Re:Keep Mozilla Simple
on
Marketing Mozilla
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· Score: 5, Interesting
Firefox is fine the ay it is but it's biggest selling point is that it is a plain jane browser that can be customised... and that isn't very sexy.
Maybe, and here you're echoing a point in the OP:
Because the new version of Internet Explorer is expected to be more competitive with Firefox, Firefox may need to evolve into more than just a browser.
The trouble with this is that they effectively killed off the original Mozilla suite because it was getting too bloated, and hence Firefox was born. Now it seems they want to add new cruft into Firefox. I guess it all goes to show that the one thing we learn from history is that nobody ever learns anything from history.
The downside is that they'll grab back the $100M from their customers at the earliest opportunity. As if their products weren't already expensive enough...
But solving that problem is a few dollars away in the form of a screen protector. It even says so in TFA. Though the link mentioning 3M just points to a NYT search page... 8-|
Superior editor? I don't use the control key in vim all that often.
Fair enough, but I use it in emacs a hell of a lot (let's agree to not bother with the emacs/vi jihad, OK?) but I personally find the best way of dealing with the caps-lock key is to map it to do nothing whatsoever. The damn thing is nothing but an inconvenience, and if I hit it by accident I really don't want it to do anything...
I've heard a couple of people whinge about the sound quality on Plantronics headsets, so that might be somewhere to start looking for that hiss. I haven't tried that headset, but I use a Logitech headset for Skype and it seems to work well - I certainly get no problems with noise or hiss.
As for the poster's insistence on "broadcast quality", that's another thing altogether, since it means different things to different people. One shouldn't expect too much from a phone conversation by comparison with a recording made in a proper studio, after all. However, having said that, he might be able to filter the noise out of his recording by using Audacity.
Do you not use checkinstall? I find that the minor quirks (occasionally resetting the permissions on/tmp to 755 for some reason) are worth dealing with for the ability to remove a package later (for updating, security holes, filesystem cleaning, etc...).
Ummm... well, no, not really. I don't use checkinstall mainly because it isn't always a very useful option. I have found (the hard way) that not all programs are amenable to such "easy" packaging solutions when kept separate (in/usr/local) from the stuff that comes with the distro.
I'm not saying it doesn't work, mind you, it's just that I've got into the habit of completely removing hand-rolled software before I install updates.
Agreed, ports might arguably be considered a bit silly, but I've been using Slackware as a desktop distro since it was SLS, and I currently use NetBSD on my home firewall/mail/print server.
Brown doesn't look good on any desktop. If I want a crap, I know where to perform the function, and it isn't at my desk.;-)
In any case, there's nothing stopping you from using a build of OOo that uses your native gtk2 widgets. The builds for Dropline Gnome (a Gnome distribution for Slackware) are a good case in point here.
Equally valid would be to say: premise 1: 30% of all traffic accidents are caused by drunk drivers... -> premise 2: Therefore, 70% of all accidents must be caused by sober drivers... -> conclusion: you are safer driving while drunk than sober.
The security in OOo's case is the fact that there exists a body of developers who are more likely to fix (or accept patches for) vulnerabilities as they are found simply as a consequence of the exposure of their code to the world's scrutiny. Microsoft has no such audit process to keep them "honest".
Just because you put 500M of source on-line doesn't mean anybody will bother downloading it.
Indeed. In my case, I start with a basic setup of my preferred distro (in my case, Slackware) and build most of the other stuff I use with the best packaging system of all:
./configure --prefix=/usr/local && make && make install
...using the sources direct from the original developers. I find this to be an easy way to keep abreast of current releases (so I don't have to worry about whether my distro has packaged it), and it conveniently keeps everything in one place for when it comes to backup time.
...In windows, users can instantly reach the floppy by going to A:\. Under Linux, you go to the/mnt/floppy mount-point, or by using a GUI shortcut to reach the floppy instead. When a user finds that typing a:\ does not work, that user would be slowed down a bit when he searches for that floppy shortcut...
Well, to be a bit brutal about it, if he is slowed down by a few nanoseconds, who cares? If Apple can get away with calling their floppy drives anything other than "A:/" without being branded as user-unfriendly, why shouldn't Linux?
As the majority of Linux distros these days come with hal/dbus (i.e automount plus some extras) included, the interface is now almost identical to that used by OS X.
Re:If all most of them are doing is surfing the ne
on
Deploying Windows Updates?
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Some people use the library computers to do work, which means users expect to read/write MS Word documents. Some of these users don't know how to use anything other than Microsoft Word and would completely panic when forced to use the "forign" OpenOffice.org
They're just not that different. If the user is incapacitated by such a small difference in the layout of menus or toolbars, then he's got more problems than any sysadmin is qualified to deal with.
The grandparent poster is right; there's nothing that legitimate library users do that can't be adequately handled by any reasonably current Linux distro. The myth that Linux can't interact with Windows was blown out of the water years ago, and continuing to repeat it simply generates more heat than light.
