To settle disputes, turning to a lawyer may not be the correct move. I mean, a lot of times it is, but there is the chance it gets expensive and out of hand. I would consider turning to the lawyer only for egregious offenses, or a last resort.
An annoying neighbor is not there yet (as a first step) unless they start to build fences on your side of the property or something of that level.
Or at night, plan a raid, whereby you break the device in such a fashion that all the nice little leds stay on (take out the speaker or whatever makes the noise). This will require a screwdriver and you bringing it back to your place. The old man, never having heard the device doesn't know it is broken and is happy annoying you and you are happy as well. Everybody wins^_^
Seconded. A business relationship should ideally be profitable in some way for both sides.
Don't assume the customer is an idiot and doesn't know what they are doing, but at the same time, recognize that some relationships are unsustainable for you as a vendor due to whatever reason. If there is nothing you can do for them, offer them a refund and move on. Ill feelings (or being "right") on either side is not worth it in this short life.
Another example of this is Microsoft. This company makes most of its money off of software but has made it clear that they want a piece of the advertising game. It seems that some of their reasoning comes from a desire to compete with Google, just like their revamping of MSN Search not too long ago, but advertising offers a lot more than just a chance to take some money from Google.
This article is touting the ad-supported OS like it will have a million entrants, but who are the players that can go for this? Only 3 realistically, Microsoft, Mac OS X, and a company with their own branded Linux.
An ad supported linux will never take off. The good and free versions are just too numerous and the other trillion reasons that won't work. It will never fly on Mac OS X, that is just too contrary to contemplate. But Microsoft...... why would they want an ad free OS?
Right now, they make a set amount from each sale. An ad supported OS will not only lower that intake, it will not have long term gains from all the people who will patch their OS to fix it from the "crippled" version to the good version. Total loss for MS.
This seems to be just somebody's hair brained scheme to "compete" with google, but how does it compete with Google? It doesn't. Google, if they ever release an OS (I doubt), will supply it over the net while MS here just pushes a reduced cost version off store shelves.
Furthermore, the article states:
The ideal of ad-supported Windows makes perfect sense under a number of different circumstances. While it most likely won't be appearing in any offices, it would be ideal for libraries, internet cafes, and in the homes of casual users.
Um, no. Home Users already indirectly pay for Microsoft when they purchase a computer. No win for Microsoft there, either in marketshare or revenue. It would not be ideal for internet cafes, as people pay cafes (at least in Europe) to use those computers, so bludgeoning them to death is neither in the interest of the Cafe owner who sells time (and doesn't get any revenue from said ads anyway) nor their customers. In libraries, again, I have to ask why?
I chalk all this nonsense to a slow newsday. I swear, this is the dumbest fad that is making every idiots eyes light up as if this is the best thing since sliced bread. The advertising market is already saturated, people are becoming resistant to advertising in general, and the pie is only so big.
I second your recommendation, plus it has HTML administration/configuration, just type in the web (lan) address of the printer, and you are given a quasi-web site to change preferences and what not. Plus the toner is pretty cheap ($50) for a ton of pages. I can testify that it works well with Windows, OS X, and the latest Ubuntu pretty easily. Two years ago, it was harder to install for Ubuntu, so I'm not quite sure if Ubuntu improved in this respect, or if the driver got better.
For anyone looking for a color laser, I also got an Epson AL-CX11NF a year back (Color Copier Scan Fax multi-function) and aside some initial misgivings, it works great. The toner is more expensive than black/white so it wouldn't be a good main copier as the Brother, but the color prints are very nice, scanning function is great, copying and scanning are flawless too - it's up there at 600-800 bucks, but it replaces several machines and functions much better than I expected for a multifunction (I had some experience with really crappy Lexar multifunctions, you get what you pay for). The only complaint is while most OSes can print to it, it seems only Windows can take full advantage of its remote network scanning capabilities.
On the other hand, I am finding proprietary operating systems becoming less useful all the time. For instance, does MS's refusal to open up NTFS hurt its competitors? Not really, linux has great file systems available to it, so one place I would have potentially had a dual setup, I went all linux because I didn't want FAT32 (no permissions), nor can Windows interface with a lot of the file systems I use out of the box.
