Trust and "ugly" design does seem contradictory to me.
There's a sense of credibility lost when a site design looks a bit "unprofessional." By that, I mean something like a frontpage template, a mouseover image missing, lots of marquee tags, h1-h3 tags without css alterations, etc.
I understand also how that can mean it's more "personal" than "professional" and sure, that's credible if it's little Timmy's personal Lassie site -- but if it's something I'll be putting my info or cc num into, I'd be hitting the back button hasta pronto.
I second the ugly vs. simple sentiment. Simple does not necessarily mean ugly, and it's the simplicity that creates traffic and trust. Well, content first...but simple access and navigation to that content will definitely help.
I know Microsoft has this strange non-transferable software license thing, which would make refitting them with Windows a bit of a hassle. I guess if you've got the generosity of enough corporations (or if you want to buy licenses) Windows would be ok. Otherwise, go *nix-like for all your software needs.
If nothing else, any older pc's you get will run a bit better with a stripped down WM.
As for teaching, this will depend on how you do the machines to begin with. If you can get Windows and MS Office on them, then hey, go for it! Otherwise, you may be using Gnome, OO.org, and whatever Edubuntu supplies. If it's 14-21 then you'll probably want to teach a productivity suite more than tuxtype and tuxpaint.:)
Then there's the standard suggestion of partnering with an org that already has that type of thing set up...or maybe spin off an already existing charity.
Now was this award for his work on SAMBA or his smallish part in the whole bitkeeper debacle that led to git?
I truly do appreciate everything SAMBA has going for it and hell, hats off to Tridge, but is it kinda weird that FSF gives him this award after being almost blamed for the bitkeeper diplomatic breakdown? (especially with how vocal RMS was regarding bitkeeper's use in Linux development)
You pour a little...and if they absorb, you pour a little more. Most of the material is given through those Gates Foundation grants (I work at a library that received one of them grants a few years ago), but somewhat modified so as not to sound like an infomercial.
My perspective is that most adults are task-oriented and not really of the computer-curious type. They want to know enough to get them running -- being able to type up a letter, look up a few things on the web, and maybe figure out how to send/receive pictures of relatives.
Of course you can't jump directly to "surfing the 'net" until they've got the basics down. Give them a general idea of the parts of a computer and what they do. Don't need to go into mega detail about types of RAM, video cards, and motherboards...just enough that they understand what does what.
When I teach the stuff, I try to organize the hardware into Input/Process/Output to give them a bit of perspective. Keyboards, mice, and other input devices -- then all the processing stuff inside the box, then output devices like monitors, printers, and speakers.
From there you go into UI and the common features of just about anything there. Titlebar, menubar, scrollbar, etc. Then you go heavy on mousing and a little on the keyboarding -- what the keys are good for. Go HEAVY on the mousing. I always stress that for most users, this is like learning the alphabet...you can't move on to sentences and paragraphs unless you have the basics down.
After that, you can branch onto the different task-oriented topics. Internet would include history, a bit on structure, very brief on maybe protocols (just enough so they know the importance of standards), search engines, etc. Here you can also talk about security and various things to watch out for with a networked computer. I once had a more net-savvy crowd and I branched into more "social" issues like censorship, anonymity, file sharing, yadda yadda. Though it was fun, it was a specific audience that knew enough to contribute to the discussion.
Then you've got word processing where you have to stress the concept of highlighting/selecting things they want to work with. You've got to highlight text if you want to format it. Compare it to the old typewriters to establish familiarity, and think up cute little paradigms to help them understand what's going on. This isn't the place for emacs and vi either.:)
So in the end you pour a little, and pour a little more if they want more info. In the end, it's about getting them started, giving them enough confidence so they don't fear the damn things (but fear it enough so they don't go around doing stupid things with it), then letting them know that if they're really interested, there's oodles more information out there.