... which is effective for me, but I expect the reader's mileage to vary according to his or her specific circumstances.
I bought one of those mouse mats with a translucent gel wrist support. I found my trusty scissors and cut off the unnecessary mat part (i.e. the flat section that the rodent scurries about on when it is not collecting dust and crap) and threw it in the bin, leaving just the wrist support itself, which I use in combination with a very compact Microsoft Notebook Optical Mouse. Works for me...
Why would anybody have.EXE files on their webservers?.EXE's don't run on Unix.
Ummm... Believe it or not, there are lots of players out there (many of whom should know better, but let that pass) who use Winbloze machines as servers.
I think it's Microsoft's fault (partially) for making such a vulnerable system.
Indeed. I know it is possible (with a certain degree of persistence and hard work) to properly secure a Windows box, but (1) few seem to bother, and (2) it seems we have to keep doing it over and over again.
The good news, as far as I can tell, seems to be that many of those boxes are on 56K dialup connections, so they don't present much of a threat to the rest of us when they get zombied. I've more or less given up on helping out friends/relatives with such issues; I do, however, donate my time to set up a useful Linux system on their boxes.
Sure, you can take precautions, but the two just shouldn't mix!
It is quite common practice to put gas and power in the same trench. Given that most underground power cables have some 20mm+ of very tough insulation, and that there is dirt packed around both services (i.e. excluding oxygen), the risk is comparatively small.
I've seen a number of public computer kiosks that are obviously running Linux (presumably to do the job on the cheap). I suspect if the OP can find one of those, he would have at least some buffer against the most common malware and other nasty stuff that gets left lying around.
I'm all for underground power, for all its many advantages: less visual pollution, lower maintenance, less risk of deliberate disruption and so on.
There are two aspects which haven't been covered, however: 1. The cable itself is more expensive than the stuff that gets strung between posts, and 2. The power companies simply won't get it together. Where I live, there has been something of an effort to get power lines underground, but a few years ago when my street was being resurfaced, there was a nice handy trench available where a gas main was being replaced, but the power company in their wisdom (read idiocy) just went ahead and blithely replaced all the poles at the same time.
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Firefox is fine the ay it is but it's biggest selling point is that it is a plain jane browser that can be customised... and that isn't very sexy.
Maybe, and here you're echoing a point in the OP:
Because the new version of Internet Explorer is expected to be more competitive with Firefox, Firefox may need to evolve into more than just a browser.
The trouble with this is that they effectively killed off the original Mozilla suite because it was getting too bloated, and hence Firefox was born. Now it seems they want to add new cruft into Firefox. I guess it all goes to show that the one thing we learn from history is that nobody ever learns anything from history.
I also suggest you learn some manners if you want to be taken seriously in any sensible discussion.
You're new here, aren't you?
;-)
There also aren't any 500 watt flourescent bulbs, because at that power level sodium vapor lights are much more efficient.
Just an aside: there are also comparatively cheap mercury vapour lights which give a better coloured light.
Indeed, Abloy locks are the way to go. Chubb also make locks working on the same principle, but they're harder to find...
Most people use toilets more often than iPods
I can't remember the last time my iPod used the toilet...
The downside is that they'll grab back the $100M from their customers at the earliest opportunity. As if their products weren't already expensive enough...
But solving that problem is a few dollars away in the form of a screen protector.
It even says so in TFA. Though the link mentioning 3M just points to a NYT search page... 8-|
Superior editor? I don't use the control key in vim all that often.
Fair enough, but I use it in emacs a hell of a lot (let's agree to not bother with the emacs/vi jihad, OK?) but I personally find the best way of dealing with the caps-lock key is to map it to do nothing whatsoever. The damn thing is nothing but an inconvenience, and if I hit it by accident I really don't want it to do anything...
Well, I sort of do remember Deathmaze, but my vote for the greatest (and, incidententally, simplest) software goes to:...
fortune
I've heard a couple of people whinge about the sound quality on Plantronics headsets, so that might be somewhere to start looking for that hiss. I haven't tried that headset, but I use a Logitech headset for Skype and it seems to work well - I certainly get no problems with noise or hiss.
As for the poster's insistence on "broadcast quality", that's another thing altogether, since it means different things to different people. One shouldn't expect too much from a phone conversation by comparison with a recording made in a proper studio, after all. However, having said that, he might be able to filter the noise out of his recording by using Audacity.
Do you not use checkinstall? I find that the minor quirks (occasionally resetting the permissions on /tmp to 755 for some reason) are worth dealing with for the ability to remove a package later (for updating, security holes, filesystem cleaning, etc...).
/usr/local) from the stuff that comes with the distro.
Ummm... well, no, not really. I don't use checkinstall mainly because it isn't always a very useful option. I have found (the hard way) that not all programs are amenable to such "easy" packaging solutions when kept separate (in
I'm not saying it doesn't work, mind you, it's just that I've got into the habit of completely removing hand-rolled software before I install updates.
