Unfortunately I have to agree with you and I run an ISP that uses linux (openna) and I use Fedora Core on my desktop. Drivers are a serious problem. Software installation has really come a long way since yum and apt-get have come along. However, seldom can one drop a CD in the drive and install a linux program.I haven't had to compile a kernel in quite some time. Here's the thing though, every distribution is just a little different. Some things are documented well and other things are horrible. Back in the day (RH5) it was not uncommon to spend a week or more on a problem. Most people are not willing to beg someone on IRC ( or would know where to beg) for help. As a general purpose desktop Os linux really does suck. However, it shines when you want to run services or learn to code. This is not what most people want to do with their computer. I can't count how many times I have had to do things in linux that a windows user would never do. Example: nvidia 3d drivers. windows: run the EXE and reboot. Linux, download tarball and extract. Edit the inittab file in/etc and change to boot to run level 3. Before you reboot make sure you have the kernel source installed in the right place or you will not be able to rebuild the kernel IE. build the driver. Reboot into init3 (CLI) and run the executable./NVIDIA***, follow the prompts and hope you have everything right. Reedit the inittab file and change run level back to 5 and reboot. When you are done with this make sure you go into xorg.conf and change the item in the nvidia FAQ that need changed and then restart X. I mean really, until these type of things get ironed out you can't expect many people to really use this OS to do their work. The value most people have in their computer is their data and how productive they are with using it. If keeping the machine running is a struggle then Linux is not worth much on a day to day basis. One thing to mention though; windows is getting very labor intensive with all the spyware and viruses. The vast majority of virus software is really bad and doesn't find everything. System restore enabled almost ensures that you will be infected multiple times. Linux can be really good once it's set up right and you are familiar with the applications you need to do your work. One thing I always keep in mind is you get what you pay for and sometimes on rare occasion a lot more.:-)
Well, you can use a floppy as a coaster. You can far more accurately hurl a floppy at a co-worker than a thumb drive. Floppy's will hold a conference room door open at less expense than a thumb drive. Finally, floppy are more fun to use as you get to travel the office looking for a drive that will actually read the damn thing.
Yes, thats nothing new. One of the reasons I buy HP machines is because they have the printhead in the cartridge. Anyone who owns a Canon and has had to replace the printhead will find it rather expensive when compared to what they paid for the printer new. What I would really like to see and would be inovation in my eyes is cheap ink. If you are going to separate print head from cartridge then someone build a cartridge that is built to be refilled easily and with cheap ink.
*/end of line/*
I run a small ISP and computer store in western Nebraska. It always comes down to what I am about write. Linux is simply far to difficult for the common windows user to operate. Many of the users that bring computers in don't even understand how to use the file system. Someone like this is not even going to be able to use yum or apt-get more less build an rpm or install from source. It's all in ease of use for most computer users. Until Linux can be used like windows by the totally clueless and you can buy or obtain packaged software from Wal-Mart Linux is a loser on the desktop. To appeal to the masses you need to be able to pop a CD in and click through a small series of questions to install things. Linux is a much more powerful OS than windows. There are thousands of tools with which you can tweak yourself silly. In *nix those tools and protection in the file system are what keeps the common computer user away from Linux. Not everyone want to know everything about their computer. Many people want to just surf the web and write some letters perhaps play a crappy game. These people are more than happy to fork over some money once in a while to get their computer unscewed. I think a lot of people just expect it. Firefox and Openoffice are good applications but you have to download them and install them and you have to learn something new. Many times this is just too much for someone to do. Even something like Linspire is not enough!
This is the truth! They want to CS phd's for 35K a year from pakistan or some other damnstan. 35K is a lot of money to someone from pakistan. In redmond it will get you a shitty apartment and a bad time. I think a company that takes in the kind of money MS does has a social obligation to hire people here first. I think a law requiring companies based in the US to have to offer visa holders the company average for the job they are applying for. This would cut out the cheap labor factor and get Bill to see that there are plenty of skilled software engineers here. I bet he already knows that though.:-)
While I agree that there are bad people everywhere I believe that sensitive data should not be sent out of this country. SSN is an example of something that is used for to many things. I think having tax returns processed oversea's is a really bad idea. Relying on other countries police forces to secure our private data is stupid! I think in time we will all find that all this outsourcing is going to change our way of life for the worse.
