Indeed the US has some socialistic traits, especially when considering social security. However I always heard (I'm talking as an uninformed European here) that it represents nearly nothing. Don't forget that most hospitals in the US are privately run and have to make profit, which is of course a very capitalistic view. That's why most Americans have to get private health insurance.
In Europe this is not the case: I surely do not have a private health insurance. Okay, they won't pay everthing (like my lenses, it's luxury) But I never ever had to pay the dentist, or the doctor. Well, I had to pay, but I got reimbursed. Of course I know that a large chunk of my salary is withdrawn for social security, but actually this contribution doesn't hurt me and I'm glad it's there when I need it. In the United States, the government "believes" that their population should take responsibility for themselves (retirement and health insurance). Weirdly enough, I think that "taking responsibility" is the thing that American citzens have most trouble with. (Stupid lawsuits, anyone?) One thing is sure: Europe is way more socialist than America... and believe me, I'm glad it is.
There is one thing that astonishes me every time: the conception that "Communism is bad". It's not bad, the Utopian idea itself is neat but it just didn't factor in human behaviour. It's just that the "communism" implemented during our lifetime was corrupted because of human greed. In communism there is no place for selfishness, but there is nobody who can claim that he is not selfish at all.
would your small country run linux everywhere?...
Of course! Do you really think any tyrant would like to share his power with Bill?;-) Besides, inflicting Windows XP upon my population would already bring the human rights activists up against me.
Well, I live in a socialist country (Europe) and I wouldn't call China socialist. Perhaps something like "liberal communism", how awkward it may sound. Funny is that Americans usually equate socialism and communism, but that's due to their misunderstanding of leftist politics... I don't blame them.
Nobody would call themself "facist", I think. Well, I would if I ruled a small country as a "just tyrant", but the odds of that happening are quite low.
It would surely be banned by companies. Made illegal, you know. The whole economy as we know would collapse. Besides, I don't think humankind would be ready for it, I'm pretty sure everyone would start to replicate Ferrari's, BMW and caviar and Champagne. It would be a neverending decadent party (think "Roman Empire"), not a strict military-like society like Star Trek where knowlegde and research goes above all.
the Chinese government no longer considers itself to be "Communist".
Not meant to flame: but how does it consider itself now? Socialist? I don't know... I know that there are more economical liberties in China now, but that doesn't really make it less communist.
To stay on topic: *if* China pulls this through, it means a whole continent converted to our beloved Penguin. This can have major impact worldwide, because (even if they wished so) China is no island, and bussiness (in the US and Europe) will be confronted with Chinese people using Linux...on the desktop! Word documents? Not anymore for our Chinese friends;-)
Perhaps they got something right!
on
Linuxworld Fun
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
Microsoft is still less than convinced that flexibility is what most people want.
Now, I'm no real Microsoft Affectionado, but this is probably the single most insightful thing I ever heard from a Microsoft representative. People don't want to fiddle with anything on their computers, just use the standard apps. Heck, most users don't even change their background nor their colours (God help them, the day they get XP!).
I know this is going straight against the mantra on slashdot "choice-is-good", but normal users have no base on what to make a "choice", and there inflexibility is good: it makes the normal user feel "good" about his (non)choice. How many times have I told people to switch from Lookout Express to a better email client (especially when they just got infected by the virus/worm of the day), but it doesn't help: they are familiar with it, it comes with the computer and everyone uses it. That's infexibility, and the users are inflexible, hence they need inflexible software. Sad but true.
Question: is it mandatory to install IE6 (I don't use IE) when installing SP3. Heck I didn't even know that SP3 was out. No, I don't use "Windows Update": I don't like it when my PC does things without asking.
Give me a break (for once I tried an ontopic first-post): I wrote it exactly as in the slashdot headline. Fact is most IDE channels are faster than whatever most IDE disks can provide in continuous rate. Heck, I have a 29160 Adaptec SCSI card and I never have seen it maxed out over long periods of time. Of course there is only one disk attached to it, which might be the cause.
You are right...Unfortunately I'm a developer. However, "not advancing" is equivalent to "regressing". Well, it's a saying in my language and I just freely translated it.:-)
Yes, and no...yes, it is just another part of the company. Just like the heart your body is just another part of the body.
