" Right before release, your provider tells you that the version of ZBrush you were using is no longer offered. Oh, by the way, the files generated by the last version won't work with the new one."
That would be one really really stupid company. I can't think of an app that has ever done that. Not saying they don't exist, but Lightwave opens old version LW files, Photoshop opens old.PSD files, Word opens old.DOC files, Zbrush opens old.ZTL files, etc etc etc.
I'm sorry, but whoever modded that up as interesting didn't think through the implications of what you said. That wouldn't ever happen. If, by some strange bizarre circumstance it did, the problem wouldn't be in the subscription model, it'd be in the PHBs running the place. That would be bad news for people even if their software wasn't automatically updated.
I'll give you a better example, though:
When Lightwave 7.0 was released, they broke something MAJOR that involved 3rd party plugins. A month or two later, Newtek had to release 7.0b to patch it. Unfortunately, some of the plugins it broke were VITAL to those trying to do special effects for shows like Voyager. In the case I outlined, this would be disaster, as opposed to stupid annoyance.
"By the way, ZBrush now offers a demo: http://pixologic.com/support/contents.html"
That's for 1.5, not for 2. 2 is the one with all the nifty features we need. Also, the demo for 1.5 locked all the import/export features so it wouldn't have helped us make a decision anyway. We needed to see how it worked with Lightwave models.
This started as a very low detail mesh in Lightwave. I imported it into ZBrush, made the changes that made it look smooth and bumpy as well as the texture images, and then exported the 500k polygon mesh back into LW for rendering into the image you see now. Thanks to ZBrush's crippled demo, we would never have known how that worked. Contrast this with Macromedia. You can go download Flash MX (I forget the cost, but I think it was over $800) that gives you ALL the features that time out after 30 days. Man I wish more companies did this.
In any event, I would have been happy to plunk down a few bucks to 'subscribe' to ZBrush and evaluate it. Though I prefer demos to be free, it's an ok second place option. Sometimes 30 days isn't enough.
Again, I'm being the optimist here, not totally sold on it. The Newtek example I gave made my stomach twist.
Okay, that's 'the glass is half empty' reaction. What about 'the glass is half full'?
a.) We all know that software promises are iffy at best. When you need to get a job done, and software promises to do it, it really is no guarantee, is it? Demo ware is sometimes helpful, but few companies do it right. (I'd like to nod in Macromedia and Alias's general direction for making their demo ware work right.) Basically, what they want you to do is buy their software and... well.. you're stuck with it if it doesn't do what you ask.
My company recently ran into this. There's an app called ZBrush used for texturing 3D models. It has some really cool features that make organic modelling and texturing quite pleasant. (You've seen this software's work in the latter 2 of the LotR movies.) Unfortunately, it's a ~$500 app, and they haven't released a demo yet. We ended up getting it after watching a live demo at Siggraph, but man, that was a happy coincidence in timing. If we could have 'rented' the software for a week to evaluate it, we'd have been a lot happier.
b.) Always up to date! Imagine not needing to shell out hundreds of bucks for an upgrade. As long as you're subscribing, you should (in theory, anyway) be using the most up to date software. Done right, this could mean virtually instantaneous security updates, for example. No more people lagging behind with older software perpetuating the problem. No more "I can't open that file!" Etc.
c.) Mobile licenses. More and more companies are trying to prevent people from installing software on multiple machines. Sadly, those of us with laptops and home stations to do work on get bitten. I'll go back to ZBrush's example. They have a locking scheme kind of like Windows'. It id's itself to your hardware, and that's it, that's the only software you can unlock to. Unless I call them up and ask them politely (and I've heard they are quite happy to do this...) to unlock my software, I can only use it on the one station. Doh. If done right, I should just be able to log in to a server and say "I wanna use this", it'll check that nobody else is using it, and allow it to run. Sort of like how ICQ works.
d.) Spend less money. I'll use ZBrush as an example, again. First off, I'm reasonably certain that in order to make the subscription scheme work, it has to be competitive with the cost of buying the software outright. I've heard this a number of times before. (Remember, this is 'the glass half full' comparison, not a prediction) My company is going to reach a point where ZBrush will probably be inactive for a long time. If we could cancel/suspend the subscription then, at the end of a year, we could potentially spend less than we did to buy it a month ago.
