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User: global_diffusion

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  1. Re:Switched, and then switched back on Mac OS X Switcher Stories · · Score: 2

    I realize that we all have opinions and I respect your opinion on this matter, but I must disagree with one point (point one):

    1) Asthetics - from the look of the desktop, the beautiful anti-aliased fonts, the built-in PDF capabilty, and (of course) the beautiful hardware, it's hard to compete with a Mac when it comes to a slick user experience.

    Now, I agree with the anti-aliased fonts and the built-in PDF capability -- those are two things that aren't easy to get working on a unix machine (please, no comments about patents on font stuff). The hardware is also a matter of opinion; I don't really care for the new imacs, the keyboards are too small and hurt my hands, but the G4s are dope. But, the one thing that I have to disagree on is the desktop.

    The one argument that mac users have always had (I grew up on a mac) is that the mac desktop is great. It's simple, it's friendly and has all kinds of neat tricks to it. But, it's outdated. Any typical unix desktop makes the mac desktop seem kludgy and complicated. I've tried using my friends OS X boxes, but I just get so frustrated; the interface confines you to one screen and one mouse button. To copy and paste you have to use the keyboard or select the option from a menu. Alt-tab switches between programs, not windows. There are a whole lot of little tricks and UI advances that unix systems have made over the years that just make the mac interface annoying to use if you're used to a modern desktop.

    I still recommend Macs to my friends and family because it is easy to use, but it does have an outdated inteface. It's not terrible, it's just not sleek and flowing like a unix desktop. I would never switch to a mac for just that purpose. I like having billions of desktops and mouse buttons and infinite customizability. You just can't get that with a mac.

    But, that's my opinion. I'm sure many of you disagree, so feel free to respond and not mod me down for disliking the mac interface.

  2. Re:Switched, and then switched back on Mac OS X Switcher Stories · · Score: 2
    I hate comments like this, because "computer gurus" is a loaded term.

    I agree. The term is loaded because it has no actual definition. For instance, you define a "computer guru" as someone who:
    • Does not use a GUI
    • Has serious objections to Windows or Macs
    • Needs top of the line hardware
    I'm sorry, but that is not the case. Computer gurus
    • Use whatever is easiest
    • Don't care about what system they use, as long as it is standards compliant
    • More than likely use old, obsolete hardware
    When I think computer guru, I think people who have been using computers since the '70s. You know the people. They look at you funny when you say that you like using VIM over VI.

    Your post is funny because you complain that "computer guru" is a "loaded" term, and then you go on to define it and attack the people who fit your definition. What is that?. I realize that whenever the conversation is about Mac vs Everybody Else we all tend to flame a bit, but it is really annoying when people create phantom enemies to attack.
  3. Re:Boycott the MPAA in december on Predicting The End Of Digital Copying · · Score: 2

    err, big holiday movie season. Families go shopping together to buy crap and see movies.

  4. Re:Boycott the MPAA in december on Predicting The End Of Digital Copying · · Score: 2

    December is the big holiday celebration.

  5. Re:Boycott the MPAA in december on Predicting The End Of Digital Copying · · Score: 2

    Here's my official Bad Analogy: if a slave refuses to work until tomorrow, he's still a slave. To be free, he must never work for the master again.

    That's kinda the problem. Americans have going to the movies so ingrained in them that it's probably a permanent part of our culture. The point of the boycott isn't to stop movie watching, but let the movie companies know that we know what they are doing and we aren't happy with it. We still have enough time to make this a general boycott and not just a geek boycott. I try to get people to join up by telling them that boycotts are easy -- you just have to not do something.

  6. Re:Boycott the MPAA in december on Predicting The End Of Digital Copying · · Score: 2

    you'd do better to pick a month that didnt have the releases of the next star trek and lotr movies, at least with this crowd.

    Yeah, that's the trouble. It counts on people choosing what's best for the world over what's best for their obsessions. Hopefully people will be able to compromise and wait until January to see the films.

  7. Boycott the MPAA in december on Predicting The End Of Digital Copying · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What to do?

