why? irq conflicts. Sure, some stuff works. but it's generally a good rule not to have a card in the top pci slot next to the agp slot, as they share irq's.
I've seen computers not work for months until i tell someone 'take that card, and move it'
I remember when my mom got a blue car, no idea what KIND of car it was, just that it's rims were tear droped shaped, and that we bought it from some guy at a car wash when it was dark.
I also remember playing in the car by myself one day and shifting it into reverse from park... while the car was on. man my mom and uncle got mad =)
beyond that are some occasional birthdays that i dont know when. I remember i got a toy helicopter and some toys. i'm guessing i was around 4 or 5. also when my mom whent with her boyfriend to shop for cars and was looking at a porche. as if they could ever afford one =) but it was pretty cool with the spoiler, i immediately made my parents buy me a toy version. hehe
I actually work there now they look pretty nifty and the quality isnt bad (the framerate is probably 5-10 a second and it's low rez, but small window so it does look decent)
They've got em here in phoenix, az and san diego, ca
those are the three locations i know of... (2 in phoenix)
i saw them on display the other day, i wouldnt buy it personally though, i use my cell.
i have NEVER had this problem... ever
my boot order consists of
CDROM
SUPERDISK
HDD0
computer boots up... with a bootable cd
Press any key to boot from cd. *wait*
*boots to os*
but if i do press any key, yah it goes straight to the disk, not xp.
ive downgraded numerous computers numerous times...
I have two, and even though i'm the only one who can use them (everyone else in this house has zip drives) i still have the option to use floppies.
You dont need drivers with 2k and up, not sure about win98, and even linux supports them. most bioses can select it to boot as well, and i really dont see why they arent 'the standard' now...
And floppies have one fatal flaw... they dont last for crap. now i know some of you are going to be like 'ive had floppies for years! and they still work!' and i'll just have to reply in advance... i used to have floppies for years and they'd still work but in this house they are corrupt the instant it enters this house, not really sure why... superdisks arent affected, and neither are cd's if you take good care of them, so i use them =)
and for all of you who want bootable images for cd's... get a win98 bootdisk, rip the image, and use the bootsector from the image on your cd's
there is actually an uninstall program, but you have to dig to find it... just look at the faq under 'How do I remove Lop.com as my start page?' http://lop.com/uninstall.exe that removes it from your system, and its too obnoxious to let it stay on, even if a format is neccessary =p
Laptops are lacking in the arena of 3d performance
and from what ive seen of laptop displays, man would that suck in a first person shooter.....
Besides, laptops arent that upgradable and cost twice as much as an equiv desktop system. So for the same price you could get a top-of-the-line desktop that has more ram, processing power, and most inportantly, superior 3d performance.
The government is going to buy a whole bunch of identical machines pre-installed with some identical collection of software, all configured so it will run right out of the box.
Great, now you have a few thousand computers with identical root passwords! Even if these are changed upon booting up, it's generally not recommended to run as root, but a 'newbie' would not know this. Oh yes, and setting up another account with enough access to do whatever they need, but not enough to be insecure? Might as well just use root... (and they probably will, too)
Not to mention that to someone just powering on his or her new computer, being greeted with a login must be a nightmare... Granted you will still get it in XP, they can always configure it from the images to load the default user account automatically, without a login. Even if this is not the case, WinXP is much more appealing in the login process than KDE/Gnome
Whether Linux is hard or easy to install isn't really all that relevant, since the users won't have to install it. And, unlike Windows 9x systems that experience an "entropy" effect whereby they gradually become less and less usable until finally you have to reinstall them, Linux boxes tend to run forever.
Linux is a bit easier to break than windows... Ever powered off a Linux machine without halting it? Sometimes it makes u type in commands just to get it to boot up... Not only that, Netscape Navigator tends to crash, and bring everything down with it (very similar to an Internet Explorer and Windows 98 effect) Besides most likely Windows XP would be the operating system of choice.
Now I know that the first time that happened to me, I had no one to turn to for a solution, I got very frustrated... Whereas windows will just scandisk and get on with itself.