Now, I want to reiterate something here. This is simply an optimist's view. Who knows how it'll play out? The worst that'll happen is nobody will want to use it. The best is that we get an experience better than we have today. Works for me.
"I liked him better when he wore the big green H on his forehead.;-) "
Not sure if you are referring to this or not, but I do remember Grant/Naylor commenting that the holo-doc appeared not long after Red Dwarf made it over here to the states.
Personally, I kind of have mixed feelings as to whether anything was copied or just naturally evolved. I mean, what happened on RD was arguably quite original. However, Voyager had years of Trek to build from, including characters (moriarty?) that were holographic in nature.
So... I can forgive Voyager, but the Doc sure was a bit of a smeghead.
Oops sorry. Can ya tell I'm a little foggy tonight?
Unfortunately, I'm not sure what that'd buy me. I'm at a point right now where the OS is pretty much invisible to me. At least for the next 6 months until I need to reinstall.;)
Don't worry man, next computer purchase I make, Mac'll be seriously considered.
"As others above has said already: if you don't like it, don't use it. Saying that in YOUR opinion it sucks will only anger people to war, no matter it's YOUR opinion you're talking about."
Ah dammit. I didn't write that very clearly. I didn't mean to say that Linux was a pain in the ass to use. I meant any given program. But I wasn't clear, so I'm sorry. I've been bad about writing my points clearly these days.
However, even if I did mean it the way you interpreted, seriously, grow a thicker skin. (That's directed at everybody, not just you specifically.) What I said was a far cry from 'something sucks'. "Pain in the ass to use" is more constructive than 'sucks'. Anybody who's ever had to look up on the web how to use a command knows what I'm talking about.
As for the comment that I should just use OSX, easier said than done. If Linux was suited for me, (maybe SuSe is... haven't checked in a few months) it's just an install away. OSX is new hardware for me.
"Well, okay, but I still think you should consider an iBook or PowerBook -- after all, tablets aren't that big or heavy (right?); you can stack it on top [of the closed laptop] and take it with you."
Hehhe. The problem with stacking them is that it'd interfere with my tablet's configuration. It has two modes. Laptop mode and slate mode. I can either use it like an ordinary laptop, or flip the screen around on top so it looks like I'm carrying a small monitor. (and yes, it's very small.) Adhering an iBook would be painful!
Nah, I'm happy with what I got this time around. XP really isn't that bad despite the negativity it's recieved on Slashdot. At this point, switching to a Mac would be kind of like getting heated seats and leather upholstery in my car. It's not like I'd be able to drive double the speed limit, if you know what I mean.;)
"Re. 1: Do you need to draw while standing around away from a desk or table? If not, you can just get a drawing tablet and a regular Mac desktop or laptop. Drawing tablets work with Macs too, you know -- and they have the best handwriting recognition also."
I moved from a tablet to a TabletPC for a couple of reasons:
1.) I wanted to be able to dry right on the screen. The only device I've seen that does that is a Wacom Cintiq, and those cost $2,500. Plus, they only run at 1280 by 1024. My TabletPC cost $2,000 and it runs at 1440 by 1080. (Toshiba M-200, not a bad machine at all.)
2.) I like being able to draw from places other than my desk. The couch, for example, is where I do a good deal of my work. (My back is aching right now while I write this. Heh I need a new chair.) This thing goes to work with me sometimes. My studio is very small and cannot afford to buy me all the neato things I think I need, including a TabletPC or a Cintiq, so at least I can take this one with me.
3.) This doesn't happen too often, but just the other day I handed the TPC to my boss so he could make a minor refinement to my work. Not the biggest deal in the world, but I suspect this'll be a more popular feature down the road, especially when we make presentations to higher-ups.
