Well, that's certainly one way to look at it, isn't it. However, things aren't that simple. You and I both know that. Anyone who has had the opportunity to hear his side of the story in person knows it goes a little deeper than that. I had the privelage of hearing him speak at Ic0n hear in Cleveland earlier in the year and again at Phreaknic in Nashville.
Yeah, he isn't completely blameless and he doesn't claim to be. However, he's being railroaded on some serious charges. If you know the laws he was tried under you know how vague and broad in scope they could be. Under those laws and a liberal interpretation, I would be unable to effectively do my own job.
So, in short, let's look at both side of the story here. I encourage anyone who will dismiss Schwartz right off the bat to hear his side of the case.
He's a pretty nice guy, to boot. A hacker's hacker, if you will.
I have State Farm and when I applied for my Renter's Insurance policy, I made DAMN sure to get a $10,000 additional rider to cover computing equipment, the most they would allow. This is after losing my first laptop in a car accident. I was using it to play MP3s through the cassette deck, windows down. Then I was broadsided at an intersection, had my NEW CAR (Toyota Rav4, which was 6 DAYS OLD and had 212 miles on it) roll over four times, all the while my laptop flew out of the window, landed on the ground... in the same spot that the right reare tire decided to land.
I walked away with just a minor scratch... my laptop was absolute toast (although it did boot up... but there were tons of bad sectors... surprise surprise).
Short story, no insurance I had covered it. I'm now damn sure I have that coverage!
Good luck getting reimbursed for your crap... I know what a pain it is. Take it from some of the other posters and AVOID UPS and other carriers at all possible cost.
In all honesty, true the post office in the future. Certainly they have their own issues, but I've shipped a TON of packages through the post office (which, I might add, also allows you to get insurance), a lot to Canada and haven't had a problem. I'm sure the Canadian post allows for something similar.
That makes no sense since you'd have to have hundreds of switches just to make it work. The latency and signal degredation would be horrendous. The only way you could do it via land is with fiber, preferably single mode. cheap cat5 and commodity equipment isn't good enough for this application.
Steganography in and of itself is fairly powerful. However, the real beauty lies when you combine it with encryption. Encrypt your strings of bytes, strip off headers and define the headers through some other mechanism and THEN you'll have truly clandestine communications. The best steganography is the kind no one even knows is there (as has been mentioned previously).
I know a group of guys who were literally taking all of the porn off of the alt.binaries newsgroups to look for hidden messages, but gave up do to the volune, the low chance of actually getting a hit, etc. In other words, it will be impossible to tell if the image you have is actually encoded.
I forget what it was called, but it was around about 3 or 4 years ago. Had to do with something called a "Q" number. It was almost exactly the same concept as this. Really kind of stupid, it never caught on (obviously).
Univerisal access to me is not a right for anyone. I prefer to have different channels of access through different means and paths as a method for me to filter out the folks I probably don't want to talk to versus the people that I'm more likely going to want to talk to.
The only thing this would do is make it easier to marketers to peddle crap to us. *grin*
I haven't seen the film, so don't pounce on my too much. Realize, though, that it is possible to talk without having a TX button... it's called vox. Voice activiated transmissions. Kind of useful and handy. Unfortunately, none of my ham rigs support it.
Vivisimo plain sucks. Nasty interface. Long load times.
Wisenut isn't bad, but it certainly isn't good.
Teoma has promise, but the searches tend to take a long time on arcane subjects. No easily accessible advanced search functions.
I won't even begin going into CURE. How dare they slander the 80s dark pop/goth/electronic group with an interface that cheesy. Nix the graphics and bring up the friggin' search box without the glitz.
Please, no HTML in Usenet. It's bad enough as it is. The beauty of Usenet is that you could use any client on any computer practically anywhere to read it. You didn't need a fancy computer with a fancy graphical newsreader... something as simple as tin in a shell account over a 2400 baud modem was good enough (although 14.4K made things better). Usenet's strength lay in the fact that it is (was?) universal. Bastardizing it with HTML (isn't this done already with most spam?), in my opinion, won't bring anything new to the table.
... but most of those that can't find money in dot coms are often the folks that
- don't really have any marketable skills
- Decided to drop out of college because they thought they could make just as much or more without a degree (sorry, it still matters to any real employer)
- Don't have enough capital to start up their own consulting firm (about 2 to 3 months salary)
- Never really had any talent to begin with and bullshitted their way to their dot com position anyhow.