I always thought that a good community service activity was shoveling elephant poop at the zoo. 225 hours of poo shoveling would give this person some perspective as to the aguish they have caused!:-)
I'm using FC3 x86-64 and can't even find drivers for my 9700 pro. I would have thought by now that there would be some driver available. I'm afraid that I too will probably have to go Nvidia on the next card because of better driver support.
No, this is just Linux. I love Linux I really do and it really does have more potential than than XP. One of the things that Linux really has to work on is device drivers for new hardware. If you are runing older equipment then you will more than likely find drivers. If you are running something new, good luck!
The government is part of the problem in this. When rapists start impacting the bottom line of large corporations is when well see rapists get more jail time than a software pirate. This is yet another example of our countries justice for a fee. you can complain all day to your congressman but large corporations complain and send a check to your re-election commitee. Is what this person did wrong, yes! I also enjoy how the BSA decides how much money various software companies lose to piracy. The idea that people would buy the software at the retail prices who are stealing the software is silly. I would imagine this is there justification for taking it " it cost to much". I am not in favor of piracy and this is a big reason why I run linux. However, I also understand economics. Perhaps if windows and office and other app's were cheaper people wouldn't steal them.
I in all seriousness disagree with this. I was born in this country and I have pride in the fact that I was born here. I have done a tremedous amount to contribute to the country because it's my country! Just because I didn't have to fight to get here doesn't mean I won't fight to stay here. The most we can lay claim to is the America thats in our heads. My version will differ from your! However, I will fight for your version and mine and that I can take pride in! I disagree with your definition pride!
You have to ask yourself a few things when you read this. after most everyone loses their manufacturing and IT jobs what will we all do for work. We all can't work for hot dog on a stick! Can we? I mean if thats what I have to look forward to then it's time to leave the country or something.
They did take off here. Timex marketed them. I remember seeing these in such places as Fred Meyer and many other dept stores. I had a few of these as they were cheap and easy to program. quality wasn't all that hot. I remember putting a 16K memory card on the extender and having issues with the thing overheating. This was my first case mod as I cut a big chunk of plastic out and went to norvac and bought a fan for it. Last one of these timex machines I had was used as a door stop some years ago in my office. Oh no, I've shown my age!
Isn't it kind of sad that Jon Stewarts show speaks to a broader audience than say FOX? I also find humor in that real news media are asking his opinion on things. It's almost like it's a real news show! It isn't right.
I drink a triple latte once or twice a day. I guess I better check in the betty ford clinic huh? Perhaps my Espresso machine can be classified as drug Paraphernalia. I guess I should start collecting SSI because of my addiction. At what point did we turn into a nation of jellyfish!
I have to admit that I pretty much agree with your view. I run a small ISP. Servers I use Openna (a specialized version of redhat). It's simply the best server OS I have ever used but again it's totally customized and very secure. Windows was never an option for the server environment. I run it non-GUI and the last time I rebooted Was when the power went due to some serious work on the substation in town. However, as a desktop OS Linux needs some serious help. A good for instance is I dual boot this machine I am typing on. I have redhat EL and loaded up firefox and thunderbird. One day I discovered that firefox doesn't properly handle mailto references. After 3 hours on google and IRC I got it to sort of work properly. What I am getting at is that until the general public can make linux usable (for totally clueless) it will NEVER gain traction on the desktop. Most general users are going to give up trying to fix anything in 30 minutes. Most windows users wouldn't even try!
I'm not so sure that trying to make Linux as easy to use as windows is a great idea. Making a windows like file system and using windows like networking will ruin a good deal of Linux strengths. I don't believe that Linux needs to destroy windows. In fact it would be a good idea for MS to do things like port Office to Linux. I am still more productive using word and excel than I am using OO. However, the reason I dual boot is there are a lot of free programming tools and compilers available for linux.
I like having both OS's around. Windows I can run Quickbooks for the business and play 1942 and Linux can do all the real computing stuff! Whats the problem?
I own and opererate a wireless broadband service in western nebraska. The whole spyware malware thing has made windows almost unusable for the computer newbie. I encounter people everyday that get on the internet with their new shiney Compaq from wal-mart only to find out a week later that their browser has been hijacked and there computer is so slow (slower than it already was) that it is unusable. IMHO windows needs a pretty complete redo!