"Re. 2: They say Macs are usable longer than PCs"
This was true a couple of years ago. Lately, though, this hasn't been the case. My big bottleneck isn't my PC, but the time I have in getting my work done. Faster computers buy me faster rendering, but they don't do much to help me model or paint. My TPC is only 1.5 ghz, and despite the fact that my main machine is a dual 2.0 athlon, it isn't significantly slower. I haven't made major upgrades to either machine in a very long time.
You've got a good point, don't get me wrong, but should I decide to upgrade my desktop, I'm not going to be out much more than $500. (maybe $1,000 if I go dual again.) That's at least a year or two away.
Maybe in a year or two if Apple has a stylus-based laptop, I'll make the switch. I'm not trying to talk myself out of it. It's just a bigger leap than I can handle right now.
That's not quite where I was going, but actually yes, it can cause nasty problems. If there were 10 browsers (heh there probably is, good thing Firebird seems to be the de-facto default) for Linux all specialized at doing their own thing well, would that be good or bad? Well, let's see, web developers would have a hard time writing pages that'd conform to all of them, and there'd be a lot of noise on the web to the tune of "Which is best?!?!?" Choice good until there's so much noise that nothing can get done. Lots of you are all mad that most web-sites are IE only, but the flip side is that 10's of millions of IE users out there don't complain about websites not working.
"Good thing you made your decision, getting away from Windows to Linux, just can't wait till someone shoe horns Linux into what you want, something like OS X it seems, if only there was something that you wouldn't have to wait so long for."
Yeah yeah, damn me for saying that Linux isn't good enough yet. Constructive criticism is such a bad thing for the underdogs to hear.
"So why not use them? OS X is easy to use, sure, but it's BSD under the hood, so it has more than enough to play with.;-) Believe me, I know -- OS X user for almost a year (Linux was my main OS before that - I still use Linux for a small IRC server and some other minor projects)."
I have given that a lot of thought, and I'm actually fairly close to it. There are a couple of hurdles, though:
1.) My main machine is a TabletPC. I use it for drawing. To the best of my knowledge, Apple hasn't moved in that direction yet. (If they made one that had better resolution that 1024 by 768, I'd be all over it.)
2.) Upgrading my desktop machine can be done in small phases. New processor here, new video card there, you get the picture. A Mac would be a considerably larger expenditure to switch. When s'more money comes in, though....
Funny, my other reasons are dying. Nearly all the software I use is there on the Mac. Most of the plugins I use now for Lightwave are being more respectful to the Mac. My job has even focused enough that the extra stuff I use Windows for isn't necessary. If my computer were to magically turn into a Mac overnight, I wouldn't be anything but happy about it.
I guess I've finally reached that point where I don't want to mess under the hood anymore. Windows 2k/XP have been kind to me. I have stable machines. It doesn't get in my way. It does what I want it to. But even the "re-install every 6 months because of registry rot" problem is too much for me anymore. If there was a such thing as an appliance for the work I do, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
"so your a stupid fuck that can't think themselves out of a problem?"
Heh. What am I supposed to do, clench my fists, bang my chest, and defend myself? Maybe I just don't want to deal with it. Maybe I just don't think that being able to compile a program is a bug f'ng deal. Maybe I just don't think that I should have to sift through Google to figure out how to edit the.CONF file to make my dual monitor configuration work. Maybe I'm just a dumb fuck that feels that the time I'd gain with stability shouldn't be spent having to look stuff up that I didn't need to on my Windows boxes.
You can call me stupid or whatever, but that doesn't excuse programmers from writing stuff that is a pain in the ass to use.
"does that mean you were using the command line or there pretty GUI? cause if you can run mac from a command line, you can run Linux."
I never needed to touch the command line. Apple was kind enough to automate where it could and ask simple questions with easy to determine choices. For example, I set up my cousin's Airport. As soon as it was plugged in on the network, his laptop popped up a message saying "would you like to talk with this?" Moments later I was up and running, *with* encryption and everything all set up. I never had to read a manual. I never had to look up anything. I didn't even have to deal with some of the silly things that Windows requires when setting up a wireless router.
"if you are talking about the GUI, then try to remember LINUX IS NOT THE GUI."