I think the new firefox (1.5) has a Ctrl-Shift-Delete hotkey thing to clear cookies, history, and a few other things. Pretty neat, actually. Haven't found an equivalent quick-stop privacy cleaning thing in IE nor Konqueror...though I must admit I haven't really looked too hard on IE since Firefox came around.:)
Damned if they send out patches as they're made (too many, too confusing) and damned if they wait 'til Patch Tuesday (negligent, inconsiderate).
We can't have it both ways, and neither should they. I say send out patches as they're made and let the sysadmins be responsible for whether they can keep up or not. It may be difficult to admin many machines that have to be patched but I'd rather have fixes available ASAP and put the burden on IT to apply them.
Yeah, there are patches that will break stuff and ample testing should be done anyway...but does rolling them all into a Patch Tuesday really change that fact? Probably not.
With this sentiment, we can put more pressure on Patch Tuesday for what it really is -- a Trustworthy Computing PR stunt in which the number of fixes and vulnerabilities seems to be lower (since we're only patching once a month...maybe).
All that said, kudos to MS for reacting...but unkudos for taking this long...and major unkudos for being naive about the WMF design to begin with.
The point is that for every innovation presented to the masses, there is a commercialization, and inevitably, a complete bastardization of the original concept. Even you point this out.
It is more a statement against human nature than it is about the vision of one man.
At a public library computer lab, the most common use of the machines is people gawking at other people's pictures on myspace. At any given time, this is about 70 percent of the usage.
Though I'm definitely thankful for this wonderful thing that Sir Tim envisioned, there's a part of me that suffers a bit. For every tool created, there are good uses and bad uses, and yeah I know I'm probably not fit to decide which category myspace belongs in...but I bet that what we most commonly use the web for nowadays is not what even Sir Tim had in mind.
Anyhoo, filling out a request shouldn't require your Social Security number, I'd imagine. Aren't good ol' interlibrary loans done based on name/address/phone information? Then again, I'd think the DHS wouldn't need an SSN if they've got everyting else. Give 'em a reason and they're there. No need to click your heels three times.
At the local library, information is kept only on books you have out on loan -- so they know what's been borrowed and needs to be returned. Once the book is returned, the record supposedly goes away. That way, there's no tracking of anyone's book-borrowing patterns.
Now whether a nightly database backup or whatnot exists is another story. It would be relatively trivial to piece together enough of that info to come up with something.
Needless to say, this is just another recent transition from witch to communist to terrorist. Same general idea, different era.
HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray, Xbox 360 vs. PS3, and then there's Microsoft's move into the music business. Must say there's not many things more satisfying than pointing out (and fixing) the wrongdoings of the "competition" -- ain't that right, fellow slashbots?
Wow, I wasn't sure when slashbank was gonna start but hell, it must've been that AOL partnership I read on an e-mail from that one dude in Nigeria.
Here ya go, sign me up!
Jay Eberlin 1313 Feniculi Fenicula Ave. Walla Walla, WA
BofA checking account 5719301250113
I'll get a confirmation e-mail when it's set up, right? I'm t3h_c001357_d00d@aol.com but you already knew that. Thanks, dude! Man, it's rare finding such awesome customer service these days.
I'm not a programmer by trade nor have I seriously coded in a long while. Doing mostly PHP for fun nowadays. Learning a programming language is simple enough unless you want to get to the nitty gritty specifics of it -- mostly pre-written stuff to remember, import, and instantiate.
Conditionals will be conditionals, loops will be loops, and there are a few quirks here and there for each language that will be easy enough to remember and forget. Whatever language you code in, write like you're writing it for someone else. It's easy to forget that when you're just one programmer writing code to be reviewed by your instructor.
Use lots of good comments, use meaningful variable names, and choose to write clearer code vs. "slicker" hacks. That will remain true for whatever language you're subjected to.
Learn VB if you have to, but be prepared to resist all that hand-holding because other programming languages don't cuddle you as much.
I would imagine it to be too costly to do gaming on a laptop. The heat issue, graphics cards that can't be upgraded, and power consumption in general would be too much. I suppose if you could afford it, why not, right?