The same can be said with Open Office vs Microsoft Office in regard to open documents. I am finding closed documents a hassle because that means I can use only a very limited subset of apps to manipulate said document - and not every should be a one size fits all (except emacs:) )
I'm probably the exception these days, as with some hassle, drivers can be added to Windows to let it read other filesystem, and Open Office can run on Windows.
But other benefits of Open Source are repositories, as you mention, and I find the convenience of one central spot on my computer to download and automatically install known good software with a few button clicks (sans spyware/adware) beats any Windows experience hands down (which usually includes searching the web, downloading, installing, hoping it's not malware, adware, etcetera for every app).
I really could not see going back to something like Windows. It just seems like too much work and money. Quite a reversal from the Linux experience like around 1999 or so.
Most European countries us dd/mm/yyyy. It makes more sense as it is going from the smallest unit to the largest. For instance, we use hh:mm:ss for time, it would be nonsensical to use mm:hh:ss though some "Englishisms" work this way (quarter after six instead of six - fifteen).
Us Americans are peculiar though anyway:) We still burden ourselves with the standard system despite the much more sensible metric system for one.
and every other agency has been working on this problem with their workers since the beginning. And they still get problems with people selling their secrets. Despite their employees having to undergo the polygraph (pseudoscience, I know) every six months, etcetera. Still, perhaps they (or people once working there, if they wrote a book about the methods) would be a good start on the topic.
But I don't think there is a technical solution to this problem. Technical safeguards, yes. Solution? No.
A monitoring program, staffed by people isolated from the rest of the IT staff, that solely watches and logs which and what files get routinely accessed throughout the enterprise would be a good start. Is such a thing feasible?
What I think most people are missing is this little thing called the internet. These things can make their own network and I suppose connect to the internet. For many people who had their computer ever disconnected from the net, hasn't it (computer) felt 100x less valuable? That's probably because it was, in a sense.
We don't need to count on future Einsteins, that's a plus. Don't underestimated the power of normal people with access to information. It's empowering. See the two USA Today articles below to understand my point (the ones with cell phones). A network is a useful thing indeed.
My guess is that for 99% of the children in these countries, the laptops will be totally useless, because what those kids really need is food, a clean source of water, and (especially for the girls) a chance to go to school and become literate.
In the same boat as you, actually I was a CS major and was about to shift to a EE major - but unlike High School, all the math is finally clicking (in my head) with me. Perhaps I'm a late bloomer, but now I find the math much more enjoyable than hacking code*, as hacking code seems to be just that so far, usually a bunch of hacks that barely stay together to make a program (in my experience so far). Math, otoh, seems much more elegant and solid. Anyway, enough philosophizing, I just wanted to say I am returning to school to become an EE major with a math minor, or the other way around. Anybody think one or the other is any better?
BTW, according to my Math professors who teach parttime (and work at "real" jobs the other part), they are pretty much in demand. Because pharmaceuticals are in my area and all three are hired by them, my perspective may be skewed. But they also say it is hard right now for schools (at all levels) to get and retain math teachers/professors (people with math degrees).
*The language I find programming elegant is a lisp. But that may be because it was designed by a mathematician. I never looked at a C/Algol derive as particulary elegant even if C is my first language.
They were overstepping their bounds, citing bullshit (nonexistent) laws and violating 4rth amendment rights:
From TFA:
Cruz said police told him that he broke a new law that prohibits people from taking pictures of police with cell phones.
"They threatened to charge me with conspiracy, impeding an investigation, obstruction of a investigation.... They said, 'You were impeding this investigation.' (I asked,) "By doing what?' (The officer said,) 'By taking a picture of the police officers with a camera phone,'" Cruz said.
I suppose Hollywood makes rehashes because no one in the organizations wants to stick their neck out and take a chance. So then, they figure, why not make a remake - it's better than even a proven forumula where you would have to put some thought into reinventing it.
Looking at the latest releases of the intellectually barren void that is the entertainment industry, I'm beginning to wonder if the people making entertainment have just run out of ideas. They've been drinking their own koolaid for so long, they can't really think "different", let alone anything revolutionary.