Don't bother calling anybody a fucktard if you're going to be so nitpicky to make a non-point. The only way Linux is going to be a success on the desktop is if the GUI for it is useful. Divorcing Linux from the GUI isn't making me any more of a fucktard, but it is showing your lack of perspective on what I said. Only on Slashdot would I get flamed for saying "I hope they make improvements so I don't have to work as hard to use a computer."
" the event is expected to have a huge and lasting impact on the next major releases of the leading Linux and Unix desktop environment."
I personally hope they are all having a good hard look at Apple's stuff. The main reason I'm not running Linux is that there's a lot of choice out there, and it shows. I hate running to Google every time I want to do something simple. Despite my many years of using Windows, I had no trouble using a Mac when the need arose.
Anyway, sorry if that sounded like a rant. I'm just hoping some of the work that comes out of this gathering deals with the end-user experience. I'd love to get away from Windows.
" From my point of view, many "average" users are switching to Firefox."
These days, Firefox is an attractive contender. I don't think it'd be hard for many people to see it once and want to switch. However, its lack of visibility is really hindering it. You may be seeing lots of people do it, but I can pretty much guarantee that it's not all that indicative of anything.
What Mozilla really needs is to get a TV commercial going. Making a 30 second spot is easy, getting it on the air is a lot tougher. I don't know how to go about doing that, but I would recommend that the community there start thinking about it. I got $10 I'd probably be willing to donate towards that cause. (That's saying a lot coming from an Opera zealot such as myself.)
"Well, one of those three was just spotted racing down the intersate on a crotch rocket being chased by 10 police cruisers, a helicopter, a tank, swat vans, and a really flashy sports car containing two rejects from the Disco."
"They just crashed into that Maaco. SHIT!! WE LOST THEM!"
So.. if I were to post an Ask Slashdot about how to muffle the sound of these missiles so I don't awake to pant-browning-thunder at 1 am in the morning, would it make it or would I be rejected so somebody can ask how to do something needlessly difficult using an iPod and a PocketPC?
"Name a reason why people would keep making books, music, movies, etc, if people could freely, and legally copy them, and make derivatives and knock offs?"
There was an article on Slashdot a few months ago about Magna conventions. At these conventions (in JAPAN!!!!) lots of fan-fic comics were being sold. Though they'd be carted off to jail due to copyright concerns here, they're not frowned on down there. The main reason that this doesn't destroy the industry is that, instead, it keeps love for these series alive.
The interesting thing about IP, especially in the content industry, is that typically the main inspiration for something is difficult to transfer to another. (ask the people who think Brannon and company should burn in hell) I think a lot of artists out there are quite confident they could make something successful even without copyright laws to protect them. I can certainly speak for myself.
"If it weren't for piracy, we would've made even more money."
This is probably why nobody's taking them all that seriously. I've heard quotes like "Two billion songs traded per month". Their claims are being crushed under the weight of their ridiculous numbers.
It's for this reason there is so much debate about the difference between 'theft' and 'infringement', and why there are so many debates here on it. I hope some of you that wave your paws and say "bah, you're all thieves" will at least acknowledge that little detail. There are a lot of people out there who have downloaded music simply to broaden their tastes. Seems like 2 billion 'stolen' songs a month would prevent growth, right?
"Indeed some of my bosses wonder why they can't get a hold of my during my times off. It's for the simple reason that its my time off an I AM NOT going to work thank you very much. "
Wanna know how cool my former boss was? I told her that I was recalled from lunch one day. She gave me offical permission to turn my cell phone off from noon to 1.
Slashdot Mirror
" Right before release, your provider tells you that the version of ZBrush you were using is no longer offered. Oh, by the way, the files generated by the last version won't work with the new one."
.PSD files, Word opens old .DOC files, Zbrush opens old .ZTL files, etc etc etc.
/ willphoenix/scorpion-wip-b.jpg"
That would be one really really stupid company. I can't think of an app that has ever done that. Not saying they don't exist, but Lightwave opens old version LW files, Photoshop opens old
I'm sorry, but whoever modded that up as interesting didn't think through the implications of what you said. That wouldn't ever happen. If, by some strange bizarre circumstance it did, the problem wouldn't be in the subscription model, it'd be in the PHBs running the place. That would be bad news for people even if their software wasn't automatically updated.
