialup access, I can dial into my machine and NAT through my DSL connection while also having direct access to resources on my network.. It works very well.. Since I also have accounts on my servers for my friends and family, and all of them can dial in and use this service, even under a more strict interpretation I would be an ISP..
Someone better not let them know that the machines they are using also store data in Little Endian and Big Endian byte orders.. Will this offend some Native Americans and Indians?
"Windows has been the de facto virus target, but that doesn't seem to have increased code quality..."
Yes, but Windows doesn't have it's code base available for all of us to pour over and fix..
If microsoft dumped the source code for XP out there under the GPL you'd see XP become much more secure in the long run.. Think about it, not only are all the OSS people that typically play in unix land scrutinizing the code, but also the windows only developers, who until this happens never had a voice in developing the OS, would pitch in as well..
I know what you mean.. My band's plan is to release the 1st album on our site, www.delusionalmind.com, for free.. That includes downloadable album cover, inserts, etc(in PNG format of course).. That will give people the ability to get a taste of what we're doing and decide if they like it before investing in newer albums.. The newer albums would be very cheap, and also available for download with a price break(no need for us to burn/package/ship a CD).. You'd never find me complaining about my music being shared on a p2p network.. I'd be flattered quite honestly..
As far as the bt thing goes.. Yes, it's used for illegal purposes.. Most of it's use is for illegal purposes.. Should the government shut down bt? No.. Will bt die? Yes.. Simply put, the *AA's will use scare tactics and lawyers until people are so paranoid about using it for illegal purposes that they won't do it.. And since 99.999% of the bt use out there is for illegal purposes the userbase will erode to almost nothing and it will fade into obscurity..
A better protocol will have to be developed that assures anonymity and forced bandwidth sharing before there is any real "killer app" in the p2p game(freenet possibly?)..
yourlord
This is the body of the E-mail I sent to him:
I read your article about why you went back to windows. I was interested to see what issues you found to be unacceptable, and for the most part I agree with them. Since the first day I installed linux( I started with and still run debian ), I've screamed it will NEVER be a common desktop OS. Trying to force a *NIX onto the average desktop user's PC is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Apple's attempt is interesting but I'm willing to bet it's problems will come to light, and cripple it, as the platform ages.
Quite simply, linux is an OS that was built using a server OS as a model. X will never be the equivalent of windows. Period. Having said that, I don't necessarily want linux and X to aspire to that end. The OS's stability and speed is hinged on the fact that it's not designed to automatically detect and install drivers for any and all hardware. It's not designed to do 99.9% of the thinking for you. It's crude, rough around the edges, amazingly stable, and fast. Being crude and rough to deal with is WHY it's amazingly stable and fast. Just as a good server OS should be. I am a UNIX admin by trade (self taught on linux). I put linux in every company I do work for when it calls for a new server to be added. I've NEVER gotten a complaint from any of them.
At home, I mostly run win98se on my main machine with a linux install multibootable. I run win98 for 1 reason only, games. Because I am an avid gamer as well, I tend to spend most of my time in windows because it's the only OS that runs my favorite games. If those games ran under linux you can bet windows would be deleted. But being that I find it intolerable to reboot to check my email, surf the web, and so on, I tend to stay in windows for those activities as well. You'll get no argument from me when you say that windows is a far superior home PC OS. It simply is, and I see no change to that anytime soon. It's not because of technical superiority or stability. It's because the apps are there, and only there. The OS is (relatively) easy to use and setup, something that is absolutely required to be accepted by the 80% of the population that can barely tell a computer from a microwave.
I understand your plight with linux, but the things you don't like, are the things I crave. The shortcomings you see are linux's strong points to me. They represent the barrier to the average user because it requires you to understand your machine in order to get the best out of it. But while that is a barrier to most, it's exactly what allows ME to get the best out of it. I know linux's place as it stands today. It's a server/workstation os, plain and simple, and I use it as such.
Oh well, missed the "Plain Old Text" option..
yourlord
I installed Debian 1.3 from disk images I downloaded on a 28.8Kbps modem way back when.. I bought the 2.0 CD's for $8($3 donated to Debian), the 2.1 CD's for $15 (donating $10 to the Debian project), and the 2.2 version I had the company I work for buy for $100 (Donating $95 to Debian).. Consider this, I make $0.64 per minute and an average reboot takes about 1.5 minutes(SCSI BIOS to recognize the RAID5 array and such) .. If I were running Windows then you can figure at least 1 reboot per day due to the fact I'm pretty hard on my machine. This would total up to ~$165 per year it would cost my company if I were to run Windows on my workstation. Add to that the cost of the OS initially (~$100 for 98, substantially more for an NT variant) and the difference is clear. Also consider the cost of finding someone to replace me when the frustration of working solely with such an inferior OS drives me away. My UNIX server farm is all that keeps me from hacking the windows machines to pieces with an axe.. I have a stable environment to retreat to.
Here's an example of the linux machines in the server farm:
spasm:~# uptime
6:50pm up 454 days, 5:20, 4 users, load average: 1.00, 1.00, 1.00
(load is due to mprime running in the background)
yourlord