The 2 movies I went to this year (one was Scary Movie 4 which I expected to enjoy at least superficially, but not even that) didn't give me a good ROI. The last decent movie I was at was probably Batman last year.
In 30-40 years, I suspect ultra sized movie theatres will be a thing of the past (note I said ultra sized). It seems the Hollywood Blockbuster is dying out slowly and this summer has been thoroughly disgraceful. I think entertainment will slowly settle more and more into happy niches more specific and targetted than they are now.
Or the current disillusionment with movies could be that many/.er, including myself, are at an age where we have seen it all before. Perhaps it is something every generation has gone through, but it is coming at an unprecedented young age since we are such an media addicted generation, and that video games, internet has raised our expectations (and the bar) to an unprecendented amount that even though the schlock coming out was the same basic crap it always was, we are demanding more. It would make sense, as every single generation eventually talks about a downward spiral in the quality of the entertainment for the next generation. (But I'm already bitching in my 20's here, which does not bode well:/ )
Hm, I don't think Ubuntu is that hard - especially in the last few years I take this as a myth not affecting 80% of users. I mean, for most things it's not at geek level anymore unless you want to do geek-level type stuff which of course applies to Windows as well (if you want to do change anything in Windows, better know your stuff as well).
I have several caveats:
1. Do the installation + setup for them. Including printer, etcetera. (But it has gotten so easy the past few years......) 2. Install easy ubuntu and run it, installing codecs and all that, so they are really set up. 3. Install OpenOffice. (I think it's on there already but I forget....) 4. Point them to a forum, preferably Ubuntuforums.org just in case they do have minor problems. (Apple has a forum too, afterall.) 5. Show them synaptic and the wonderful world of installing free software. 6. Cater to their needs - if they are into music, show the Amarok/Muine/etc and make sure they have the ripping software they need, etc. If they are into photos, download Digikam for them, and so on. I think Picasa is also available on Linux. People usually fall off the bandwagon because they never were given a good footing on it in the first place. Once they have a few programs they like, they are more apt to stick with it.
I migrated several people over to linux from their own accord and all of them stuck with it. Granted, they were motivated enough to seek me out for help, not the other way around. With proper setup, in the first few days, they usually just ran into problems when they think that the software they want to run has the same name as the windows version. I usually can point them to suitable software they are happy with. If not, I would reevaluate the choice of Ubuntu and get a Mac instead.
*The second most common problem was lan-sharing networking. For some reason, Ubuntu was using a broken version for a long time (not Mac compatible) which was downright stupid of them.
I forgot to mention, with Ubuntu Linux, repartition/resize the harddrive. There are some free tools (I think the Mepis installer has one that does it before installing itself) that do this that won't break your Windows install (back up anyway). Then install Ubuntu on a seperate partition.
Grub, at start up will give you a choice which OS to use.
Next time Windows breaks, have her use Ubuntu during that time. Then there will be no rush to fix the Windows partition on her box.^_^
I got my Parents a Mac, set it up to their printer. Because my brother was connected to broadband and only surfed the web, I put him on Ubuntu. Since set up of bother, I only have 1/10 of the hassle, if that.
Do one or the other. There are a lot of programs for Ubuntu that are free and have the same capabilities as Windows software. Your sister may be even happier if she finds even more programs (because it is free) than she could use before hand. If your sister uses a lot of graphics programs, Mac may be a wiser choice.
I don't think there is a windows based solution right now that will make you happy right now.
I would think a company will start public beta testing once internal testing isn't cost-effective anymore versus the public. That is to say, once the internal testers caught all the bugs they can, it becomes harder and harder to find bugs per corporate dollar spent until the manager can't justify it anymore versus releasing it into the wild and seeing what they get there. The trade-off is, of course, bad press if the beta works particularly poorly.
Of course, if the $1.50 charge now brings a $10 or whatever rebate in the mail later for testers, it will be good marketing.
Ugh, the stream of bullshit coming out of Ballmer's mouth just makes my head spin. I don't understand why every chief officer in a tech company thinks they have to admit absolutely no fault and use meaningless business speech? Listen to some of the crap Balmer says:
This is not just the Republicans but the Democrats are interested in the exact same thing. They are not really different in issues such as these. Washington (George) warned us away from Political Parties in his farewell address as President.