I'll give you a better example, though:
When Lightwave 7.0 was released, they broke something MAJOR that involved 3rd party plugins. A month or two later, Newtek had to release 7.0b to patch it. Unfortunately, some of the plugins it broke were VITAL to those trying to do special effects for shows like Voyager. In the case I outlined, this would be disaster, as opposed to stupid annoyance.
"By the way, ZBrush now offers a demo: http://pixologic.com/support/contents.html"
That's for 1.5, not for 2. 2 is the one with all the nifty features we need. Also, the demo for 1.5 locked all the import/export features so it wouldn't have helped us make a decision anyway. We needed to see how it worked with Lightwave models.
Check out this example:
"http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork
This started as a very low detail mesh in Lightwave. I imported it into ZBrush, made the changes that made it look smooth and bumpy as well as the texture images, and then exported the 500k polygon mesh back into LW for rendering into the image you see now. Thanks to ZBrush's crippled demo, we would never have known how that worked. Contrast this with Macromedia. You can go download Flash MX (I forget the cost, but I think it was over $800) that gives you ALL the features that time out after 30 days. Man I wish more companies did this.
In any event, I would have been happy to plunk down a few bucks to 'subscribe' to ZBrush and evaluate it. Though I prefer demos to be free, it's an ok second place option. Sometimes 30 days isn't enough.
Again, I'm being the optimist here, not totally sold on it. The Newtek example I gave made my stomach twist.
Okay, that's 'the glass is half empty' reaction. What about 'the glass is half full'?
... well.. you're stuck with it if it doesn't do what you ask.
a.) We all know that software promises are iffy at best. When you need to get a job done, and software promises to do it, it really is no guarantee, is it? Demo ware is sometimes helpful, but few companies do it right. (I'd like to nod in Macromedia and Alias's general direction for making their demo ware work right.) Basically, what they want you to do is buy their software and
My company recently ran into this. There's an app called ZBrush used for texturing 3D models. It has some really cool features that make organic modelling and texturing quite pleasant. (You've seen this software's work in the latter 2 of the LotR movies.) Unfortunately, it's a ~$500 app, and they haven't released a demo yet. We ended up getting it after watching a live demo at Siggraph, but man, that was a happy coincidence in timing. If we could have 'rented' the software for a week to evaluate it, we'd have been a lot happier.
b.) Always up to date! Imagine not needing to shell out hundreds of bucks for an upgrade. As long as you're subscribing, you should (in theory, anyway) be using the most up to date software. Done right, this could mean virtually instantaneous security updates, for example. No more people lagging behind with older software perpetuating the problem. No more "I can't open that file!" Etc.
c.) Mobile licenses. More and more companies are trying to prevent people from installing software on multiple machines. Sadly, those of us with laptops and home stations to do work on get bitten. I'll go back to ZBrush's example. They have a locking scheme kind of like Windows'. It id's itself to your hardware, and that's it, that's the only software you can unlock to. Unless I call them up and ask them politely (and I've heard they are quite happy to do this...) to unlock my software, I can only use it on the one station. Doh. If done right, I should just be able to log in to a server and say "I wanna use this", it'll check that nobody else is using it, and allow it to run. Sort of like how ICQ works.
d.) Spend less money. I'll use ZBrush as an example, again. First off, I'm reasonably certain that in order to make the subscription scheme work, it has to be competitive with the cost of buying the software outright. I've heard this a number of times before. (Remember, this is 'the glass half full' comparison, not a prediction) My company is going to reach a point where ZBrush will probably be inactive for a long time. If we could cancel/suspend the subscription then, at the end of a year, we could potentially spend less than we did to buy it a month ago.
Now, I want to reiterate something here. This is simply an optimist's view. Who knows how it'll play out? The worst that'll happen is nobody will want to use it. The best is that we get an experience better than we have today. Works for me.
"I liked him better when he wore the big green H on his forehead. ;-) "
Not sure if you are referring to this or not, but I do remember Grant/Naylor commenting that the holo-doc appeared not long after Red Dwarf made it over here to the states.
