But some people want to buy a computer and just have it run at first bootup.
I thought this was exactly why it was such a big deal whether Dell or similar sold computers with Linux preinstalled: it would get people like my father to consider using Linux. He wants to buy a tool, not something he first has to fiddle with for a couple of days.
I agree that many of us will never be happy with any configuration Dell would make for them.
I, however, could be happy with a nice, working bare-bone install of any distro, if there was an easy GUI for choosing what more I want to have installed to my machine from the bundled DVD.
Anyway does this apply to only music stations? What if they listen to the Finnish equivalent of NPR? Or the BBC?
Actually, the funny bit is that the Finnish Broadcasting Company (the Finnish TLA is YLE) is funded with a similar fee to this taxi thing.
See, there's a pretty thing called the "television fee" (EUR 165.15 per year) in Finland that you have to pay up if you own anything that could ever be used to watch TV. They use this money to fund the YLE/FBC.
And before you ask: yes, there actually are inspectors who go around houses that have not payed and demand to be let in to check if they really don't have TV sets (luckily, of course, you don't have to let them in without a search warrant, which they'll never get).
I bet this taxi thing will work the same way: in practise you have to pay, whether you use the car radio or not.
Then again, bus companies in Finland have been forced to pay a fee like this for years, so this was only a matter of time for the taxis.
The real masters of man-powered accessories were definitely the red flag guys. I've seen and touched at least gems like -hand-powered flashlight: you squeeze the handle to generate light. Works, but takes a superhuman to keep the light bright enough to be useful. Good if you only need a flashlight 2 seconds at a time once a day. -wind-up shaver: turn a handle for a good five minutes to get 30 seconds of buzzing. Wouldn't try if it really works.
Both very recommended items for generating lively discussions at parties. Available in second hand stores throughout the baltic countries.
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But some people want to buy a computer and just have it run at first bootup.
I thought this was exactly why it was such a big deal whether Dell or similar sold computers with Linux preinstalled: it would get people like my father to consider using Linux. He wants to buy a tool, not something he first has to fiddle with for a couple of days.
I agree that many of us will never be happy with any configuration Dell would make for them.
I, however, could be happy with a nice, working bare-bone install of any distro, if there was an easy GUI for choosing what more I want to have installed to my machine from the bundled DVD.
Anyway does this apply to only music stations? What if they listen to the Finnish equivalent of NPR? Or the BBC?
Actually, the funny bit is that the Finnish Broadcasting Company (the Finnish TLA is YLE) is funded with a similar fee to this taxi thing.
See, there's a pretty thing called the "television fee" (EUR 165.15 per year) in Finland that you have to pay up if you own anything that could ever be used to watch TV. They use this money to fund the YLE/FBC.
And before you ask: yes, there actually are inspectors who go around houses that have not payed and demand to be let in to check if they really don't have TV sets (luckily, of course, you don't have to let them in without a search warrant, which they'll never get).
I bet this taxi thing will work the same way: in practise you have to pay, whether you use the car radio or not.
Then again, bus companies in Finland have been forced to pay a fee like this for years, so this was only a matter of time for the taxis.
The real masters of man-powered accessories were definitely the red flag guys. I've seen and touched at least gems like
-hand-powered flashlight: you squeeze the handle to generate light. Works, but takes a superhuman to keep the light bright enough to be useful. Good if you only need a flashlight 2 seconds at a time once a day.
-wind-up shaver: turn a handle for a good five minutes to get 30 seconds of buzzing. Wouldn't try if it really works.
Both very recommended items for generating lively discussions at parties. Available in second hand stores throughout the baltic countries.