This isn't to say that there aren't people out there that *are* qualified and still can't find jobs, but in my experience, those are also the same people that can't/won't move from an area with a glut of people that are technically inclined to another area where their skills might be appreciated more (Yes, we know you like the Valley, but bite your lip a little more move to Des Moines, or Cleveland. Give another city a chance).
I am always of the opinion that if your work ethic is good, you have some kind of marketable skill set, you MARKET that skill set properly (no, that does not consist solely of posting your resume on monster and thingamajob) and are willing to be flexible, you can get a decent, well paying and fulfilling job. It's all yours for the taking if you have the desire.
And if for some reason you DO have 2 to 3 months of living expenses in the bank, start your own company. Learn from the mistakes of your other employers and do it better. Realize that their failure could be YOUR ticket to success.
Mr. Chiu states, "I support population control. I think USA should do the same. "
If that's so, then why in the HELL do you want to invent an immortality device? If population control is the way to go, isn't it kind of assumed that we need to let the old farts die off? Does he also suggest that we prevent any future conception? I'm sorry, but, "If you want to have more than 1 kid, you should pay more tax," isn't much of an argument against having kids.
Not that this matters since the rest of what he has to say is out right bullshit. I've never seen such inept and trite replies in my life.
No, I think your question is really good and should be addressed. Without knowing the father, I can only speak speculatively and will make broad generalizations and assumptions that will render my point moot, but I might as well make it anyway...
For anyone that's ever been bullied in school, what do your parents usually say when you report it, "Dear, when I was in the school the kids did the same types of things to me. Just ignore them and they'll go away."
However, what parents fail to realize is that for some reason, kids today are more agressive in class then they ever have been before. While in the past a spat between two classmates might result in a quick and akward fisfight behind the gymnasium, nowadays with a lack of school administration caring, fights are taking place everywhere, with more deadly weapons and voracity.
If you ponder the idealized schools that parents attended "back in the day", behavior problems wre easier to deal with because there was always a group of troublemakers and bullies that could be singled out for punishment. Of course, the victim would still get the, "Just try to ignore them" explanation that parents still give today. However, nowadays I strongly believe that anyone can be a bully. It is almost like a hierachy of abuse exists. The darwinism of it all is really astounding once you realize it, especially if you're living through it. The kids in these Slashdot articles, while certainly at the "top" of the hierachy in terms of grades, intelligence, skills or creativity, are often cast down to the lowest levels of the food chain when it comes to social respect and decency. The point I'm trying to make is that the bullies at the top tend to make their victims bullies themselves until you reach the bottom where those individuals would love to bully everyone above them for lack of having anyone lower to bully themselves.
Is it a brash overgeneralization? Yes.
Is this post a long winded rant? Yes.
Do I think I have a valid point in here someplace? Yes.
This is a weighty issue that is becoming worse and worse. The difficult part about this discussion is that there really is no "right" and "wrong". Both sides are wrong. The bullies are wrong for being abusive and the victims are wrong for not being a little more levelheaded and creative in dealing with bullies... and for not holding their tongues and incriminating themselves. Now, arguments can be made for whom is more "wrong" than whom, but the point is that to most people, it doesn't *matter*. It makes people uncomfortable. When people become uncomfortable about the situation they revert back to the basics they learned about the human condition, especially in their schooling, which is exactly why parents today tell there children as they've done for generations, "Dear, when I was in the school the kids did the same types of things to me. Just ignore them and they'll go away."
What students really need are hidden cameras in the schools. If parents of bullies would actually see their little darlings tormenting and harassing they way they do, I can guarantee that some (not all) of the bullies would get a serious butt whipping and would *quickly* change their ways. Parents are so oblivious most of the time to what their kids do in school. The schools themselves are far too impotent to actually be able to do something about, and, when they do act, they act improperly and contrary to what logic would tell any educated person.
Is it an invasion of privacy? Yes, but so are metal detectors, drug tests and searching lockers. Why not have video cameras?
Oh, now I remember, because no one really wants to see how bad some of the TEACHERS in public education are. Of course, I have no way to back this up in fact other than my experiences when I was in junior high and high school.