For me, though, the laptop isn't a gaming platform. It'll run Unreal Tournament II decently, but Enemy Territory runs at maybe 20fps max (10fps average). Yeah, it's not high-powered...it's also not too upgradeable. Definitely not as tweakable as a good ol' desktop. If by "gaming" you mean an occasional bout of Frozen Bubble, then sure, why not? Anything needing more oomph, probably not.
Maybe there's a market for it out there, like there's a market for high-priced luxury cars. All I know is that I'm not its intended target 'cause I couldn't afford a gaming laptop nor could I justify preferring one over a desktop for gaming.
You'd want to plug it into a bigger monitor anyway. You'd need a power outlet for extended gameplay. You'll need a table to set it on 'cause it'll be really WARM from all that processing/spinning. You'll most likely plug in a USB optical mouse with one of those gaming mousepads. Did I mention you'll have a hard time upgrading the graphics card? In the end, you might as well have a desktop.
A good break in general will clear the mind often enough to get unstuck on some problem. Coffee is optional. I often find that walking around (even just in the room) with a stress-ball, and talking aloud to myself will reveal solutions that wouldn't have otherwise shown up if I were buried too deep in the code.
That and something to scribble on. Either lots of paper or a whiteboard. Whiteboards are cool for getting your thoughts organized. Unfortunately you can't make printouts afterwards...but a good digital camera snapshot of a whiteboard will give you enough to remind you of what you thought up.
The general hint -- give yourself some time to step back from the problem. There are times when it's good to bury yourself in the code and times when it's better to think things through away from the code.
Granted that unrealistic ambition goes nowhere, and yes we're all detractors of the borg here, but there are enough decision makers out there that will buy into the hype. "Oooh, microsoft is down right now but that just means they're going to come back in a big way. They always do."
If Bill Gates says that HIS ambition would be to be an "astronaut-playboy-robot-vampire that fights crime and plays lead guitar in his own thrash metal band on the weekends" I think he just might have the resources to do it.
As for going with something bigger than Google search, it might be unlikely because of their corporate culture and how they just don't "get it" -- but that doesn't mean Google shouldn't rest on their laurels lest we forget the follies of Netscape. GOOG: defend the lead, extend the lead...and do no evil.:)
If nothing else, I've got a recent (if not latest) version of Knoppix and the latest Ubuntu LiveCD, which pretty much covers most of my needs in a disaster...whether it's an actual need for a bootable machine for internet access and word processing...or actually getting information out of a HDD when the underlying OS got borked one way or another.
The article goes on to feature the other quickfix distros including DamnSmallLinux and the LTSP to get a bunch of networked PCs up and running quickly.
In a disaster, I must say that content filtering (and possibly time management) aren't my priorities but I guess to keep some sense and order on things, they're needed. However, something to boot with, something to get networking with, something to type something with, and something to save information to would make up my computing needs when some disaster hits.
I've shared the same sentiment for a while now -- having hopped distros from RHAT to MDK to Ubuntu. Red Hat is THE brand-name Linux distro (at least here in the US). Then it spun off the Fedora project in the name of community building...which created a great backlash (Fedora being RHAT Enterprise Beta, etc.)
RHAT eventually moved to using SELinux, which seems like a great bold idea...and really put the impression of security onto something that's already more secure than Windows.
For a while, they were reluctant to join the LSB (being the big fish, it seems they didn't really NEED to play by anyone else's rules)...much to the dismay of a few geeks who believed that the LSB would create better interoperability in Linux distros.
In the end, though, there's a great deal of "grassroots" folks pulling for Linux...and lots of distros available. While Novell/Suse/Ximian comes very close to being corporate Linux, Red Hat still has the branding for being "The Man." Given the nature of Linux and Free Software in general, we're very wary of The Man...and would rather cheer for something less "corporate."
There be no treasure here, matey! Arrrr. If tis pirates they seek, tis pirates they find in these high seas. Arrrr.
The land lubbers be afterrr us for piracy, but I swear on my right eyepatch that we be faring better than the fate of walking the plank. Arrrrr.
