Back in the early '90's there was a store in Houston that exclusively sold Sony products. That store was wonderful because you could get two things there you couldn't get anywhere else in town: rare Sony products and just about ANY accessory for any product Sony made. They helped you get Sony products fixed, they ordered anything you would want, and everyone that worked there was passionate about their product line. It was like going to a high end camera shop where there really weren't any "salesmen", just enthusiasts. I've been in the Sony store in Houston's Galleria shopping mall. Really, I wasn't that impressed. I really don't like stores like this. I can live without the "Bose Store" or the "Apple Store" as well.
The thing is that Sony is no longer a premium brand. Their computers aren't the best, their TV's aren't the best, and their Hi-Fi equipment is total crap. For equivalent prices you can get a Yamaha receiver for Hi-Fi, a Samsung DLP television that looks better, and an IBM or Apple notebook. Sony just doesn't have the appeal it had when they used to make those great machined aluminum DiscMan CD players of the '90s.
I could go on, but Sony just doesn't do it for me anymore. The only Sony products that could really save their ass in the eyes of enthusiats are their camcorders and video game consoles. Those are the only two pieces of Sony equipment I use anymore. When I was younger, I would buy just about anything that said Sony, because I knew it was the best when it came to high tech gadgets. That is no longer a certainty. Sony has blown it. They are the "Jack of all trades, master of none."
Have you ever heard of development costs?
The software you use cost a TON of money to develop, and has a relatively small customer base compared to the hardware it runs on. Remember, all the web surfers in the world will be using the same type of hardware you're using, while a select few people actually NEED the software you're using. So, sure the software is expensive. The point is, that software is the real tool. The hardware is the platform.
If you're running all that software on one $1000 computer, then I pity your customers for your productivity.
Software is pirated because it CAN be pirated. You're gonna have a hard time pirating silicon. This is the prime difference between SOFTware and HARDware. Trust this, if Linux weren't open source, people would pirate it. People pirate software they will never use to it's full extent either. I wonder how many people have pirated copies of Autocad that they really don't know how to use at all. How many pirated copies of photoshop are used just for resizeing and converting image types?
Why do people steal things? That's a real question. They steal what they think they "deserve". It's a real bullshit mentality. At least in the case of stealing Windows XP, people really do get what they deserve.
Sorry I'm going on so long here, but new ideas keep popping up. Yes, I'm suffering from post before you think right now. Maybe it boils down to laziness. People will steal Windows XP before they learn to run Linux. People will steal Photoshop before they find out what other options that exist for less money or for free, as in The Gimp.
So, who are the real assholes? Sure, Ballmer makes some pretty outrageous statements and basically exists to ruin the good names of the software developers and geniuses that work for him. But, the real assholes are the unwashed masses that allow companies like Microsoft to make products that actually push up the cost of hardware by being bloated and full of useless "features". Let's face it, without customers, a company means nothing. This is not to let MS off the hook entirely though, they do everything in their power (too much power) to keep customers "loyal".
As stated in Full Metal Jacket, "It's a huge shit sandwich, and we're all going to have to take a bite."
But that's not entirely true either. Believe it or not, Microsoft actually "helps" open source users by forcing an increase in the power of hardware systems. My Linux box really flies on some pretty cheap hardware. It's just a P3 1GHz/512MB RAM/GeForce 5200 and it runs great. Most people wouldn't even purchase a system with those specs if they saw it in a store. I'll tell you what, I bet it runs better than most P4 systems sold with windows in most cases the average user comes across. It's not that I can't afford a fast computer, I'm writing this on a G4 Aluminum PowerBook, a computer I was proud to pay a ton of money for.
Anyway, Ballmer, you may be right, statistically, but philisophically, you're dead wrong man.
Matt
Hate to say it, but who the fuck did Ben Franklin think he was. It's not up to any man to tell any other man what he does or does not deserve. That doesn't even agree with Ben Franklin's own spiritual beliefs. I would never want that quote related to my name.
Oh and that Carl Sagan saying... I say, give 'em an inch, they'll take a mile.
Umm, that's odd because I still run an NT alpha machine (500MHz PWS500a) and with all the cheap stuff available for Alpha on eBay, The machine still outruns my 1GHz PIII when it comes to rendering in Lightwave and has very snappy performance.
Why not just run BSD natively? Maybe you really like Garage Band or all that other wonderful OSX specific software.
Okay Mr. Snerdley. Yes, I do understand that you might want to develop for a Mac. Unless you "REALLY NEED" OSX for the sofware you're writing, OSX will support your Linux software with a recompile.
BTW, I'm writing this to you from my Mac.:)
Did you fight in Vietnam? Bush is a dick?
So, Bush did what he could to stay out of Vietnam, and liberals attack him for this?
Ummm...
1. EVERYBODY was wrong about the war in Vietnam. That was a messed up time in recent history. I'd say the communists that slaughtered 2million cambodian civilians were the most wrong, but wtf?