In lieu of cameras everywhere in schools, intelligent and bright young students who are being bullied should resort to the skills they have... geeky nerd hacker skills... and should go about tape recording and video taping their ordeals with hidden cameras with the bullies. Videotaping has worked wonders for police departments (both to catch crooked cops and to prove that there really are a lot of assholes on the road.)
No, if they were going to move to a real OS, they'd be moving to OpenBSD. Alas, though, SMB in Open is, well, not there;)
Seriously, though, I'd trust BSD code a hell of a lot more than Linux. Rumor has it that RedHat won't even compile from source anymore. They have to rebuild each rpm individually and what-not.
No, The X Box isn't going to be an NC by any stretch of the imagination, which really kind of sucks. Developers of the X Box that I've spoken to have so much as said that they want the thing to be for games only. It's their friggin' Mantra. They don't even plan on having it used as a general purpose DVD player (ala the PS2). Another dumb move.
I don't know what their plans are, but it seems like they're trying to avoid at all possible costs appearing to, once again, try to swallow up a whole 'nother industry with their stanards, which they could easily do if the X Box became exactly what you say it would.
I'm not sure where I stand on the X Box yet... If I were a microserf, I'd want the thing to be an NC. It would not only be a kick ass game machine (which it will be) but it would be a pretty sturdy PC. Looking at the specs, it could certainly fit that bill.
Will Microsoft change their view of the X Box as a potential NC? Possibly. My guess is that it will not depend on the market as much as it will politics of Microsoft's monopolistic practices in regards tothe perception of the device in the industry as a competitor.
Yes, I've seen their product and ordered my free CD because I am a member of the educational community. What I saw wasn't impressive, but at least they were real CDs and not CD-Rs. I didn't play around with it very much, realizing that it wasn't really anything special and wasn't really all that interesting. It was, in my opinion, poorly re-branded RedHat.
The only good thing about LinuxOne is their logo, and even that isn't that great.
I wish I could remember the article that stated that many African nations wish we would stop dumping our useless crap on their shores. Specifically, they're begging the US and other nations from sending them old XTs, 286s and even 386s, of which they have little or no use for. We think it's generosity, however, they think it rude that we dump stuff that no one really wants. They argued that those old hunks of junk won't help them teach folks how to use the internet and are hardly modern enough to even begin giving their students the footwork they need to compete in a global economy. Remember, many of the brightest and best will eventually leave their home country for a University education either in Western Europe or the US. With a background strictly in obsolete technology, they would already be at a significant disadvantage.
Man, I wish I had that URL. *sigh*. I hate making it look like I'm pulling this stuff out of my ear. I assure you I'm not. If someone does have a relevant link to back this up, please post it. I would be interested in keeping it handy.
In short, don't assume that anyone wants you really old junk. It's often more of a problem than a gift.
Isn't it good to ask those kinds of questions for any company that you plan on working for? A basic tenet of job hunting and career building is also using the interview process to your own advantage by taking the company to task, especially after the first couple of interviews.
Asking the right questions and really getting to know the company and some of the employees is essential. If you have the time to actually pull a few employees aside during a whole-company "tour" before they put the offer on the table, make sure you have some to-the-point and quick questions that have concise answers. These questions can then hopefully give you a good sense of whether or not the people currently at the company feel it's going somewhere or not. Questions like, "On average, how many hours a week are you working here?", "Is your boss reasonable and easy to deal with?", "Have there been any recent lay-offs?" can really help to set things straight. Of course, if you can find ways to ask those and perhaps be a little more subtle than go for it.
In fact, I'd argue that any company that doesn't let you talk to some of you just might be working with, it's time to start getting worried.
Remember, we are in demand right now. For your own career and well-being, please do your homework before signing the big money contract because, lo and behold, the big money contract doesn't mean much when you're on the street without a job, or at a company that's poorly manage.
Well, let me give you a quick run down of what happens at our CWRUlug (Case Western Reserve University) LUG meetings.
For the past two years we have scheduled weekly meetings. During these weekly meetings we have members of the group talk about some aspect of Linux, Unix, Open Source, etc. One week we'll have a talk about jargon, the next a talk about XFS and of course have the occassional Installfest. We use these talks in order to not only keep ourselves interested, but to bring new Linux users and Freshmen "up to speed" with what's going on in the Linux world.