The people who have most interest in circumventing the Constition are inevitably the people who think they are the least affected by said circumventions, i.e. career Politicians and career powerful bureacrats (FBI's Hoover comes to mind). We prevented future Hoovers by limiting the FBI's Directors allowed term (10 years I think). We would do well to limit the terms of Senators and Representatives.
It would probably be a good step at reclaiming our democracy as well. Perhaps it will also cut down on porkbarrel spending, as a lot of Porkbarrel spending right now is directed at those who've been in the longest (Robert Byrd) because they've built up the most influence and chairmanships, etcetera.
Actually, some people did have that attitude - have you ever heard of the vaccuum tube vs. transistor debates in the sound field when transistor radios came out and still go on to this day?
I didn't say everyone had that attitude, but I should have specified some, and certainly in some niches.
Guessing doesn't make you smart. Please talk about what you know about only. Please try again soon and come again. Thanks!
that given a choice whether to do a lot of things in mediocrity or 1 area very well, choose the specific thing. The old jack of all trades analogy. Rennaissance men like Leonardo Da Vinci are few and far in between, and even they had to concentrate at some point on one thing before moving onto the next.
When I hit college, I think I experienced this more keenly, as the first two years were broad classes (what I considered BS classes, public school was all BS but then I wasn't paying for it directly either) until it really narrowed down to niche. I was relieved about getting the BS out of the way.
Similiarly, after a while working, I'm choosing jobs that put my strengths to good used and where my employer doesn't make me do too many roles. Sometimes I have to the song and dance like everyone else, but most of the time I'm allowed to concentrate on what I needs to be done. I can't help but think I'm lucky (and conversely, more productive for my employer) that I am not daily encumbered with the drugderies that happy (or crappy) sounding buzzwords like multitasking seem to convey.
I guess it's the different mindset of management vs. engineer/computer types. Engineers like to solve problems and are more used to sitting there until the problem is solved. Management types are used to problems that can't be solved per se, but have to be dealt with on an ongoing basis, which means they are used to and expect to "multitask."
Both types are necessary, but I'm glad I mostly can stay out of the managing side of business.
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To settle disputes, turning to a lawyer may not be the correct move. I mean, a lot of times it is, but there is the chance it gets expensive and out of hand. I would consider turning to the lawyer only for egregious offenses, or a last resort.
An annoying neighbor is not there yet (as a first step) unless they start to build fences on your side of the property or something of that level.
Or at night, plan a raid, whereby you break the device in such a fashion that all the nice little leds stay on (take out the speaker or whatever makes the noise). This will require a screwdriver and you bringing it back to your place. The old man, never having heard the device doesn't know it is broken and is happy annoying you and you are happy as well. Everybody wins^_^
Seconded. A business relationship should ideally be profitable in some way for both sides.
Don't assume the customer is an idiot and doesn't know what they are doing, but at the same time, recognize that some relationships are unsustainable for you as a vendor due to whatever reason. If there is nothing you can do for them, offer them a refund and move on. Ill feelings (or being "right") on either side is not worth it in this short life.
This article is touting the ad-supported OS like it will have a million entrants, but who are the players that can go for this? Only 3 realistically, Microsoft, Mac OS X, and a company with their own branded Linux.
An ad supported linux will never take off. The good and free versions are just too numerous and the other trillion reasons that won't work. It will never fly on Mac OS X, that is just too contrary to contemplate. But Microsoft...... why would they want an ad free OS?
Right now, they make a set amount from each sale. An ad supported OS will not only lower that intake, it will not have long term gains from all the people who will patch their OS to fix it from the "crippled" version to the good version. Total loss for MS.
This seems to be just somebody's hair brained scheme to "compete" with google, but how does it compete with Google? It doesn't. Google, if they ever release an OS (I doubt), will supply it over the net while MS here just pushes a reduced cost version off store shelves.