I have worked in the semiconductor industry for the past 20+ years as a process engineer. (I won't mention the companies). Chemicals I remember are as follows:
sulfuric acid
nitric acid
cromic acid
silane
phosphine
arsine
nitrous oxide
nitrogen
diborane
alcohol
zylene
there are many solvents that have proprietary recipes. MSDS will only give you contact numbers for accidental exposure.
There are many types of photoresist (known carcingen)
acetone
Nitrogen trifloride
tungsten hexafloride
SOG (spin on glass) some type of polymer supended in alcohol generally (proprietary)
There are many more. My opinion is that you are going to come into contact with all of these chemicals in small amount. You can be exposed when thin film furnaces pull, when spin tracks put chemicals on wafers, when semiconductor equipment is cleaned.It's simply going to happen no matter what safety gear is worn. I will say that FAB equipment and the clean room environment has come a long way in the time that I have been in the industry. I have seen my share of safety problems as well. Thus far I have not developed any diseases that I can attribute to the FAB (with the exception of lack of sleep).However, I can see the possibilities for serious problems.
As someone who runs a small computer store and sells computer and software linux is a hard sell. First issue is that standard hardware you buy at wal-mart must run on linux. For the most part this is true but I have had people come back and complain that their scanner doesn't run or some other piece of hardware doesn't run. I also think the idea behind lindows is a good one. The everyday computer buyer doesn't care that linux is a much more powerful operating system. People want to use their Email and write letters run a spreadsheet and send their family pictures over the net. Yes, this can all be done on Linux but not as easy as on a windows box. Until this changes Linux will be primarily used by above average computer users who want to learn how to program or want a server. Don't get me wrong I am a huge Linux fan but once again the person who wrote this article is probably right. charging something like Lindows,Suse,Redhat is a good idea and makes the novice experience much easier while also allowing the normal everyday Joe to learn more about computing. I believe that once you understand the power of *nix you simply won't want to go back.
I live in Western Nebraska (Crawford) and we just went through deer season here. What a mess! After reading this article and what I have alread learned it's apparent that trasmission of this disease is not well know and is still potentially dangerous to humans. I for one will not buy meat from packing houses that pack wild game and additional will not hunt anything and eat it.
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Unfortunately I have to agree with you and I run an ISP that uses linux (openna) and I use Fedora Core on my desktop. Drivers are a serious problem. Software installation has really come a long way since yum and apt-get have come along. However, seldom can one drop a CD in the drive and install a linux program.I haven't had to compile a kernel in quite some time. Here's the thing though, every distribution is just a little different. Some things are documented well and other things are horrible. Back in the day (RH5) it was not uncommon to spend a week or more on a problem. Most people are not willing to beg someone on IRC ( or would know where to beg) for help. As a general purpose desktop Os linux really does suck. However, it shines when you want to run services or learn to code. This is not what most people want to do with their computer. I can't count how many times I have had to do things in linux that a windows user would never do. Example: nvidia 3d drivers. windows: run the EXE and reboot. Linux, download tarball and extract. Edit the inittab file in /etc and change to boot to run level 3. Before you reboot make sure you have the kernel source installed in the right place or you will not be able to rebuild the kernel IE. build the driver. Reboot into init3 (CLI) and run the executable ./NVIDIA***, follow the prompts and hope you have everything right. Reedit the inittab file and change run level back to 5 and reboot. When you are done with this make sure you go into xorg.conf and change the item in the nvidia FAQ that need changed and then restart X. I mean really, until these type of things get ironed out you can't expect many people to really use this OS to do their work. The value most people have in their computer is their data and how productive they are with using it. If keeping the machine running is a struggle then Linux is not worth much on a day to day basis. One thing to mention though; windows is getting very labor intensive with all the spyware and viruses. The vast majority of virus software is really bad and doesn't find everything. System restore enabled almost ensures that you will be infected multiple times. Linux can be really good once it's set up right and you are familiar with the applications you need to do your work. One thing I always keep in mind is you get what you pay for and sometimes on rare occasion a lot more. :-)
Well, you can use a floppy as a coaster. You can far more accurately hurl a floppy at a co-worker than a thumb drive. Floppy's will hold a conference room door open at less expense than a thumb drive. Finally, floppy are more fun to use as you get to travel the office looking for a drive that will actually read the damn thing.