Lately, we've seemed to attract someone "big" speakers... granted they aren't of the calibre of ESR and RMS, but it's still exciting for us. What we've been doing is in fact inviting alumni of the University working in Industry to demonstrate some of their Open Source projets, or to discuss coding techniques, etc. A lot of good sources are companies that folks have worked a co-op or summer internship for. Also, we ask faculty to present something relevant to the group. Finally, we'll ask local business leaders and companies if they'd be interested in speaking.
Want a really "big" speaker? How about combining efforts with another local LUG to perhaps entice a big name individual to come to town? Publicize the hell out of it and, if you're successful, it'll be a heck of a lot easier to get another speaker to show up.
So I guess my advice is this: Look local. You'll find a lot of capable individuals with a lot to say. It will help them because then they'll know who to recruit and it will help you because you'll know something you didn't before and might have the chance to work for a great company that embraces Open Source.
Basically all the xbox is is a stock pentium3-733 with an overclocked nVidia graphics chipset (that will probably be released either right before or right after xbox is) running a Win2K microkernel in ROM (with other portions left for developers to link in and distributed on their games). Yes, DX8 will only be a thin layer of obfuscation between the metal and the programmer. So what.
We recently had an xbox presentation at CWRU. The point made over and over was, "It's only a console. It's only a console" implying that Microsoft has no intention of making it do anything else (even though it will come with an Ethernet port). Why not? Probably becuase they don't like the idea of selling a cheap set-top computer for only a few hundred bucks. I'm predicting someone will have it running Linux in a matter of a week (all you'll have to do is reburn the boot ROM and off you go. Hell, I've done that exact same project already in one of my undergraduate classes).
We'll wait and see, but in Fall 2001, when this thing is slated to release, Microsoft will yet again drop the ball big time.
Slashdot Mirror
Interestingly enough, there isn't a microsoft.biz.
Of all of the companies out there, I'm surprised they haven't jumped on that bandwagon.
Well, that's certainly one way to look at it, isn't it. However, things aren't that simple. You and I both know that. Anyone who has had the opportunity to hear his side of the story in person knows it goes a little deeper than that. I had the privelage of hearing him speak at Ic0n hear in Cleveland earlier in the year and again at Phreaknic in Nashville.
Yeah, he isn't completely blameless and he doesn't claim to be. However, he's being railroaded on some serious charges. If you know the laws he was tried under you know how vague and broad in scope they could be. Under those laws and a liberal interpretation, I would be unable to effectively do my own job.
So, in short, let's look at both side of the story here. I encourage anyone who will dismiss Schwartz right off the bat to hear his side of the case.
He's a pretty nice guy, to boot. A hacker's hacker, if you will.
I have State Farm and when I applied for my Renter's Insurance policy, I made DAMN sure to get a $10,000 additional rider to cover computing equipment, the most they would allow. This is after losing my first laptop in a car accident. I was using it to play MP3s through the cassette deck, windows down. Then I was broadsided at an intersection, had my NEW CAR (Toyota Rav4, which was 6 DAYS OLD and had 212 miles on it) roll over four times, all the while my laptop flew out of the window, landed on the ground... in the same spot that the right reare tire decided to land.
I walked away with just a minor scratch... my laptop was absolute toast (although it did boot up... but there were tons of bad sectors... surprise surprise).
Short story, no insurance I had covered it. I'm now damn sure I have that coverage!
Good luck getting reimbursed for your crap... I know what a pain it is. Take it from some of the other posters and AVOID UPS and other carriers at all possible cost.
In all honesty, true the post office in the future. Certainly they have their own issues, but I've shipped a TON of packages through the post office (which, I might add, also allows you to get insurance), a lot to Canada and haven't had a problem. I'm sure the Canadian post allows for something similar.
That's not necessarily true... the speed of light varies based on the medium it travels through.
That makes no sense since you'd have to have hundreds of switches just to make it work. The latency and signal degredation would be horrendous. The only way you could do it via land is with fiber, preferably single mode. cheap cat5 and commodity equipment isn't good enough for this application.
Steganography in and of itself is fairly powerful. However, the real beauty lies when you combine it with encryption. Encrypt your strings of bytes, strip off headers and define the headers through some other mechanism and THEN you'll have truly clandestine communications. The best steganography is the kind no one even knows is there (as has been mentioned previously).