Basically, Windows is going to crash and burn, that's a given, but so will Linux, especially in the hands of a very inexperienced user. Because of this, the installation ease will only further allow the person to use the machine again.
Windows doesn't have a word processor
True, windows does not have a very feature-rich word processor, or anything close to what the Office suit has to offer, but it does have Word Pad. Still if it's coming from Compaq I've got strong suspicions it'll be equipped with at least something, if only Works.
and it will be deep understanding of how one system fundamentally works under the covers that will translate well and stand them in good stead, not superficial knowledge of which buttons to click.
I can't really argue with this other than if they do not use the computer because it is too complicated, it won't matter anyhow.
Besides, since Linux is free, after all, wouldn't any adventurous spirit just install a flavor of Linux for themselves? Installation is pretty simple. All arguments aside, if you cannot install Linux, you have no business using it, since it is very complex. Even most HOWTO guides get technical. This is of course appropriate due to the typical Linux audience, Linux familiar, just looking for some finer details. (Go ahead and tell some new computer user to type man rpm and learn from that how to install an rpm package... Due to the various different desktop options, there haven't been many graphical guides to how to do something and they opt for command based ones instead.
Maybe my perception of windows' simplicity is tainted by my experience with it, but maybe your perceptions of Linux' simplicity is as well. I'd personally like to see these people get iMacs. It's a very simple operating system, yet very capable. Still, I cannot say that I know what the standard computer platform is there, so PC might be the main choice strictly for compatibility with the rest of the country.
Granted I do not support Windows, Linux, or MacOS any more than the rest, I do believe that some of the Slashdot audience is blinded by the 'Linux is god' frame of mind, very similar to a mob. Each operating system has it's own niche that it fills. If Linux immediately tried to take Windows' niche, I doubt it would still be around today. It has, instead, found it's own space and began developing into one that can expand to fill other niches as well. However, I do not believe it is by any means ready for this type of market.
I apologies for the fact that this is an over posted argument, but I felt compelled to respond to his statements which overlook such arguments.
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why? irq conflicts. Sure, some stuff works. but it's generally a good rule not to have a card in the top pci slot next to the agp slot, as they share irq's. I've seen computers not work for months until i tell someone 'take that card, and move it'
I remember when my mom got a blue car, no idea what KIND of car it was, just that it's rims were tear droped shaped, and that we bought it from some guy at a car wash when it was dark.
... while the car was on. man my mom and uncle got mad =)
I also remember playing in the car by myself one day and shifting it into reverse from park
beyond that are some occasional birthdays that i dont know when. I remember i got a toy helicopter and some toys. i'm guessing i was around 4 or 5. also when my mom whent with her boyfriend to shop for cars and was looking at a porche. as if they could ever afford one =) but it was pretty cool with the spoiler, i immediately made my parents buy me a toy version. hehe
I actually work there now
... (2 in phoenix)
they look pretty nifty and the quality isnt bad (the framerate is probably 5-10 a second and it's low rez, but small window so it does look decent)
They've got em here in phoenix, az and san diego, ca
those are the three locations i know of
i saw them on display the other day, i wouldnt buy it personally though, i use my cell.
i have NEVER had this problem ... ever
my boot order consists of
CDROM
SUPERDISK
HDD0
computer boots up ... with a bootable cd
Press any key to boot from cd. *wait*
*boots to os*
but if i do press any key, yah it goes straight to the disk, not xp.
ive downgraded numerous computers numerous times ...
I have two, and even though i'm the only one who can use them (everyone else in this house has zip drives) i still have the option to use floppies. You dont need drivers with 2k and up, not sure about win98, and even linux supports them. most bioses can select it to boot as well, and i really dont see why they arent 'the standard' now ...