Furthermore, the article states:
Um, no. Home Users already indirectly pay for Microsoft when they purchase a computer. No win for Microsoft there, either in marketshare or revenue. It would not be ideal for internet cafes, as people pay cafes (at least in Europe) to use those computers, so bludgeoning them to death is neither in the interest of the Cafe owner who sells time (and doesn't get any revenue from said ads anyway) nor their customers. In libraries, again, I have to ask why?
I chalk all this nonsense to a slow newsday. I swear, this is the dumbest fad that is making every idiots eyes light up as if this is the best thing since sliced bread. The advertising market is already saturated, people are becoming resistant to advertising in general, and the pie is only so big.
I'll wait until AD&D '95 comes out.
I second your recommendation, plus it has HTML administration/configuration, just type in the web (lan) address of the printer, and you are given a quasi-web site to change preferences and what not. Plus the toner is pretty cheap ($50) for a ton of pages. I can testify that it works well with Windows, OS X, and the latest Ubuntu pretty easily. Two years ago, it was harder to install for Ubuntu, so I'm not quite sure if Ubuntu improved in this respect, or if the driver got better.
For anyone looking for a color laser, I also got an Epson AL-CX11NF a year back (Color Copier Scan Fax multi-function) and aside some initial misgivings, it works great. The toner is more expensive than black/white so it wouldn't be a good main copier as the Brother, but the color prints are very nice, scanning function is great, copying and scanning are flawless too - it's up there at 600-800 bucks, but it replaces several machines and functions much better than I expected for a multifunction (I had some experience with really crappy Lexar multifunctions, you get what you pay for). The only complaint is while most OSes can print to it, it seems only Windows can take full advantage of its remote network scanning capabilities.
On the other hand, I am finding proprietary operating systems becoming less useful all the time. For instance, does MS's refusal to open up NTFS hurt its competitors? Not really, linux has great file systems available to it, so one place I would have potentially had a dual setup, I went all linux because I didn't want FAT32 (no permissions), nor can Windows interface with a lot of the file systems I use out of the box.
The same can be said with Open Office vs Microsoft Office in regard to open documents. I am finding closed documents a hassle because that means I can use only a very limited subset of apps to manipulate said document - and not every should be a one size fits all (except emacs:) )
I'm probably the exception these days, as with some hassle, drivers can be added to Windows to let it read other filesystem, and Open Office can run on Windows.
But other benefits of Open Source are repositories, as you mention, and I find the convenience of one central spot on my computer to download and automatically install known good software with a few button clicks (sans spyware/adware) beats any Windows experience hands down (which usually includes searching the web, downloading, installing, hoping it's not malware, adware, etcetera for every app).
I really could not see going back to something like Windows. It just seems like too much work and money. Quite a reversal from the Linux experience like around 1999 or so.
Most European countries us dd/mm/yyyy. It makes more sense as it is going from the smallest unit to the largest. For instance, we use hh:mm:ss for time, it would be nonsensical to use mm:hh:ss though some "Englishisms" work this way (quarter after six instead of six - fifteen).
Us Americans are peculiar though anyway:) We still burden ourselves with the standard system despite the much more sensible metric system for one.
and every other agency has been working on this problem with their workers since the beginning. And they still get problems with people selling their secrets. Despite their employees having to undergo the polygraph (pseudoscience, I know) every six months, etcetera. Still, perhaps they (or people once working there, if they wrote a book about the methods) would be a good start on the topic.
But I don't think there is a technical solution to this problem. Technical safeguards, yes. Solution? No.
A monitoring program, staffed by people isolated from the rest of the IT staff, that solely watches and logs which and what files get routinely accessed throughout the enterprise would be a good start. Is such a thing feasible?
Powerbook?
G4 cube?
Mac Mini?
iPod?
iPod Nano?
We don't need to count on future Einsteins, that's a plus. Don't underestimated the power of normal people with access to information. It's empowering. See the two USA Today articles below to understand my point (the ones with cell phones). A network is a useful thing indeed.
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geo
Nigeria:
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68%
male: 75.7%
female: 60.6% (2003 est.)
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geo
Brazil:
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.4%
male: 86.1%
female: 86.6% (2003 est.)