Personally, I kind of have mixed feelings as to whether anything was copied or just naturally evolved. I mean, what happened on RD was arguably quite original. However, Voyager had years of Trek to build from, including characters (moriarty?) that were holographic in nature.
So... I can forgive Voyager, but the Doc sure was a bit of a smeghead.
Those poor people. :(
(Galaxy Quest references are a cheap way to help a karma slump!)
"Even Emmett Brown is portreyed as more mad than scientist."
It's been a while since I saw the trilogy, but what 'madness' did he perform that outweighed his scientific tendenancies?
*Genuinely curious*
Meep #$@#$ MEEP!
"Why is it after 3 years I'm still doing the same stinking job, same stinking money eh? "
Okay, since you rely on external forces to guide your life:
Watch Star Trek Nemesis, pay real careful attention to what Data says about B-4. The key word is 'ambition'.
"These things are "self-assembling"!! Doesn't this just scare the hell out of you?!?!"
No, but I think I read a little farther than you did.
"this will be good for games "
And the artists/animators that make games.
Oops sorry. Can ya tell I'm a little foggy tonight?
;)
Unfortunately, I'm not sure what that'd buy me. I'm at a point right now where the OS is pretty much invisible to me. At least for the next 6 months until I need to reinstall.
Don't worry man, next computer purchase I make, Mac'll be seriously considered.
"As others above has said already: if you don't like it, don't use it. Saying that in YOUR opinion it sucks will only anger people to war, no matter it's YOUR opinion you're talking about."
Ah dammit. I didn't write that very clearly. I didn't mean to say that Linux was a pain in the ass to use. I meant any given program. But I wasn't clear, so I'm sorry. I've been bad about writing my points clearly these days.
However, even if I did mean it the way you interpreted, seriously, grow a thicker skin. (That's directed at everybody, not just you specifically.) What I said was a far cry from 'something sucks'. "Pain in the ass to use" is more constructive than 'sucks'. Anybody who's ever had to look up on the web how to use a command knows what I'm talking about.
As for the comment that I should just use OSX, easier said than done. If Linux was suited for me, (maybe SuSe is... haven't checked in a few months) it's just an install away. OSX is new hardware for me.
"Well, okay, but I still think you should consider an iBook or PowerBook -- after all, tablets aren't that big or heavy (right?); you can stack it on top [of the closed laptop] and take it with you."
;)
Hehhe. The problem with stacking them is that it'd interfere with my tablet's configuration. It has two modes. Laptop mode and slate mode. I can either use it like an ordinary laptop, or flip the screen around on top so it looks like I'm carrying a small monitor. (and yes, it's very small.) Adhering an iBook would be painful!
Nah, I'm happy with what I got this time around. XP really isn't that bad despite the negativity it's recieved on Slashdot. At this point, switching to a Mac would be kind of like getting heated seats and leather upholstery in my car. It's not like I'd be able to drive double the speed limit, if you know what I mean.
"My TPC is only 1.5 ghz, and despite the fact that my main machine is a dual 2.0 athlon, it isn't significantly slower."
Oops, I didn't clarify this very well. I meant that from a getting-work-done point of view, it isn't significantly faster.
Sorry, I'm really bad at expressing myself sometimes.
"Re. 1: Do you need to draw while standing around away from a desk or table? If not, you can just get a drawing tablet and a regular Mac desktop or laptop. Drawing tablets work with Macs too, you know -- and they have the best handwriting recognition also."
I moved from a tablet to a TabletPC for a couple of reasons:
1.) I wanted to be able to dry right on the screen. The only device I've seen that does that is a Wacom Cintiq, and those cost $2,500. Plus, they only run at 1280 by 1024. My TabletPC cost $2,000 and it runs at 1440 by 1080. (Toshiba M-200, not a bad machine at all.)
2.) I like being able to draw from places other than my desk. The couch, for example, is where I do a good deal of my work. (My back is aching right now while I write this. Heh I need a new chair.) This thing goes to work with me sometimes. My studio is very small and cannot afford to buy me all the neato things I think I need, including a TabletPC or a Cintiq, so at least I can take this one with me.