    For starters, join the boycott of all commercial movies in December 2002. The Boycott is aimed at bringing public attention to the fact that these companies are buying our representatives and using them to take away our rights. It's unlikely that we'll be able to actually cut into their profits, but hopefully it will inform enough of the public that the MPAA won't feel so good about doing it anymore. So tell your friends and family not to go to commercial movies between November 30th and January 1st (non-inclusive). Take the time you would waste staring at a screen and spend it with your family and friends, read a book, or whatever - just don't go to the theatres.

  8. Re:follow states like washington... on Slashback: Pop-Ups, Books, Qmail · · Score: 2

    The law in washington is not designed to protect domain spoofing, sorry.

    Actually, the law protects against forged headers. Check it out here. I find it really annoying because some junkmail service is sending out spam making it look like it's coming from my site. I want it to stop, but the $500 dollars isn't worth the time I would have to spend doing it.

  9. Re:follow states like washington... on Slashback: Pop-Ups, Books, Qmail · · Score: 2

    Actually, Washington has a rather lame law. I was going to go after a spammer in Iowa that was spoofing my domain name, but then I found out that Washington State limits you to $500 dollars as an individual / $1,000 as an ISP. It just wasn't worth the time. As it turns out, somebody from Virginia was going to sue under their laws for about $25,000, so it's all good.

  10. web work for small businesses on Starting a Software Business in Today's Economy? · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It might seem annoying or below you, but there are a huge amount of small businesses that are not on the web and want to be. I can't tell you how many times people have approached me about creating/maintaining their business' website. These people have no idea what the internet is, but they want to be on it but can't afford the cost of "professional" web design. You could make a killing by marketing directly to these people.

    It's not glamorous and it's not exactly programming (unless someone wants an online front-end), but it's an area of the market that has been virtually untouched because small businesses can't afford the high prices that silly corporations pay. The only drawback is that "webdesigner" doesn't look that good on a resume anymore.

  11. boycott!!! on RIAA Sues Backbone ISPs to Censor Website · · Score: 2

    From the article... According to the suit the artists whose works are being unlawfully copied and distributed through Listen4ever are: Christina Aguilera, Bruce Springsteen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eric Clapton, Barbara Streisand, Lenny Kravitz and Whitney Houston

    Now we know which bands not to buy music from anymore. Thank you RIAA.

  12. Re:Nepitism? on Slashback: Activism, VOIP, Ivies · · Score: 2

    Get C's what? C's books? C's car? Maybe you can get F's at Yale too...

    Alright then, how would you pluralize 'C'? Cees? No. Cs? No. C's it is then! Oh, and for the record, this joke was funny because C is the lowest grade you can get at yale without shooting a teacher. The "brotherly B" at Yale is what most would consider a C or a D, so no, I can't get F's at Yale.

  13. Re:Nepitism? - No Nepotism on Slashback: Activism, VOIP, Ivies · · Score: 2

    Yeah, yeah. I realized it as soon as I hit submit. I should preview and all that first...

  14. Nepitism? on Slashback: Activism, VOIP, Ivies · · Score: 2, Funny

    (President Bush's niece was among those students whose privacy was violated).

    Maybe she can get C's at Yale too...

  15. bike to work. on Exercise for Geeks? · · Score: 2

    It's fun, it's inexpensive, and it's a good workout. You might want to work somewhere that has a shower though. Long rides are good too. I used to ride a total of 20 miles a day commuting to my old job. Needless to say, I was buff.

  16. Re:Let's skip: on A PostScript-like API for the X Render Extension · · Score: 2

    5. I can't compile X.

    That's funny. I get at least one email a day on the gentoo-users email list with this as the subject.

  17. College Cooking on Ask Alton Brown How Food+Heat=Cooking · · Score: 2

    Do you have any recommendations for foods or meals for college students? We have lots of eating to do, but little time to cook with, so our recipes must be quick and easy and often aren't that good. Are there any recipes that come to mind that would be good for this? I do a lot of rice/beans, but those grow weary over the months...