I have always seen IT as the "nervous system" of a company. On itself it is worth nothing, but it provides the communication, the storage of the company. It is often undervalued because it's "just there" and "it just works", just like the phone on your desk. It's infrastructure, and failing infrastructure is bound to make problems, so underfunding an IT deparment is asking for trouble sooner or later.
Nope.... But the majority of slashdot readers weren't able to do what you did: because just showing our pimple-covered face was enough to scare away even the ugliest girls. So we just found or consolation into computers
Well, I speak for myself of course.
Oh, come on...this is all about the nostalgy. You know remembering when times were still good, when we were going to make tons of money because we wrote a hit game. It changes a bit from being unemployed or being a sad Corporate Troll in a gray office complex.
It's not much difference from a few gray-haired / bald old men remembering when the river was still clean and they'd fish enourmous fish. It's important to noone, but themselves.
We also have child molesters and rapistists roaming around. Should we forget about them too?
<SARCASM> Hey, they are not forgotten: you really should download some movies from the P2P networks. They are not forgotten at all: there is enough material to keep them busy a looooong time </SARCASM>
I have done this for years. Family, friends, neighbours: you have a problem with your computer...call me. I'll fix it for the price of a case of beer *and* you have to serve me beer during the whole process. Big time fun! Besides, people are gratefull: sometimes I get more than a case of beer. Last time a got a whole box of Champagne, real one, no shit! Okay, it was a letfover from a marriage, but who cares.
I the beginning I wanted nothing, but for some reason people hate it when you provide them a service for nothing and won't call. They *always" wanted to give money (average 25$/intervention). I don't want that, I like helping people so I came up with the "case of beer" contract. Works great!:-))
Actually I'd trade my left nut for a decent real job. IT is nothing, it's one of the most ungrateful jobs ever, and I didn't know that when I started my computer science 8 years ago. I work for 4 years now, and I hate every minute of it. (And yes, I still have work)
Sometimes I think that I should have become a gardener: I like gardening and you actually do something real with real things. Of course you freeze your ass off in the winter, but if you feel you did something useful in the day perhaps I'd be happy. Of course, the only thing I know to do is computer science, so there is no easy way out.
Billions of dollars were lost in the dot com failures
No, money cannot get "lost". Real money goes from hand to hand: this means some people made a lot of money out of the dot-com bubble.
I you mean of course "potential money", which are shares and stock-options... Those were not real money: you couldn't use it. If you but a share at 5$ and it soars up to 50$, you have not made 45$: you would make 45$ is you sold it at once...but until you sell it the share itself is just worth 5$ to you. If the company where you invested 5$, goes belly up, you lost 5$...nothing more and nothing less. And that is the "real" money that was lost..and someone has got it in his pocket. Who? Nobody, knows..but someone has.
First I'm going to assume this is a company laptop and not your own. What you should do in this case, if *first* make sure that you can do with the laptop whatever you want: many companies forbid you to install the software you want and this includes alternative operating systems (this is why I bought a iBook and refused the company computer...some bosses really were pissed at me!)
Second, if you may do as you like, you should split of a partition ("GNU parted" comes to mind) and install Slackware 8.1 it and put it in dual boot mode with Windows XP Pro. I now assume you want to use Slackware as primary operating system. While you iron out the problems (XFree86, WinModem , Sound and general preferences), you keep Windows XP around just in case you have a problem and need internet access for reading HOW-TO's. After your Slack is up and running and you are completely happy, do a nice mke2fs on/dev/[windowspartition] and enjoy you new-won diskspace. This is exactly what I plan to do, well..the wiping part would be the only step I still haven't done;-)
Great thanks! I'll try it...ehm, tomorrow... Since this is only a G3 600, I doubt I'll get much beyond the 6 hours you mention. I just copy pasted your comment in a "sticky" so that I don't forget. Thanks again!
I'll take a look at Photoshop Elements. It's the version that came with my scanner and that I use on my PC, the CD includes an OS 9 version (older SCSI scanner you know) For me it's just some rudimentary editing for web-usage. Nothing really professional.
Yes, and no... They could acually have the insight to appoint a spokesperson for interviews like this. I didn't say that a patent officer should have to reply to these questions, but someone official from the government (this is after all government) could try to talk for the european patent office.
Besides, I'm European...even I am very interested in such an interview.
It's not me...It's my family. I don't touch the phone. I can handle phones, and so can my family. But you know teenagers phoning with their friends in their room and suddenly they have to leave...leaving the phone in the middle of their bed.