Baidu be giving treasure maps to this here loot and booty (points with hook hand) but for all the enterprising yellowbeards, we have ways to bury our pirate gold. Arrrr.
"Old pirates, yes, they rob i; Sold I to the merchant ships, Minutes after they took i From the bottomless pit."
As interesting and possibly informative as this is, there are a few things that would be nice if you're going on a coding marathon or whatnot. I'd want the following:
1) a really comfortable chair. Don't care what brand but something that'll be nice to sit on for an extended period of time.
2) an L-shaped table for the convenient amount of accesible room it gives.
3) a big enough LCD monitor to look at code in.
4) decent ambient lighting
5) a nearby reference bookshelf with all the o'reily stuff on whatever languages you're interested in.
6) enough desk space to doodle/plan/etc. with that paper and pencil thing you suggested.
7) isolation from any other distractions -- no gaming rigs, consoles, etc.
8) an exception to 7. You gotta make room for tunes if you're into coding with background music on.
9) enough space around the desk to walk around in. On occasion, I pace around and talk to myself when I'm thinking things through.
10) stress ball
Ok, so I'm not an everyday coder nor do I play one on TV...but if I had to build the ultimate coding rig, I would've kept those things in mind.
However much I love the way you can do that apt-get update/upgrade bit, synaptic, and even that alert thingy you get with Ubuntu about new updates, I do think we could learn a bit from the whole "smaller patches" thing.
Cases in point -- I understand that they're working on incremental patching for Firefox for the future release. Currently, if you want an update, you download the entire program again. Did they ever get that multiple uninstall icons in Windows thing fixed? I usually download the latest ver, uninstall the old one, then install the newer one where I formerly had to dig around in the registry to get rid of those extra "add/remove" entries.
Most of a distro's packages (if not all of 'em) work on the same principle of downloading the new one, uninstalling the old one, and installing the new. Fine and well if it's a small lib or something. Pretty bad when you've got to get security updates for the guts of KDE or OpenOffice.
I guess this may be one of the consequences of software choice/freedom. Many architectures, different options, different circumstances prevent one generalized small patching system. Have to take the whole thing out and plop a new one in.
Out of curiosity, how does something like a Gentoo deal with security patches and bugfixes? Would they need to recompile each time? That would be a bigger drag than an apt-get update.
If it's anything like FEMA, they'll show up 5 days later with a fire extinguisher long after your server has turned into a smoldering heap from the Category 5 slashdotting.
"n00b" edition: one button interface for everything labeled "Do whatever you think is best for me" which in turn borks their files, takes out a couple grand from their bank accounts and deposits over to MS, infects them with multiple viruses, and then sends out slutty pictures of their daughter onto myspace.com
"Red State" edition: a bit like the n00b edition except it's done by the government...all in the name of Jesus. It won't GPF or BSOD or whatever. It'll still fsck up all the time but will just go about its biz never admitting it screwed up at all.
"Really Spiffy" edition: has an animated IE button.
"Slashdot Editor" edition: built in spellcheck (intentionally borked), automatically resummarizes stories and posts them a minimum of two times in a day. Uses a cowboyneal screensaver.
"G4 Extreme" edition: all look, no substance, and supposedly for the technically elite. Has ctrl, alt, del keys in neon green.
"Gates Foundation" edition: all the features of Ultimate Super Duper Extreme EX Plus Alpha edition given as free crack to the underprivelaged. Except you only get 3 features at once...default features enabled are "Video Display" "Keyboard input" and "Mouse input" -- disable one and you can print, use a modem, or even play a CD!
Slashdot Mirror
Trust and "ugly" design does seem contradictory to me.
There's a sense of credibility lost when a site design looks a bit "unprofessional." By that, I mean something like a frontpage template, a mouseover image missing, lots of marquee tags, h1-h3 tags without css alterations, etc.
I understand also how that can mean it's more "personal" than "professional" and sure, that's credible if it's little Timmy's personal Lassie site -- but if it's something I'll be putting my info or cc num into, I'd be hitting the back button hasta pronto.