Yes, thats nothing new. One of the reasons I buy HP machines is because they have the printhead in the cartridge. Anyone who owns a Canon and has had to replace the printhead will find it rather expensive when compared to what they paid for the printer new. What I would really like to see and would be inovation in my eyes is cheap ink. If you are going to separate print head from cartridge then someone build a cartridge that is built to be refilled easily and with cheap ink. */end of line/*
I run a small ISP and computer store in western Nebraska. It always comes down to what I am about write. Linux is simply far to difficult for the common windows user to operate. Many of the users that bring computers in don't even understand how to use the file system. Someone like this is not even going to be able to use yum or apt-get more less build an rpm or install from source. It's all in ease of use for most computer users. Until Linux can be used like windows by the totally clueless and you can buy or obtain packaged software from Wal-Mart Linux is a loser on the desktop. To appeal to the masses you need to be able to pop a CD in and click through a small series of questions to install things. Linux is a much more powerful OS than windows. There are thousands of tools with which you can tweak yourself silly. In *nix those tools and protection in the file system are what keeps the common computer user away from Linux. Not everyone want to know everything about their computer. Many people want to just surf the web and write some letters perhaps play a crappy game. These people are more than happy to fork over some money once in a while to get their computer unscewed. I think a lot of people just expect it. Firefox and Openoffice are good applications but you have to download them and install them and you have to learn something new. Many times this is just too much for someone to do. Even something like Linspire is not enough!
This is the truth! They want to CS phd's for 35K a year from pakistan or some other damnstan. 35K is a lot of money to someone from pakistan. In redmond it will get you a shitty apartment and a bad time. I think a company that takes in the kind of money MS does has a social obligation to hire people here first. I think a law requiring companies based in the US to have to offer visa holders the company average for the job they are applying for. This would cut out the cheap labor factor and get Bill to see that there are plenty of skilled software engineers here. I bet he already knows that though. :-)
While I agree that there are bad people everywhere I believe that sensitive data should not be sent out of this country. SSN is an example of something that is used for to many things. I think having tax returns processed oversea's is a really bad idea. Relying on other countries police forces to secure our private data is stupid! I think in time we will all find that all this outsourcing is going to change our way of life for the worse.
I always thought that a good community service activity was shoveling elephant poop at the zoo. 225 hours of poo shoveling would give this person some perspective as to the aguish they have caused! :-)
I'm using FC3 x86-64 and can't even find drivers for my 9700 pro. I would have thought by now that there would be some driver available. I'm afraid that I too will probably have to go Nvidia on the next card because of better driver support.
No, this is just Linux. I love Linux I really do and it really does have more potential than than XP. One of the things that Linux really has to work on is device drivers for new hardware. If you are runing older equipment then you will more than likely find drivers. If you are running something new, good luck!
The government is part of the problem in this. When rapists start impacting the bottom line of large corporations is when well see rapists get more jail time than a software pirate. This is yet another example of our countries justice for a fee. you can complain all day to your congressman but large corporations complain and send a check to your re-election commitee. Is what this person did wrong, yes! I also enjoy how the BSA decides how much money various software companies lose to piracy. The idea that people would buy the software at the retail prices who are stealing the software is silly. I would imagine this is there justification for taking it " it cost to much". I am not in favor of piracy and this is a big reason why I run linux. However, I also understand economics. Perhaps if windows and office and other app's were cheaper people wouldn't steal them.
I in all seriousness disagree with this. I was born in this country and I have pride in the fact that I was born here. I have done a tremedous amount to contribute to the country because it's my country! Just because I didn't have to fight to get here doesn't mean I won't fight to stay here. The most we can lay claim to is the America thats in our heads. My version will differ from your! However, I will fight for your version and mine and that I can take pride in! I disagree with your definition pride!
You have to ask yourself a few things when you read this. after most everyone loses their manufacturing and IT jobs what will we all do for work. We all can't work for hot dog on a stick! Can we? I mean if thats what I have to look forward to then it's time to leave the country or something.
oh yah, you must mean like Bush did in 2000. :-)
Well hopefully you will get cheered.
They did take off here. Timex marketed them. I remember seeing these in such places as Fred Meyer and many other dept stores. I had a few of these as they were cheap and easy to program. quality wasn't all that hot. I remember putting a 16K memory card on the extender and having issues with the thing overheating. This was my first case mod as I cut a big chunk of plastic out and went to norvac and bought a fan for it. Last one of these timex machines I had was used as a door stop some years ago in my office. Oh no, I've shown my age!