I'm far from an AOL user...I haven't heard the sound of a modem in over 3 years. Don't call me an idiot (AOL == idiot around here), because I don't like phones nor want to waste money on them.
For your information: I only called tech support once in my whole life, because most of the time I can figure it out myself. If everyone was like me tech support workers would be out of a job and begging food.
Slashdot Mirror
In Europe this is not the case: I surely do not have a private health insurance. Okay, they won't pay everthing (like my lenses, it's luxury) But I never ever had to pay the dentist, or the doctor. Well, I had to pay, but I got reimbursed. Of course I know that a large chunk of my salary is withdrawn for social security, but actually this contribution doesn't hurt me and I'm glad it's there when I need it. In the United States, the government "believes" that their population should take responsibility for themselves (retirement and health insurance). Weirdly enough, I think that "taking responsibility" is the thing that American citzens have most trouble with. (Stupid lawsuits, anyone?)
One thing is sure: Europe is way more socialist than America... and believe me, I'm glad it is.
There is one thing that astonishes me every time: the conception that "Communism is bad". It's not bad, the Utopian idea itself is neat but it just didn't factor in human behaviour. It's just that the "communism" implemented during our lifetime was corrupted because of human greed. In communism there is no place for selfishness, but there is nobody who can claim that he is not selfish at all.
would your small country run linux everywhere? ...
Of course! Do you really think any tyrant would like to share his power with Bill? ;-) Besides, inflicting Windows XP upon my population would already bring the human rights activists up against me.
Well, I live in a socialist country (Europe) and I wouldn't call China socialist. Perhaps something like "liberal communism", how awkward it may sound. Funny is that Americans usually equate socialism and communism, but that's due to their misunderstanding of leftist politics... I don't blame them.
Nobody would call themself "facist", I think. Well, I would if I ruled a small country as a "just tyrant", but the odds of that happening are quite low.
It would surely be banned by companies. Made illegal, you know. The whole economy as we know would collapse. Besides, I don't think humankind would be ready for it, I'm pretty sure everyone would start to replicate Ferrari's, BMW and caviar and Champagne. It would be a neverending decadent party (think "Roman Empire"), not a strict military-like society like Star Trek where knowlegde and research goes above all.
the Chinese government no longer considers itself to be "Communist".
Not meant to flame: but how does it consider itself now? Socialist? I don't know... I know that there are more economical liberties in China now, but that doesn't really make it less communist.
To stay on topic: *if* China pulls this through, it means a whole continent converted to our beloved Penguin. This can have major impact worldwide, because (even if they wished so) China is no island, and bussiness (in the US and Europe) will be confronted with Chinese people using Linux...on the desktop! Word documents? Not anymore for our Chinese friends ;-)
Now, I'm no real Microsoft Affectionado, but this is probably the single most insightful thing I ever heard from a Microsoft representative. People don't want to fiddle with anything on their computers, just use the standard apps. Heck, most users don't even change their background nor their colours (God help them, the day they get XP!).
I know this is going straight against the mantra on slashdot "choice-is-good", but normal users have no base on what to make a "choice", and there inflexibility is good: it makes the normal user feel "good" about his (non)choice. How many times have I told people to switch from Lookout Express to a better email client (especially when they just got infected by the virus/worm of the day), but it doesn't help: they are familiar with it, it comes with the computer and everyone uses it. That's infexibility, and the users are inflexible, hence they need inflexible software. Sad but true.
Question: is it mandatory to install IE6 (I don't use IE) when installing SP3. Heck I didn't even know that SP3 was out. No, I don't use "Windows Update": I don't like it when my PC does things without asking.
I don't know if bitter and disappointed counts as insightful.
Give me a break (for once I tried an ontopic first-post): I wrote it exactly as in the slashdot headline. Fact is most IDE channels are faster than whatever most IDE disks can provide in continuous rate. Heck, I have a 29160 Adaptec SCSI card and I never have seen it maxed out over long periods of time. Of course there is only one disk attached to it, which might be the cause.
Now we just need harddisks that can sustain a 150Mb/s data-transfer rate.
You are right...Unfortunately I'm a developer. :-)
However, "not advancing" is equivalent to "regressing". Well, it's a saying in my language and I just freely translated it.
Yes, and no...yes, it is just another part of the company. Just like the heart your body is just another part of the body.