3.) This doesn't happen too often, but just the other day I handed the TPC to my boss so he could make a minor refinement to my work. Not the biggest deal in the world, but I suspect this'll be a more popular feature down the road, especially when we make presentations to higher-ups.
"Re. 2: They say Macs are usable longer than PCs"
This was true a couple of years ago. Lately, though, this hasn't been the case. My big bottleneck isn't my PC, but the time I have in getting my work done. Faster computers buy me faster rendering, but they don't do much to help me model or paint. My TPC is only 1.5 ghz, and despite the fact that my main machine is a dual 2.0 athlon, it isn't significantly slower. I haven't made major upgrades to either machine in a very long time.
You've got a good point, don't get me wrong, but should I decide to upgrade my desktop, I'm not going to be out much more than $500. (maybe $1,000 if I go dual again.) That's at least a year or two away.
Maybe in a year or two if Apple has a stylus-based laptop, I'll make the switch. I'm not trying to talk myself out of it. It's just a bigger leap than I can handle right now.
"yea choice is the bane of software."
That's not quite where I was going, but actually yes, it can cause nasty problems. If there were 10 browsers (heh there probably is, good thing Firebird seems to be the de-facto default) for Linux all specialized at doing their own thing well, would that be good or bad? Well, let's see, web developers would have a hard time writing pages that'd conform to all of them, and there'd be a lot of noise on the web to the tune of "Which is best?!?!?" Choice good until there's so much noise that nothing can get done. Lots of you are all mad that most web-sites are IE only, but the flip side is that 10's of millions of IE users out there don't complain about websites not working.
"Good thing you made your decision, getting away from Windows to Linux, just can't wait till someone shoe horns Linux into what you want, something like OS X it seems, if only there was something that you wouldn't have to wait so long for."
Yeah yeah, damn me for saying that Linux isn't good enough yet. Constructive criticism is such a bad thing for the underdogs to hear.
"So why not use them? OS X is easy to use, sure, but it's BSD under the hood, so it has more than enough to play with. ;-) Believe me, I know -- OS X user for almost a year (Linux was my main OS before that - I still use Linux for a small IRC server and some other minor projects)."
I have given that a lot of thought, and I'm actually fairly close to it. There are a couple of hurdles, though:
1.) My main machine is a TabletPC. I use it for drawing. To the best of my knowledge, Apple hasn't moved in that direction yet. (If they made one that had better resolution that 1024 by 768, I'd be all over it.)
2.) Upgrading my desktop machine can be done in small phases. New processor here, new video card there, you get the picture. A Mac would be a considerably larger expenditure to switch. When s'more money comes in, though....
Funny, my other reasons are dying. Nearly all the software I use is there on the Mac. Most of the plugins I use now for Lightwave are being more respectful to the Mac. My job has even focused enough that the extra stuff I use Windows for isn't necessary. If my computer were to magically turn into a Mac overnight, I wouldn't be anything but happy about it.
I guess I've finally reached that point where I don't want to mess under the hood anymore. Windows 2k/XP have been kind to me. I have stable machines. It doesn't get in my way. It does what I want it to. But even the "re-install every 6 months because of registry rot" problem is too much for me anymore. If there was a such thing as an appliance for the work I do, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
"so your a stupid fuck that can't think themselves out of a problem?"
.CONF file to make my dual monitor configuration work. Maybe I'm just a dumb fuck that feels that the time I'd gain with stability shouldn't be spent having to look stuff up that I didn't need to on my Windows boxes.
Heh. What am I supposed to do, clench my fists, bang my chest, and defend myself? Maybe I just don't want to deal with it. Maybe I just don't think that being able to compile a program is a bug f'ng deal. Maybe I just don't think that I should have to sift through Google to figure out how to edit the
You can call me stupid or whatever, but that doesn't excuse programmers from writing stuff that is a pain in the ass to use.
"does that mean you were using the command line or there pretty GUI? cause if you can run mac from a command line, you can run Linux."