Isn't it kind of sad that Jon Stewarts show speaks to a broader audience than say FOX? I also find humor in that real news media are asking his opinion on things. It's almost like it's a real news show! It isn't right.
I drink a triple latte once or twice a day. I guess I better check in the betty ford clinic huh? Perhaps my Espresso machine can be classified as drug Paraphernalia. I guess I should start collecting SSI because of my addiction. At what point did we turn into a nation of jellyfish!
I have to admit that I pretty much agree with your view. I run a small ISP. Servers I use Openna (a specialized version of redhat). It's simply the best server OS I have ever used but again it's totally customized and very secure. Windows was never an option for the server environment. I run it non-GUI and the last time I rebooted Was when the power went due to some serious work on the substation in town. However, as a desktop OS Linux needs some serious help. A good for instance is I dual boot this machine I am typing on. I have redhat EL and loaded up firefox and thunderbird. One day I discovered that firefox doesn't properly handle mailto references. After 3 hours on google and IRC I got it to sort of work properly. What I am getting at is that until the general public can make linux usable (for totally clueless) it will NEVER gain traction on the desktop. Most general users are going to give up trying to fix anything in 30 minutes. Most windows users wouldn't even try! I'm not so sure that trying to make Linux as easy to use as windows is a great idea. Making a windows like file system and using windows like networking will ruin a good deal of Linux strengths. I don't believe that Linux needs to destroy windows. In fact it would be a good idea for MS to do things like port Office to Linux. I am still more productive using word and excel than I am using OO. However, the reason I dual boot is there are a lot of free programming tools and compilers available for linux. I like having both OS's around. Windows I can run Quickbooks for the business and play 1942 and Linux can do all the real computing stuff! Whats the problem?
I own and opererate a wireless broadband service in western nebraska. The whole spyware malware thing has made windows almost unusable for the computer newbie. I encounter people everyday that get on the internet with their new shiney Compaq from wal-mart only to find out a week later that their browser has been hijacked and there computer is so slow (slower than it already was) that it is unusable. IMHO windows needs a pretty complete redo!
I have worked in the semiconductor industry for the past 20+ years as a process engineer. (I won't mention the companies). Chemicals I remember are as follows: sulfuric acid nitric acid cromic acid silane phosphine arsine nitrous oxide nitrogen diborane alcohol zylene there are many solvents that have proprietary recipes. MSDS will only give you contact numbers for accidental exposure. There are many types of photoresist (known carcingen) acetone Nitrogen trifloride tungsten hexafloride SOG (spin on glass) some type of polymer supended in alcohol generally (proprietary) There are many more. My opinion is that you are going to come into contact with all of these chemicals in small amount. You can be exposed when thin film furnaces pull, when spin tracks put chemicals on wafers, when semiconductor equipment is cleaned.It's simply going to happen no matter what safety gear is worn. I will say that FAB equipment and the clean room environment has come a long way in the time that I have been in the industry. I have seen my share of safety problems as well. Thus far I have not developed any diseases that I can attribute to the FAB (with the exception of lack of sleep).However, I can see the possibilities for serious problems.
As someone who runs a small computer store and sells computer and software linux is a hard sell. First issue is that standard hardware you buy at wal-mart must run on linux. For the most part this is true but I have had people come back and complain that their scanner doesn't run or some other piece of hardware doesn't run. I also think the idea behind lindows is a good one. The everyday computer buyer doesn't care that linux is a much more powerful operating system. People want to use their Email and write letters run a spreadsheet and send their family pictures over the net. Yes, this can all be done on Linux but not as easy as on a windows box. Until this changes Linux will be primarily used by above average computer users who want to learn how to program or want a server. Don't get me wrong I am a huge Linux fan but once again the person who wrote this article is probably right. charging something like Lindows,Suse,Redhat is a good idea and makes the novice experience much easier while also allowing the normal everyday Joe to learn more about computing. I believe that once you understand the power of *nix you simply won't want to go back.
I live in Western Nebraska (Crawford) and we just went through deer season here. What a mess! After reading this article and what I have alread learned it's apparent that trasmission of this disease is not well know and is still potentially dangerous to humans. I for one will not buy meat from packing houses that pack wild game and additional will not hunt anything and eat it.