I have always seen IT as the "nervous system" of a company. On itself it is worth nothing, but it provides the communication, the storage of the company. It is often undervalued because it's "just there" and "it just works", just like the phone on your desk. It's infrastructure, and failing infrastructure is bound to make problems, so underfunding an IT deparment is asking for trouble sooner or later.
Well, perhaps they fall over while watching the sun travel over the sky...
Nope.... But the majority of slashdot readers weren't able to do what you did: because just showing our pimple-covered face was enough to scare away even the ugliest girls. So we just found or consolation into computers
Well, I speak for myself of course.
Oh, come on...this is all about the nostalgy. You know remembering when times were still good, when we were going to make tons of money because we wrote a hit game. It changes a bit from being unemployed or being a sad Corporate Troll in a gray office complex.
It's not much difference from a few gray-haired / bald old men remembering when the river was still clean and they'd fish enourmous fish. It's important to noone, but themselves.
<SARCASM> Hey, they are not forgotten: you really should download some movies from the P2P networks. They are not forgotten at all: there is enough material to keep them busy a looooong time </SARCASM>
What Iwould like to do is to open a "Coffee Shop" in The Netherlands...now *that* would rock ;-)
Big time fun! Besides, people are gratefull: sometimes I get more than a case of beer. Last time a got a whole box of Champagne, real one, no shit! Okay, it was a letfover from a marriage, but who cares.
I the beginning I wanted nothing, but for some reason people hate it when you provide them a service for nothing and won't call. They *always" wanted to give money (average 25$/intervention). I don't want that, I like helping people so I came up with the "case of beer" contract. Works great! :-))
Sometimes I think that I should have become a gardener: I like gardening and you actually do something real with real things. Of course you freeze your ass off in the winter, but if you feel you did something useful in the day perhaps I'd be happy.
Of course, the only thing I know to do is computer science, so there is no easy way out.
No, money cannot get "lost". Real money goes from hand to hand: this means some people made a lot of money out of the dot-com bubble.
I you mean of course "potential money", which are shares and stock-options... Those were not real money: you couldn't use it. If you but a share at 5$ and it soars up to 50$, you have not made 45$: you would make 45$ is you sold it at once...but until you sell it the share itself is just worth 5$ to you. If the company where you invested 5$, goes belly up, you lost 5$...nothing more and nothing less. And that is the "real" money that was lost..and someone has got it in his pocket. Who? Nobody, knows..but someone has.
No fear... I already "signed" the petition on eurolinux.org more than a year ago...
First I'm going to assume this is a company laptop and not your own. What you should do in this case, if *first* make sure that you can do with the laptop whatever you want: many companies forbid you to install the software you want and this includes alternative operating systems (this is why I bought a iBook and refused the company computer...some bosses really were pissed at me!) /dev/[windowspartition] and enjoy you new-won diskspace. ;-)
Second, if you may do as you like, you should split of a partition ("GNU parted" comes to mind) and install Slackware 8.1 it and put it in dual boot mode with Windows XP Pro. I now assume you want to use Slackware as primary operating system. While you iron out the problems (XFree86, WinModem , Sound and general preferences), you keep Windows XP around just in case you have a problem and need internet access for reading HOW-TO's. After your Slack is up and running and you are completely happy, do a nice mke2fs on
This is exactly what I plan to do, well..the wiping part would be the only step I still haven't done
"Daemon Air"?
Hmmm...doesn't sound like a very marketable name for an airline.
Great thanks!
I'll try it...ehm, tomorrow... Since this is only a G3 600, I doubt I'll get much beyond the 6 hours you mention. I just copy pasted your comment in a "sticky" so that I don't forget.
Thanks again!
I'll take a look at Photoshop Elements. It's the version that came with my scanner and that I use on my PC, the CD includes an OS 9 version (older SCSI scanner you know) For me it's just some rudimentary editing for web-usage. Nothing really professional.
Yes, and no... They could acually have the insight to appoint a spokesperson for interviews like this. I didn't say that a patent officer should have to reply to these questions, but someone official from the government (this is after all government) could try to talk for the european patent office.
Besides, I'm European...even I am very interested in such an interview.
I'm far from an AOL user...I haven't heard the sound of a modem in over 3 years. Don't call me an idiot (AOL == idiot around here), because I don't like phones nor want to waste money on them.
For your information: I only called tech support once in my whole life, because most of the time I can figure it out myself. If everyone was like me tech support workers would be out of a job and begging food.
Go and insult someone else, okay?