I second the ugly vs. simple sentiment. Simple does not necessarily mean ugly, and it's the simplicity that creates traffic and trust. Well, content first...but simple access and navigation to that content will definitely help.
I know Microsoft has this strange non-transferable software license thing, which would make refitting them with Windows a bit of a hassle. I guess if you've got the generosity of enough corporations (or if you want to buy licenses) Windows would be ok. Otherwise, go *nix-like for all your software needs.
:)
If nothing else, any older pc's you get will run a bit better with a stripped down WM.
As for teaching, this will depend on how you do the machines to begin with. If you can get Windows and MS Office on them, then hey, go for it! Otherwise, you may be using Gnome, OO.org, and whatever Edubuntu supplies. If it's 14-21 then you'll probably want to teach a productivity suite more than tuxtype and tuxpaint.
Then there's the standard suggestion of partnering with an org that already has that type of thing set up...or maybe spin off an already existing charity.
Now was this award for his work on SAMBA or his smallish part in the whole bitkeeper debacle that led to git?
I truly do appreciate everything SAMBA has going for it and hell, hats off to Tridge, but is it kinda weird that FSF gives him this award after being almost blamed for the bitkeeper diplomatic breakdown? (especially with how vocal RMS was regarding bitkeeper's use in Linux development)
You pour a little...and if they absorb, you pour a little more. Most of the material is given through those Gates Foundation grants (I work at a library that received one of them grants a few years ago), but somewhat modified so as not to sound like an infomercial.
:)
:)
My perspective is that most adults are task-oriented and not really of the computer-curious type. They want to know enough to get them running -- being able to type up a letter, look up a few things on the web, and maybe figure out how to send/receive pictures of relatives.
Of course you can't jump directly to "surfing the 'net" until they've got the basics down. Give them a general idea of the parts of a computer and what they do. Don't need to go into mega detail about types of RAM, video cards, and motherboards...just enough that they understand what does what.
When I teach the stuff, I try to organize the hardware into Input/Process/Output to give them a bit of perspective. Keyboards, mice, and other input devices -- then all the processing stuff inside the box, then output devices like monitors, printers, and speakers.
From there you go into UI and the common features of just about anything there. Titlebar, menubar, scrollbar, etc. Then you go heavy on mousing and a little on the keyboarding -- what the keys are good for. Go HEAVY on the mousing. I always stress that for most users, this is like learning the alphabet...you can't move on to sentences and paragraphs unless you have the basics down.
After that, you can branch onto the different task-oriented topics. Internet would include history, a bit on structure, very brief on maybe protocols (just enough so they know the importance of standards), search engines, etc. Here you can also talk about security and various things to watch out for with a networked computer. I once had a more net-savvy crowd and I branched into more "social" issues like censorship, anonymity, file sharing, yadda yadda. Though it was fun, it was a specific audience that knew enough to contribute to the discussion.
Then you've got word processing where you have to stress the concept of highlighting/selecting things they want to work with. You've got to highlight text if you want to format it. Compare it to the old typewriters to establish familiarity, and think up cute little paradigms to help them understand what's going on. This isn't the place for emacs and vi either.
So in the end you pour a little, and pour a little more if they want more info. In the end, it's about getting them started, giving them enough confidence so they don't fear the damn things (but fear it enough so they don't go around doing stupid things with it), then letting them know that if they're really interested, there's oodles more information out there.
Good luck.
I think the new firefox (1.5) has a Ctrl-Shift-Delete hotkey thing to clear cookies, history, and a few other things. Pretty neat, actually. Haven't found an equivalent quick-stop privacy cleaning thing in IE nor Konqueror...though I must admit I haven't really looked too hard on IE since Firefox came around. :)
Damned if they send out patches as they're made (too many, too confusing) and damned if they wait 'til Patch Tuesday (negligent, inconsiderate).
We can't have it both ways, and neither should they. I say send out patches as they're made and let the sysadmins be responsible for whether they can keep up or not. It may be difficult to admin many machines that have to be patched but I'd rather have fixes available ASAP and put the burden on IT to apply them.