I know a group of guys who were literally taking all of the porn off of the alt.binaries newsgroups to look for hidden messages, but gave up do to the volune, the low chance of actually getting a hit, etc. In other words, it will be impossible to tell if the image you have is actually encoded.
An interesting look at what steganography is for beginners.
I forget what it was called, but it was around about 3 or 4 years ago. Had to do with something called a "Q" number. It was almost exactly the same concept as this. Really kind of stupid, it never caught on (obviously).
Univerisal access to me is not a right for anyone. I prefer to have different channels of access through different means and paths as a method for me to filter out the folks I probably don't want to talk to versus the people that I'm more likely going to want to talk to.
The only thing this would do is make it easier to marketers to peddle crap to us. *grin*
Now *that* brings back some memories. I wonder if anyone still has an archive of some of those posts! I know I sure don't anymore.
I haven't seen the film, so don't pounce on my too much. Realize, though, that it is possible to talk without having a TX button... it's called vox. Voice activiated transmissions. Kind of useful and handy. Unfortunately, none of my ham rigs support it.
google still rules my world.
Lasoo doesn't load
Vivisimo plain sucks. Nasty interface. Long load times.
Wisenut isn't bad, but it certainly isn't good.
Teoma has promise, but the searches tend to take a long time on arcane subjects. No easily accessible advanced search functions.
I won't even begin going into CURE. How dare they slander the 80s dark pop/goth/electronic group with an interface that cheesy. Nix the graphics and bring up the friggin' search box without the glitz.
Thanks, but no thanks, guys.
Please, no HTML in Usenet. It's bad enough as it is. The beauty of Usenet is that you could use any client on any computer practically anywhere to read it. You didn't need a fancy computer with a fancy graphical newsreader... something as simple as tin in a shell account over a 2400 baud modem was good enough (although 14.4K made things better). Usenet's strength lay in the fact that it is (was?) universal. Bastardizing it with HTML (isn't this done already with most spam?), in my opinion, won't bring anything new to the table.
... but most of those that can't find money in dot coms are often the folks that
- don't really have any marketable skills
- Decided to drop out of college because they thought they could make just as much or more without a degree (sorry, it still matters to any real employer)
- Don't have enough capital to start up their own consulting firm (about 2 to 3 months salary)
- Never really had any talent to begin with and bullshitted their way to their dot com position anyhow.
This isn't to say that there aren't people out there that *are* qualified and still can't find jobs, but in my experience, those are also the same people that can't/won't move from an area with a glut of people that are technically inclined to another area where their skills might be appreciated more (Yes, we know you like the Valley, but bite your lip a little more move to Des Moines, or Cleveland. Give another city a chance).
I am always of the opinion that if your work ethic is good, you have some kind of marketable skill set, you MARKET that skill set properly (no, that does not consist solely of posting your resume on monster and thingamajob) and are willing to be flexible, you can get a decent, well paying and fulfilling job. It's all yours for the taking if you have the desire.
And if for some reason you DO have 2 to 3 months of living expenses in the bank, start your own company. Learn from the mistakes of your other employers and do it better. Realize that their failure could be YOUR ticket to success.
I read the topic after reading the original post in this thread and laughed my ass off. Thanks!
Funniest shit all week is right. Tell it like it is. I'm still clutching my sides after reading this tripe.
Mr. Chiu states, "I support population control. I think USA should do the same. "
If that's so, then why in the HELL do you want to invent an immortality device? If population control is the way to go, isn't it kind of assumed that we need to let the old farts die off? Does he also suggest that we prevent any future conception? I'm sorry, but, "If you want to have more than 1 kid, you should pay more tax," isn't much of an argument against having kids.
Not that this matters since the rest of what he has to say is out right bullshit. I've never seen such inept and trite replies in my life.
*cucko* *cucko*
And that's all I have to say about that.
ce399 here, now a pxs3. I'm an alumni and currently a staff member. Those were the good old days for sure. :)
No, I think your question is really good and should be addressed. Without knowing the father, I can only speak speculatively and will make broad generalizations and assumptions that will render my point moot, but I might as well make it anyway...
For anyone that's ever been bullied in school, what do your parents usually say when you report it, "Dear, when I was in the school the kids did the same types of things to me. Just ignore them and they'll go away."