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geo
Thailand:
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6%
male: 94.9%
female: 90.5% (2002)
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geo
Argentina:
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.1%
male: 97.1%
female: 97.1% (2003 est.)
See also:
"Africa's cell phone boom creates a base for low-cost banking"
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/gear/2005-0
"Africa's cellphone explosion changes economics, society"
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/gear/2005-1
In the same boat as you, actually I was a CS major and was about to shift to a EE major - but unlike High School, all the math is finally clicking (in my head) with me. Perhaps I'm a late bloomer, but now I find the math much more enjoyable than hacking code*, as hacking code seems to be just that so far, usually a bunch of hacks that barely stay together to make a program (in my experience so far). Math, otoh, seems much more elegant and solid. Anyway, enough philosophizing, I just wanted to say I am returning to school to become an EE major with a math minor, or the other way around. Anybody think one or the other is any better?
BTW, according to my Math professors who teach parttime (and work at "real" jobs the other part), they are pretty much in demand. Because pharmaceuticals are in my area and all three are hired by them, my perspective may be skewed. But they also say it is hard right now for schools (at all levels) to get and retain math teachers/professors (people with math degrees).
*The language I find programming elegant is a lisp. But that may be because it was designed by a mathematician. I never looked at a C/Algol derive as particulary elegant even if C is my first language.
From TFA:
I suppose Hollywood makes rehashes because no one in the organizations wants to stick their neck out and take a chance. So then, they figure, why not make a remake - it's better than even a proven forumula where you would have to put some thought into reinventing it.
/.er, including myself, are at an age where we have seen it all before. Perhaps it is something every generation has gone through, but it is coming at an unprecedented young age since we are such an media addicted generation, and that video games, internet has raised our expectations (and the bar) to an unprecendented amount that even though the schlock coming out was the same basic crap it always was, we are demanding more. It would make sense, as every single generation eventually talks about a downward spiral in the quality of the entertainment for the next generation. (But I'm already bitching in my 20's here, which does not bode well:/ )
Looking at the latest releases of the intellectually barren void that is the entertainment industry, I'm beginning to wonder if the people making entertainment have just run out of ideas. They've been drinking their own koolaid for so long, they can't really think "different", let alone anything revolutionary.
The 2 movies I went to this year (one was Scary Movie 4 which I expected to enjoy at least superficially, but not even that) didn't give me a good ROI. The last decent movie I was at was probably Batman last year.
In 30-40 years, I suspect ultra sized movie theatres will be a thing of the past (note I said ultra sized). It seems the Hollywood Blockbuster is dying out slowly and this summer has been thoroughly disgraceful. I think entertainment will slowly settle more and more into happy niches more specific and targetted than they are now.
Or the current disillusionment with movies could be that many
If you downloaded it, it probably is pirated.
Send me a low fee of $9.95 and I'll send you an Knoppix Genuine Advantage copy. Afterall, you wouldn't want the BSA* to come after you.
*Bull Shit Artists
Hm, I don't think Ubuntu is that hard - especially in the last few years I take this as a myth not affecting 80% of users. I mean, for most things it's not at geek level anymore unless you want to do geek-level type stuff which of course applies to Windows as well (if you want to do change anything in Windows, better know your stuff as well).
I have several caveats:
1. Do the installation + setup for them. Including printer, etcetera. (But it has gotten so easy the past few years......)
2. Install easy ubuntu and run it, installing codecs and all that, so they are really set up.
3. Install OpenOffice. (I think it's on there already but I forget....)
4. Point them to a forum, preferably Ubuntuforums.org just in case they do have minor problems. (Apple has a forum too, afterall.)
5. Show them synaptic and the wonderful world of installing free software.
6. Cater to their needs - if they are into music, show the Amarok/Muine/etc and make sure they have the ripping software they need, etc. If they are into photos, download Digikam for them, and so on. I think Picasa is also available on Linux. People usually fall off the bandwagon because they never were given a good footing on it in the first place. Once they have a few programs they like, they are more apt to stick with it.