Yeah, there are patches that will break stuff and ample testing should be done anyway...but does rolling them all into a Patch Tuesday really change that fact? Probably not.
With this sentiment, we can put more pressure on Patch Tuesday for what it really is -- a Trustworthy Computing PR stunt in which the number of fixes and vulnerabilities seems to be lower (since we're only patching once a month...maybe).
All that said, kudos to MS for reacting...but unkudos for taking this long...and major unkudos for being naive about the WMF design to begin with.
The point is that for every innovation presented to the masses, there is a commercialization, and inevitably, a complete bastardization of the original concept. Even you point this out.
It is more a statement against human nature than it is about the vision of one man.
At a public library computer lab, the most common use of the machines is people gawking at other people's pictures on myspace. At any given time, this is about 70 percent of the usage.
Though I'm definitely thankful for this wonderful thing that Sir Tim envisioned, there's a part of me that suffers a bit. For every tool created, there are good uses and bad uses, and yeah I know I'm probably not fit to decide which category myspace belongs in...but I bet that what we most commonly use the web for nowadays is not what even Sir Tim had in mind.
Oooh, creepy!
Anyhoo, filling out a request shouldn't require your Social Security number, I'd imagine. Aren't good ol' interlibrary loans done based on name/address/phone information? Then again, I'd think the DHS wouldn't need an SSN if they've got everyting else. Give 'em a reason and they're there. No need to click your heels three times.
At the local library, information is kept only on books you have out on loan -- so they know what's been borrowed and needs to be returned. Once the book is returned, the record supposedly goes away. That way, there's no tracking of anyone's book-borrowing patterns.
Now whether a nightly database backup or whatnot exists is another story. It would be relatively trivial to piece together enough of that info to come up with something.
Needless to say, this is just another recent transition from witch to communist to terrorist. Same general idea, different era.
Ain't it a little early to look back at the week in nerdy news? Or is it just slashdot's way of getting all the dupes done and over with?
HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray, Xbox 360 vs. PS3, and then there's Microsoft's move into the music business. Must say there's not many things more satisfying than pointing out (and fixing) the wrongdoings of the "competition" -- ain't that right, fellow slashbots?
Wow, I wasn't sure when slashbank was gonna start but hell, it must've been that AOL partnership I read on an e-mail from that one dude in Nigeria.
Here ya go, sign me up!
Jay Eberlin
1313 Feniculi Fenicula Ave.
Walla Walla, WA
BofA checking account
5719301250113
I'll get a confirmation e-mail when it's set up, right? I'm t3h_c001357_d00d@aol.com but you already knew that. Thanks, dude! Man, it's rare finding such awesome customer service these days.
lol, that is SO my real info!
I'm not a programmer by trade nor have I seriously coded in a long while. Doing mostly PHP for fun nowadays. Learning a programming language is simple enough unless you want to get to the nitty gritty specifics of it -- mostly pre-written stuff to remember, import, and instantiate.
Conditionals will be conditionals, loops will be loops, and there are a few quirks here and there for each language that will be easy enough to remember and forget. Whatever language you code in, write like you're writing it for someone else. It's easy to forget that when you're just one programmer writing code to be reviewed by your instructor.
Use lots of good comments, use meaningful variable names, and choose to write clearer code vs. "slicker" hacks. That will remain true for whatever language you're subjected to.
Learn VB if you have to, but be prepared to resist all that hand-holding because other programming languages don't cuddle you as much.
I would imagine it to be too costly to do gaming on a laptop. The heat issue, graphics cards that can't be upgraded, and power consumption in general would be too much. I suppose if you could afford it, why not, right?
For me, though, the laptop isn't a gaming platform. It'll run Unreal Tournament II decently, but Enemy Territory runs at maybe 20fps max (10fps average). Yeah, it's not high-powered...it's also not too upgradeable. Definitely not as tweakable as a good ol' desktop. If by "gaming" you mean an occasional bout of Frozen Bubble, then sure, why not? Anything needing more oomph, probably not.