However, what parents fail to realize is that for some reason, kids today are more agressive in class then they ever have been before. While in the past a spat between two classmates might result in a quick and akward fisfight behind the gymnasium, nowadays with a lack of school administration caring, fights are taking place everywhere, with more deadly weapons and voracity.
If you ponder the idealized schools that parents attended "back in the day", behavior problems wre easier to deal with because there was always a group of troublemakers and bullies that could be singled out for punishment. Of course, the victim would still get the, "Just try to ignore them" explanation that parents still give today. However, nowadays I strongly believe that anyone can be a bully. It is almost like a hierachy of abuse exists. The darwinism of it all is really astounding once you realize it, especially if you're living through it. The kids in these Slashdot articles, while certainly at the "top" of the hierachy in terms of grades, intelligence, skills or creativity, are often cast down to the lowest levels of the food chain when it comes to social respect and decency. The point I'm trying to make is that the bullies at the top tend to make their victims bullies themselves until you reach the bottom where those individuals would love to bully everyone above them for lack of having anyone lower to bully themselves.
Is it a brash overgeneralization? Yes.
Is this post a long winded rant? Yes.
Do I think I have a valid point in here someplace? Yes.
This is a weighty issue that is becoming worse and worse. The difficult part about this discussion is that there really is no "right" and "wrong". Both sides are wrong. The bullies are wrong for being abusive and the victims are wrong for not being a little more levelheaded and creative in dealing with bullies... and for not holding their tongues and incriminating themselves. Now, arguments can be made for whom is more "wrong" than whom, but the point is that to most people, it doesn't *matter*. It makes people uncomfortable. When people become uncomfortable about the situation they revert back to the basics they learned about the human condition, especially in their schooling, which is exactly why parents today tell there children as they've done for generations, "Dear, when I was in the school the kids did the same types of things to me. Just ignore them and they'll go away."
What students really need are hidden cameras in the schools. If parents of bullies would actually see their little darlings tormenting and harassing they way they do, I can guarantee that some (not all) of the bullies would get a serious butt whipping and would *quickly* change their ways. Parents are so oblivious most of the time to what their kids do in school. The schools themselves are far too impotent to actually be able to do something about, and, when they do act, they act improperly and contrary to what logic would tell any educated person.
Is it an invasion of privacy? Yes, but so are metal detectors, drug tests and searching lockers. Why not have video cameras?
Oh, now I remember, because no one really wants to see how bad some of the TEACHERS in public education are. Of course, I have no way to back this up in fact other than my experiences when I was in junior high and high school.
In lieu of cameras everywhere in schools, intelligent and bright young students who are being bullied should resort to the skills they have... geeky nerd hacker skills... and should go about tape recording and video taping their ordeals with hidden cameras with the bullies. Videotaping has worked wonders for police departments (both to catch crooked cops and to prove that there really are a lot of assholes on the road.)
Something to ponder, at least.
No, if they were going to move to a real OS, they'd be moving to OpenBSD. Alas, though, SMB in Open is, well, not there ;)
Seriously, though, I'd trust BSD code a hell of a lot more than Linux. Rumor has it that RedHat won't even compile from source anymore. They have to rebuild each rpm individually and what-not.
BSD rules.
No, The X Box isn't going to be an NC by any stretch of the imagination, which really kind of sucks. Developers of the X Box that I've spoken to have so much as said that they want the thing to be for games only. It's their friggin' Mantra. They don't even plan on having it used as a general purpose DVD player (ala the PS2). Another dumb move.
I don't know what their plans are, but it seems like they're trying to avoid at all possible costs appearing to, once again, try to swallow up a whole 'nother industry with their stanards, which they could easily do if the X Box became exactly what you say it would.
I'm not sure where I stand on the X Box yet... If I were a microserf, I'd want the thing to be an NC. It would not only be a kick ass game machine (which it will be) but it would be a pretty sturdy PC. Looking at the specs, it could certainly fit that bill.
Will Microsoft change their view of the X Box as a potential NC? Possibly. My guess is that it will not depend on the market as much as it will politics of Microsoft's monopolistic practices in regards tothe perception of the device in the industry as a competitor.
Time will tell...
Yes, I've seen their product and ordered my free CD because I am a member of the educational community. What I saw wasn't impressive, but at least they were real CDs and not CD-Rs. I didn't play around with it very much, realizing that it wasn't really anything special and wasn't really all that interesting. It was, in my opinion, poorly re-branded RedHat.