  18. Re:Complete the circut Switch with two metal plate on A Humanitarian Engineering Problem · · Score: 2

    That's funny. I posted the exact same thing. I guess I'm not original ;)

  19. Complete the Circuit on A Humanitarian Engineering Problem · · Score: 2

    You could design a circuit with a battery and a noisemaker/speaker. Keep the circuit as a 'U' from the side of a finger to her palm, then back up to the opposing side of the next finger over. Have two metal plates on the inside of the fingers so that she could touch the sides of her fingers to complete the loop. Once the loop was complete, you have voltage and the buzzer goes off. You might have to play around with some resistors so that you don't drain the battery too fast.

    Hope this helps. Good luck!

  20. Automatic Bank Downloads? on Crossover Gets Quicken · · Score: 2

    The author of the article at desktoplinux never checked to see if it worked with automatic bank downloads. Does anybody know about this? Quicken has been the only thing that has kept me dualbooting. If this feature works, that partition is going away perminently.

  21. Re:I wonder . . . on Digital Restrictions Management for P2P Systems · · Score: 2

    "But now, because of scale, file sharing actually is putting a serious economic dent in the music biz."

    so says the "music biz". I, however, would classify this as a straw man. The real cause of the downturn is the industry's overpricing.


    You are 100% correct. Music sharing hasn't hurt music sales; music sales are up. What has been hurt is the sales of big name bands. People don't want to buy Britney after they've heard what music can be. The internet has allowed us to preview music before we buy and play the field, so that we can get the best music possible. What the music industry is finding is that people don't want their crappy generated music anymore. People want good music made by real people.

    I also agree with you 100% about the pricing. I was talking to a friend about this the other day. Not coming from a rich backgrounds, we can't afford to pay $18 dollars per cd for all the music that we want to listen to. If they brought the price of music down, we could afford to buy cds. Not only that, if they brought the price of cds down, it would be less expensive for me to buy a cd than to download it. Right now the days of hunting for that one last song to complete the album costs me less that the $18 or so that a cd would.

  22. Re:Lets go Redhat on Slashback: Boeing, Fraud, Fundage · · Score: 2

    My favorite god-argument is the one which says that god can't be all good, all knowing and all powerful (omnibenevolent, omniscient and omnipotent). It's rather fun. I enjoy that because I am not a thiest either.

  23. Bad Q! on Slashback: Boeing, Fraud, Fundage · · Score: 2

    Silly Q! The constant is simply there to make up for the units that we are using. You could pick units such that there was no need for G if you wanted.

  24. Re:Lets go Redhat on Slashback: Boeing, Fraud, Fundage · · Score: 2

    Could Jesus microwave a burrito so hot that he himself could not eat it? HS

    Perhaps if it was a bean and cheese burrito. Not even He could withstand the power of the hot cheese plasma.

  25. Re:Gravities? on Slashback: Boeing, Fraud, Fundage · · Score: 5, Informative
    1G is not 9.8 m/s. Although in a gravitational field of 1G things would accellerate at 9.8 m/s. 9.8 m/s is earths mass accelleration ....

    To clear some things up, 1G is not even in m/s^2 units. 'g' a.k.a. "little g" is ~9.8m/s^2 (so that mass*g is a force, kg*m/s^2), but 'G', a.k.a. "big G", is, ~6.67*10^-11 m^3/kg/s^2 (in mks).

    The confusion is that 'g' is the acceleration due to gravity close to the earth, while 'G' is the universal gravitational constant. It is a constant that is used to derive little 'g'. The relationship can be explaied in a couple of steps.
    1. The gravitational force between two objects is
      F=G*m1*m2/r^2
      m1 = mass of object 1,
      m2 = mass of object 2
      r = distance separating objects 1 and 2
    2. put m1 = mass of earth, M
      m2 = mass of random object, such as a super-ball, m
      r = radius of Earth, R
    3. F is now = G*M*m/R^2
    4. This form of the equation now has two constant-ish variables that are closely tied to eachother (M and R), one constant (G), and one independant variable (m). Let's tie up all the constants into one variable and call it 'g'. That is,
      g = G*M/R^2
    5. We now have F = mg for objects close to the surface of the earth.
    Here we can see that 'g' is just an easy generalization for calculations and not anything defining about the universe. Hope that helps. The use of the same letter but differing in capitalization can lead to confusion and silly misunderstandings.