Maybe there's a market for it out there, like there's a market for high-priced luxury cars. All I know is that I'm not its intended target 'cause I couldn't afford a gaming laptop nor could I justify preferring one over a desktop for gaming.
You'd want to plug it into a bigger monitor anyway. You'd need a power outlet for extended gameplay. You'll need a table to set it on 'cause it'll be really WARM from all that processing/spinning. You'll most likely plug in a USB optical mouse with one of those gaming mousepads. Did I mention you'll have a hard time upgrading the graphics card? In the end, you might as well have a desktop.
A good break in general will clear the mind often enough to get unstuck on some problem. Coffee is optional. I often find that walking around (even just in the room) with a stress-ball, and talking aloud to myself will reveal solutions that wouldn't have otherwise shown up if I were buried too deep in the code.
That and something to scribble on. Either lots of paper or a whiteboard. Whiteboards are cool for getting your thoughts organized. Unfortunately you can't make printouts afterwards...but a good digital camera snapshot of a whiteboard will give you enough to remind you of what you thought up.
The general hint -- give yourself some time to step back from the problem. There are times when it's good to bury yourself in the code and times when it's better to think things through away from the code.
Granted that unrealistic ambition goes nowhere, and yes we're all detractors of the borg here, but there are enough decision makers out there that will buy into the hype. "Oooh, microsoft is down right now but that just means they're going to come back in a big way. They always do."
:)
If Bill Gates says that HIS ambition would be to be an "astronaut-playboy-robot-vampire that fights crime and plays lead guitar in his own thrash metal band on the weekends" I think he just might have the resources to do it.
As for going with something bigger than Google search, it might be unlikely because of their corporate culture and how they just don't "get it" -- but that doesn't mean Google shouldn't rest on their laurels lest we forget the follies of Netscape. GOOG: defend the lead, extend the lead...and do no evil.
This is just slashdot trying to milk Linux's popularity.
I wonder how many anonymous COWards we'll have posting for this one.
Does the distro have cowsay preinstalled?
Lots of mootivated developers contributed to the project.
To code is human -- to milk bovine
I call bull -- this is udder nonsense!
Alternate headline: Tux gets creamed!
Microsoft claims Linux is Cancer
Google uses Linux
Microsoft repeats claims that Google cures Cancer
To cure cancer, you make cancer go away.
Therefore Microsoft claims Google will make Linux go away.
Since I like Linux, should I be using MSN search then?
If nothing else, I've got a recent (if not latest) version of Knoppix and the latest Ubuntu LiveCD, which pretty much covers most of my needs in a disaster...whether it's an actual need for a bootable machine for internet access and word processing...or actually getting information out of a HDD when the underlying OS got borked one way or another.
The article goes on to feature the other quickfix distros including DamnSmallLinux and the LTSP to get a bunch of networked PCs up and running quickly.
In a disaster, I must say that content filtering (and possibly time management) aren't my priorities but I guess to keep some sense and order on things, they're needed. However, something to boot with, something to get networking with, something to type something with, and something to save information to would make up my computing needs when some disaster hits.
I've shared the same sentiment for a while now -- having hopped distros from RHAT to MDK to Ubuntu. Red Hat is THE brand-name Linux distro (at least here in the US). Then it spun off the Fedora project in the name of community building...which created a great backlash (Fedora being RHAT Enterprise Beta, etc.)
RHAT eventually moved to using SELinux, which seems like a great bold idea...and really put the impression of security onto something that's already more secure than Windows.
For a while, they were reluctant to join the LSB (being the big fish, it seems they didn't really NEED to play by anyone else's rules)...much to the dismay of a few geeks who believed that the LSB would create better interoperability in Linux distros.
In the end, though, there's a great deal of "grassroots" folks pulling for Linux...and lots of distros available. While Novell/Suse/Ximian comes very close to being corporate Linux, Red Hat still has the branding for being "The Man." Given the nature of Linux and Free Software in general, we're very wary of The Man...and would rather cheer for something less "corporate."