The only good thing about LinuxOne is their logo, and even that isn't that great.
I wish I could remember the article that stated that many African nations wish we would stop dumping our useless crap on their shores. Specifically, they're begging the US and other nations from sending them old XTs, 286s and even 386s, of which they have little or no use for. We think it's generosity, however, they think it rude that we dump stuff that no one really wants. They argued that those old hunks of junk won't help them teach folks how to use the internet and are hardly modern enough to even begin giving their students the footwork they need to compete in a global economy. Remember, many of the brightest and best will eventually leave their home country for a University education either in Western Europe or the US. With a background strictly in obsolete technology, they would already be at a significant disadvantage.
Man, I wish I had that URL. *sigh*. I hate making it look like I'm pulling this stuff out of my ear. I assure you I'm not. If someone does have a relevant link to back this up, please post it. I would be interested in keeping it handy.
In short, don't assume that anyone wants you really old junk. It's often more of a problem than a gift.
Isn't it good to ask those kinds of questions for any company that you plan on working for? A basic tenet of job hunting and career building is also using the interview process to your own advantage by taking the company to task, especially after the first couple of interviews.
Asking the right questions and really getting to know the company and some of the employees is essential. If you have the time to actually pull a few employees aside during a whole-company "tour" before they put the offer on the table, make sure you have some to-the-point and quick questions that have concise answers. These questions can then hopefully give you a good sense of whether or not the people currently at the company feel it's going somewhere or not. Questions like, "On average, how many hours a week are you working here?", "Is your boss reasonable and easy to deal with?", "Have there been any recent lay-offs?" can really help to set things straight. Of course, if you can find ways to ask those and perhaps be a little more subtle than go for it.
In fact, I'd argue that any company that doesn't let you talk to some of you just might be working with, it's time to start getting worried.
Remember, we are in demand right now. For your own career and well-being, please do your homework before signing the big money contract because, lo and behold, the big money contract doesn't mean much when you're on the street without a job, or at a company that's poorly manage.
Well, let me give you a quick run down of what happens at our CWRUlug (Case Western Reserve University) LUG meetings.
For the past two years we have scheduled weekly meetings. During these weekly meetings we have members of the group talk about some aspect of Linux, Unix, Open Source, etc. One week we'll have a talk about jargon, the next a talk about XFS and of course have the occassional Installfest. We use these talks in order to not only keep ourselves interested, but to bring new Linux users and Freshmen "up to speed" with what's going on in the Linux world.
Lately, we've seemed to attract someone "big" speakers... granted they aren't of the calibre of ESR and RMS, but it's still exciting for us. What we've been doing is in fact inviting alumni of the University working in Industry to demonstrate some of their Open Source projets, or to discuss coding techniques, etc. A lot of good sources are companies that folks have worked a co-op or summer internship for. Also, we ask faculty to present something relevant to the group. Finally, we'll ask local business leaders and companies if they'd be interested in speaking.
Want a really "big" speaker? How about combining efforts with another local LUG to perhaps entice a big name individual to come to town? Publicize the hell out of it and, if you're successful, it'll be a heck of a lot easier to get another speaker to show up.
So I guess my advice is this: Look local. You'll find a lot of capable individuals with a lot to say. It will help them because then they'll know who to recruit and it will help you because you'll know something you didn't before and might have the chance to work for a great company that embraces Open Source.
Basically all the xbox is is a stock pentium3-733 with an overclocked nVidia graphics chipset (that will probably be released either right before or right after xbox is) running a Win2K microkernel in ROM (with other portions left for developers to link in and distributed on their games). Yes, DX8 will only be a thin layer of obfuscation between the metal and the programmer. So what.
We recently had an xbox presentation at CWRU. The point made over and over was, "It's only a console. It's only a console" implying that Microsoft has no intention of making it do anything else (even though it will come with an Ethernet port). Why not? Probably becuase they don't like the idea of selling a cheap set-top computer for only a few hundred bucks. I'm predicting someone will have it running Linux in a matter of a week (all you'll have to do is reburn the boot ROM and off you go. Hell, I've done that exact same project already in one of my undergraduate classes).
We'll wait and see, but in Fall 2001, when this thing is slated to release, Microsoft will yet again drop the ball big time.