I migrated several people over to linux from their own accord and all of them stuck with it. Granted, they were motivated enough to seek me out for help, not the other way around. With proper setup, in the first few days, they usually just ran into problems when they think that the software they want to run has the same name as the windows version. I usually can point them to suitable software they are happy with. If not, I would reevaluate the choice of Ubuntu and get a Mac instead.
*The second most common problem was lan-sharing networking. For some reason, Ubuntu was using a broken version for a long time (not Mac compatible) which was downright stupid of them.
I forgot to mention, with Ubuntu Linux, repartition/resize the harddrive. There are some free tools (I think the Mepis installer has one that does it before installing itself) that do this that won't break your Windows install (back up anyway). Then install Ubuntu on a seperate partition.
Grub, at start up will give you a choice which OS to use.
Next time Windows breaks, have her use Ubuntu during that time. Then there will be no rush to fix the Windows partition on her box.^_^
I got my Parents a Mac, set it up to their printer. Because my brother was connected to broadband and only surfed the web, I put him on Ubuntu. Since set up of bother, I only have 1/10 of the hassle, if that.
Do one or the other. There are a lot of programs for Ubuntu that are free and have the same capabilities as Windows software. Your sister may be even happier if she finds even more programs (because it is free) than she could use before hand. If your sister uses a lot of graphics programs, Mac may be a wiser choice.
I don't think there is a windows based solution right now that will make you happy right now.
I would think a company will start public beta testing once internal testing isn't cost-effective anymore versus the public. That is to say, once the internal testers caught all the bugs they can, it becomes harder and harder to find bugs per corporate dollar spent until the manager can't justify it anymore versus releasing it into the wild and seeing what they get there. The trade-off is, of course, bad press if the beta works particularly poorly.
Of course, if the $1.50 charge now brings a $10 or whatever rebate in the mail later for testers, it will be good marketing.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kvbWLfr-Z4s&search=bal
This is not just the Republicans but the Democrats are interested in the exact same thing. They are not really different in issues such as these. Washington (George) warned us away from Political Parties in his farewell address as President.
The people who have most interest in circumventing the Constition are inevitably the people who think they are the least affected by said circumventions, i.e. career Politicians and career powerful bureacrats (FBI's Hoover comes to mind). We prevented future Hoovers by limiting the FBI's Directors allowed term (10 years I think). We would do well to limit the terms of Senators and Representatives.
It would probably be a good step at reclaiming our democracy as well. Perhaps it will also cut down on porkbarrel spending, as a lot of Porkbarrel spending right now is directed at those who've been in the longest (Robert Byrd) because they've built up the most influence and chairmanships, etcetera.
As always, vote independent.
Actually, some people did have that attitude - have you ever heard of the vaccuum tube vs. transistor debates in the sound field when transistor radios came out and still go on to this day?
I didn't say everyone had that attitude, but I should have specified some, and certainly in some niches.
Guessing doesn't make you smart. Please talk about what you know about only. Please try again soon and come again. Thanks!
Nor am I of yours....
People probably once had the same attitude toward the transistor when it first came out....
that given a choice whether to do a lot of things in mediocrity or 1 area very well, choose the specific thing. The old jack of all trades analogy. Rennaissance men like Leonardo Da Vinci are few and far in between, and even they had to concentrate at some point on one thing before moving onto the next.
When I hit college, I think I experienced this more keenly, as the first two years were broad classes (what I considered BS classes, public school was all BS but then I wasn't paying for it directly either) until it really narrowed down to niche. I was relieved about getting the BS out of the way.
Similiarly, after a while working, I'm choosing jobs that put my strengths to good used and where my employer doesn't make me do too many roles. Sometimes I have to the song and dance like everyone else, but most of the time I'm allowed to concentrate on what I needs to be done. I can't help but think I'm lucky (and conversely, more productive for my employer) that I am not daily encumbered with the drugderies that happy (or crappy) sounding buzzwords like multitasking seem to convey.
I guess it's the different mindset of management vs. engineer/computer types. Engineers like to solve problems and are more used to sitting there until the problem is solved. Management types are used to problems that can't be solved per se, but have to be dealt with on an ongoing basis, which means they are used to and expect to "multitask."
Both types are necessary, but I'm glad I mostly can stay out of the managing side of business.