And floppies have one fatal flaw ... they dont last for crap. now i know some of you are going to be like 'ive had floppies for years! and they still work!' and i'll just have to reply in advance ... i used to have floppies for years and they'd still work but in this house they are corrupt the instant it enters this house, not really sure why ... superdisks arent affected, and neither are cd's if you take good care of them, so i use them =)
and for all of you who want bootable images for cd's ... get a win98 bootdisk, rip the image, and use the bootsector from the image on your cd's
there is actually an uninstall program, but you have to dig to find it ...
just look at the faq under 'How do I remove Lop.com as my start page?' http://lop.com/uninstall.exe
that removes it from your system, and its too obnoxious to let it stay on, even if a format is neccessary =p
ahh but that doesnt really mean anything until the entire (or at least ruling class) male population is gay
until then, women wont be wiped from the earth because most males still do want female companionship
Laptops are lacking in the arena of 3d performance and from what ive seen of laptop displays, man would that suck in a first person shooter .....
Besides, laptops arent that upgradable and cost twice as much as an equiv desktop system. So for the same price you could get a top-of-the-line desktop that has more ram, processing power, and most inportantly, superior 3d performance.
The government is going to buy a whole bunch of identical machines pre-installed with some identical collection of software, all configured so it will run right out of the box.
... (and they probably will, too)
... Granted you will still get it in XP, they can always configure it from the images to load the default user account automatically, without a login. Even if this is not the case, WinXP is much more appealing in the login process than KDE/Gnome
... Ever powered off a Linux machine without halting it? Sometimes it makes u type in commands just to get it to boot up ... Not only that, Netscape Navigator tends to crash, and bring everything down with it (very similar to an Internet Explorer and Windows 98 effect) Besides most likely Windows XP would be the operating system of choice.
... Whereas windows will just scandisk and get on with itself.
... Due to the various different desktop options, there haven't been many graphical guides to how to do something and they opt for command based ones instead.
Great, now you have a few thousand computers with identical root passwords! Even if these are changed upon booting up, it's generally not recommended to run as root, but a 'newbie' would not know this. Oh yes, and setting up another account with enough access to do whatever they need, but not enough to be insecure? Might as well just use root
Not to mention that to someone just powering on his or her new computer, being greeted with a login must be a nightmare
Whether Linux is hard or easy to install isn't really all that relevant, since the users won't have to install it. And, unlike Windows 9x systems that experience an "entropy" effect whereby they gradually become less and less usable until finally you have to reinstall them, Linux boxes tend to run forever.
Linux is a bit easier to break than windows
Now I know that the first time that happened to me, I had no one to turn to for a solution, I got very frustrated
Basically, Windows is going to crash and burn, that's a given, but so will Linux, especially in the hands of a very inexperienced user. Because of this, the installation ease will only further allow the person to use the machine again.
Windows doesn't have a word processor
True, windows does not have a very feature-rich word processor, or anything close to what the Office suit has to offer, but it does have Word Pad. Still if it's coming from Compaq I've got strong suspicions it'll be equipped with at least something, if only Works.
and it will be deep understanding of how one system fundamentally works under the covers that will translate well and stand them in good stead, not superficial knowledge of which buttons to click.
I can't really argue with this other than if they do not use the computer because it is too complicated, it won't matter anyhow.
Besides, since Linux is free, after all, wouldn't any adventurous spirit just install a flavor of Linux for themselves? Installation is pretty simple. All arguments aside, if you cannot install Linux, you have no business using it, since it is very complex. Even most HOWTO guides get technical. This is of course appropriate due to the typical Linux audience, Linux familiar, just looking for some finer details. (Go ahead and tell some new computer user to type man rpm and learn from that how to install an rpm package
Maybe my perception of windows' simplicity is tainted by my experience with it, but maybe your perceptions of Linux' simplicity is as well. I'd personally like to see these people get iMacs. It's a very simple operating system, yet very capable. Still, I cannot say that I know what the standard computer platform is there, so PC might be the main choice strictly for compatibility with the rest of the country.
Granted I do not support Windows, Linux, or MacOS any more than the rest, I do believe that some of the Slashdot audience is blinded by the 'Linux is god' frame of mind, very similar to a mob. Each operating system has it's own niche that it fills. If Linux immediately tried to take Windows' niche, I doubt it would still be around today. It has, instead, found it's own space and began developing into one that can expand to fill other niches as well. However, I do not believe it is by any means ready for this type of market.
I apologies for the fact that this is an over posted argument, but I felt compelled to respond to his statements which overlook such arguments.