I never needed to touch the command line. Apple was kind enough to automate where it could and ask simple questions with easy to determine choices. For example, I set up my cousin's Airport. As soon as it was plugged in on the network, his laptop popped up a message saying "would you like to talk with this?" Moments later I was up and running, *with* encryption and everything all set up. I never had to read a manual. I never had to look up anything. I didn't even have to deal with some of the silly things that Windows requires when setting up a wireless router.
"if you are talking about the GUI, then try to remember LINUX IS NOT THE GUI."
Don't bother calling anybody a fucktard if you're going to be so nitpicky to make a non-point. The only way Linux is going to be a success on the desktop is if the GUI for it is useful. Divorcing Linux from the GUI isn't making me any more of a fucktard, but it is showing your lack of perspective on what I said. Only on Slashdot would I get flamed for saying "I hope they make improvements so I don't have to work as hard to use a computer."
" the event is expected to have a huge and lasting impact on the next major releases of the leading Linux and Unix desktop environment."
I personally hope they are all having a good hard look at Apple's stuff. The main reason I'm not running Linux is that there's a lot of choice out there, and it shows. I hate running to Google every time I want to do something simple. Despite my many years of using Windows, I had no trouble using a Mac when the need arose.
Anyway, sorry if that sounded like a rant. I'm just hoping some of the work that comes out of this gathering deals with the end-user experience. I'd love to get away from Windows.
"Folks, shut off the cellphone, log out of the internet and leave work at work because you're slowly killing yourself with stress. "
"Some people have an arm that hurts, I recommend amputation!"
" From my point of view, many "average" users are switching to Firefox."
These days, Firefox is an attractive contender. I don't think it'd be hard for many people to see it once and want to switch. However, its lack of visibility is really hindering it. You may be seeing lots of people do it, but I can pretty much guarantee that it's not all that indicative of anything.
What Mozilla really needs is to get a TV commercial going. Making a 30 second spot is easy, getting it on the air is a lot tougher. I don't know how to go about doing that, but I would recommend that the community there start thinking about it. I got $10 I'd probably be willing to donate towards that cause. (That's saying a lot coming from an Opera zealot such as myself.)
"Well, one of those three was just spotted racing down the intersate on a crotch rocket being chased by 10 police cruisers, a helicopter, a tank, swat vans, and a really flashy sports car containing two rejects from the Disco."
"They just crashed into that Maaco. SHIT!! WE LOST THEM!"
So.. if I were to post an Ask Slashdot about how to muffle the sound of these missiles so I don't awake to pant-browning-thunder at 1 am in the morning, would it make it or would I be rejected so somebody can ask how to do something needlessly difficult using an iPod and a PocketPC?
"Name a reason why people would keep making books, music, movies, etc, if people could freely, and legally copy them, and make derivatives and knock offs?"
There was an article on Slashdot a few months ago about Magna conventions. At these conventions (in JAPAN!!!!) lots of fan-fic comics were being sold. Though they'd be carted off to jail due to copyright concerns here, they're not frowned on down there. The main reason that this doesn't destroy the industry is that, instead, it keeps love for these series alive.
The interesting thing about IP, especially in the content industry, is that typically the main inspiration for something is difficult to transfer to another. (ask the people who think Brannon and company should burn in hell) I think a lot of artists out there are quite confident they could make something successful even without copyright laws to protect them. I can certainly speak for myself.
"If it weren't for piracy, we would've made even more money."
This is probably why nobody's taking them all that seriously. I've heard quotes like "Two billion songs traded per month". Their claims are being crushed under the weight of their ridiculous numbers.
It's for this reason there is so much debate about the difference between 'theft' and 'infringement', and why there are so many debates here on it. I hope some of you that wave your paws and say "bah, you're all thieves" will at least acknowledge that little detail. There are a lot of people out there who have downloaded music simply to broaden their tastes. Seems like 2 billion 'stolen' songs a month would prevent growth, right?
"Indeed some of my bosses wonder why they can't get a hold of my during my times off. It's for the simple reason that its my time off an I AM NOT going to work thank you very much. "
Wanna know how cool my former boss was? I told her that I was recalled from lunch one day. She gave me offical permission to turn my cell phone off from noon to 1.