There be no treasure here, matey! Arrrr. If tis pirates they seek, tis pirates they find in these high seas. Arrrr.
The land lubbers be afterrr us for piracy, but I swear on my right eyepatch that we be faring better than the fate of walking the plank. Arrrrr.
Baidu be giving treasure maps to this here loot and booty (points with hook hand) but for all the enterprising yellowbeards, we have ways to bury our pirate gold. Arrrr.
"Old pirates, yes, they rob i;
Sold I to the merchant ships,
Minutes after they took i
From the bottomless pit."
-- Redemption Song (Bob Marley)
As interesting and possibly informative as this is, there are a few things that would be nice if you're going on a coding marathon or whatnot. I'd want the following:
1) a really comfortable chair. Don't care what brand but something that'll be nice to sit on for an extended period of time.
2) an L-shaped table for the convenient amount of accesible room it gives.
3) a big enough LCD monitor to look at code in.
4) decent ambient lighting
5) a nearby reference bookshelf with all the o'reily stuff on whatever languages you're interested in.
6) enough desk space to doodle/plan/etc. with that paper and pencil thing you suggested.
7) isolation from any other distractions -- no gaming rigs, consoles, etc.
8) an exception to 7. You gotta make room for tunes if you're into coding with background music on.
9) enough space around the desk to walk around in. On occasion, I pace around and talk to myself when I'm thinking things through.
10) stress ball
Ok, so I'm not an everyday coder nor do I play one on TV...but if I had to build the ultimate coding rig, I would've kept those things in mind.
On a more serious note...
However much I love the way you can do that apt-get update/upgrade bit, synaptic, and even that alert thingy you get with Ubuntu about new updates, I do think we could learn a bit from the whole "smaller patches" thing.
Cases in point -- I understand that they're working on incremental patching for Firefox for the future release. Currently, if you want an update, you download the entire program again. Did they ever get that multiple uninstall icons in Windows thing fixed? I usually download the latest ver, uninstall the old one, then install the newer one where I formerly had to dig around in the registry to get rid of those extra "add/remove" entries.
Most of a distro's packages (if not all of 'em) work on the same principle of downloading the new one, uninstalling the old one, and installing the new. Fine and well if it's a small lib or something. Pretty bad when you've got to get security updates for the guts of KDE or OpenOffice.
I guess this may be one of the consequences of software choice/freedom. Many architectures, different options, different circumstances prevent one generalized small patching system. Have to take the whole thing out and plop a new one in.
Out of curiosity, how does something like a Gentoo deal with security patches and bugfixes? Would they need to recompile each time? That would be a bigger drag than an apt-get update.
If it's anything like FEMA, they'll show up 5 days later with a fire extinguisher long after your server has turned into a smoldering heap from the Category 5 slashdotting.
I feel compelled to expound...
"n00b" edition: one button interface for everything labeled "Do whatever you think is best for me" which in turn borks their files, takes out a couple grand from their bank accounts and deposits over to MS, infects them with multiple viruses, and then sends out slutty pictures of their daughter onto myspace.com
"Red State" edition: a bit like the n00b edition except it's done by the government...all in the name of Jesus. It won't GPF or BSOD or whatever. It'll still fsck up all the time but will just go about its biz never admitting it screwed up at all.
"Really Spiffy" edition: has an animated IE button.
"Slashdot Editor" edition: built in spellcheck (intentionally borked), automatically resummarizes stories and posts them a minimum of two times in a day. Uses a cowboyneal screensaver.
"G4 Extreme" edition: all look, no substance, and supposedly for the technically elite. Has ctrl, alt, del keys in neon green.
"Gates Foundation" edition: all the features of Ultimate Super Duper Extreme EX Plus Alpha edition given as free crack to the underprivelaged. Except you only get 3 features at once...default features enabled are "Video Display" "Keyboard input" and "Mouse input" -- disable one and you can print, use a modem, or even play a CD!