Agreed, ports might arguably be considered a bit silly, but I've been using Slackware as a desktop distro since it was SLS, and I currently use NetBSD on my home firewall/mail/print server.
Really? It doesn't fit in well on mine
;-)
Brown doesn't look good on any desktop. If I want a crap, I know where to perform the function, and it isn't at my desk.
In any case, there's nothing stopping you from using a build of OOo that uses your native gtk2 widgets. The builds for Dropline Gnome (a Gnome distribution for Slackware) are a good case in point here.
Therefore, in practice, MS Office is less secure.
Quod non erat demonstrandum.
Equally valid would be to say:
premise 1: 30% of all traffic accidents are caused by drunk drivers...
-> premise 2: Therefore, 70% of all accidents must be caused by sober drivers...
-> conclusion: you are safer driving while drunk than sober.
The security in OOo's case is the fact that there exists a body of developers who are more likely to fix (or accept patches for) vulnerabilities as they are found simply as a consequence of the exposure of their code to the world's scrutiny. Microsoft has no such audit process to keep them "honest".
The point is moot. There's not a damn thing we can do about the freeness (or otherwise) of FreeDB.
Just because you put 500M of source on-line doesn't mean anybody will bother downloading it.
./configure --prefix=/usr/local && make && make install
Indeed. In my case, I start with a basic setup of my preferred distro (in my case, Slackware) and build most of the other stuff I use with the best packaging system of all:
...using the sources direct from the original developers. I find this to be an easy way to keep abreast of current releases (so I don't have to worry about whether my distro has packaged it), and it conveniently keeps everything in one place for when it comes to backup time.
...In windows, users can instantly reach the floppy by going to A:\. Under Linux, you go to the /mnt/floppy mount-point, or by using a GUI shortcut to reach the floppy instead. When a user finds that typing a:\ does not work, that user would be slowed down a bit when he searches for that floppy shortcut...
Well, to be a bit brutal about it, if he is slowed down by a few nanoseconds, who cares? If Apple can get away with calling their floppy drives anything other than "A:/" without being branded as user-unfriendly, why shouldn't Linux?
As the majority of Linux distros these days come with hal/dbus (i.e automount plus some extras) included, the interface is now almost identical to that used by OS X.
They're just not that different. If the user is incapacitated by such a small difference in the layout of menus or toolbars, then he's got more problems than any sysadmin is qualified to deal with.
The grandparent poster is right; there's nothing that legitimate library users do that can't be adequately handled by any reasonably current Linux distro. The myth that Linux can't interact with Windows was blown out of the water years ago, and continuing to repeat it simply generates more heat than light.
... which is effective for me, but I expect the reader's mileage to vary according to his or her specific circumstances.
I bought one of those mouse mats with a translucent gel wrist support. I found my trusty scissors and cut off the unnecessary mat part (i.e. the flat section that the rodent scurries about on when it is not collecting dust and crap) and threw it in the bin, leaving just the wrist support itself, which I use in combination with a very compact Microsoft Notebook Optical Mouse. Works for me...
Why would anybody have .EXE files on their webservers? .EXE's don't run on Unix.
Ummm... Believe it or not, there are lots of players out there (many of whom should know better, but let that pass) who use Winbloze machines as servers.
Go figure...
I think it's Microsoft's fault (partially) for making such a vulnerable system.
Indeed. I know it is possible (with a certain degree of persistence and hard work) to properly secure a Windows box, but (1) few seem to bother, and (2) it seems we have to keep doing it over and over again.
The good news, as far as I can tell, seems to be that many of those boxes are on 56K dialup connections, so they don't present much of a threat to the rest of us when they get zombied. I've more or less given up on helping out friends/relatives with such issues; I do, however, donate my time to set up a useful Linux system on their boxes.
These features include but are not limited to the support for the visually impaired...
Ummm. Don't you mean vision impaired? Visually impaired sort of implies they are not so great to look at.
:-P
Sure, you can take precautions, but the two just shouldn't mix!
It is quite common practice to put gas and power in the same trench. Given that most underground power cables have some 20mm+ of very tough insulation, and that there is dirt packed around both services (i.e. excluding oxygen), the risk is comparatively small.
I've seen a number of public computer kiosks that are obviously running Linux (presumably to do the job on the cheap). I suspect if the OP can find one of those, he would have at least some buffer against the most common malware and other nasty stuff that gets left lying around.
There are two aspects which haven't been covered, however:
1. The cable itself is more expensive than the stuff that gets strung between posts, and
2. The power companies simply won't get it together. Where I live, there has been something of an effort to get power lines underground, but a few years ago when my street was being resurfaced, there was a nice handy trench available where a gas main was being replaced, but the power company in their wisdom (read idiocy) just went ahead and blithely replaced all the poles at the same time.
Am I the only one who thinks buzzwords like
burns, simpsonsdidit, whoshotmrburns, fud
are a total waste of screen space? I can't think of a single instance where this tagging has provided any useful information whatsoever.