2. Dude, where was Clinton during the Vietnam War? Oh ya, Great Britain
3. When was the last time George Bush...
f-this posting bs, I'm off to write my own blog, and, if you don't understand my logic there, well, I feel sorry for your family and friends
1. They went to a known Bush hater and known liar for documents pertaining to his military service.
2. No documents were known to exist
3. They didn't verify the documents
4. They spent days saying they were right, against all the evidence
5. They blamed the whole thing on Burkett, they didn't "admit" anything
An honest mistake is a mistake in which you had NO INTENTION OF HARM. That is not the case here.
Okay, I'm writing this reply on my Mac, but my windows xp computer is right behind me. The thing is that Windows XP machines do have a nasty way of getting unstable when programming distributed programs w/ SQL Server/Visual Studio/Javascript/Debuggers and such running all the time. Then throw a couple custom vb dlls into the mix, and yes, that's when windows sucks.
I, just now, was writing my reasons for still having a computer that runs Windows XP, and CRAP, every reason I have is useless. I litterally stumped myself.
I guess the point I'm trying to make about is about failures anyway. Okay, I'm an expert, so that makes my data a little useless. But... My XP machine gives me errors and warnings so few times that I really believe that there are more USER errors in windows because there are probably a higher percentage of uninformed users running windows than any other OS.
Common User Errors
1. Installing reputationless or shotty shareware... big no no... that KaZaa program is probably a big source of errors and virii
2. Not installing updates... those windows updates keep me humming along nicely
3. Poor file management
4. Lack of Anti-Virus protection... most machines come with anti-virus, most users don't update it. Automatic updates help, but alot of users don't update the subscriptions to updates
5. Not updating hardware drivers... although system and component manufacturers regularly provide driver updates, most users don't look for them or update them.
My point is that I don't know of any reason that a windows machine can't be stable. The one sitting behind me has only been shut down for hardware upgrades in the last two months, and hasn't crashed at all.
OTOH... My Mac crashed 3 times when I hit the F button by accident while playing Capture the Flag in Unreal Tournament 2004 (which, btw, is SOOO much better than Doom 3 multiplayer, but that's another story)
I know that sending a plain text e-mail ballot would be rediculously unsecure (not insecure, right?). But, what would be the security problem of sending an e-mail with a properly encrypted, and I mean very strongly encrypted, ballot as an attachment to an e-mail. Couldn't that solve the problem of securing the ballots and verifying their integrity?
Matt
...the msdn interface. In fact, I'd bet it is the same thing. There is an ie behavior called treeview.htc that creates a tree from transforming XML. I used it last year at an ie only shop to create an interface. It is no longer supported by Microsoft, but it's pretty easy to work with the source. I can't believe Yahoo didn't have developers that could create an interface like that one. It's not that hard if you use that behavior. But it is totally incompatible with computers for people that use good operating systems/browsers. I'm writing to you from a nice new PowerBook running OSX/Safari:) (and my little sony srx-99p runs Fedora Core 2/Mozilla)
As a person that understands the value of honesty, I think that the "administrative" error in the report has little to do with the story.
I recently missed a discrete math test because of the "Spring Ahead" clock change. My professor offered me the chance to retake the exam at a later date. I was offered answers to the test questions within 5 minutes of being given that gift from the professor. If I had taken those answers, I would have felt like a piece of shit, and eventually would have had to make good anyway. I can't live with cheating and lying.
Lying causes pain... Pain causes people to search for relief...
In college many search for relief in drugs, alcohol, and sex...
Cutting down on cheating cuts down on these other issues (or at least, I believe, that is what Georgia Tech is trying to accomplish)
I believe that this sort of corporate maneuvering should lead to a bill that actually creates two internets. My proposed bill would create one free internet based on public infrastructure with free access (of course we still have to pay taxes) and the other, a corporate internet so microsoft could have their playground. Here's the key point, the corporate internet would be a pay service as we pay now for our ISP service. If you're dumb enough to pay for AOL, you're dumb enough to pay for the MicrosoftNet. Therefore, we have plenty of people left over that will pay for "premium" content from NBC, ABC, Viacom, Etc... on the MSNet. Microsoft is happy. Dumb users are happy. And, I'm happy, because I don't have to share my bandwith with people downloading the latest TV Guide.
1. The XBox doesn't look as "high tech" as the PS2. - Hillbillies don't care what's on the inside, c'mon this is America.
2. I have an XBox and the controllers are fscking huge. - Games are for kids.
3. Alright, I really doubt a majority of parents want their 10 yr old playing Halo. Where is microsoft's "Sonic the Hedgehog" or "Mario Bros."?
Redhat on Digital (Compaq) Alpha
on
Unix Isn't Dead
·
· Score: 1
I'm writing this post on a 64-bit 500MHz Alpha machine running Redhat Linux 7.1. Here's a story about 64-bit Windows. Digital and Microsoft worked on 64-bit windows together for some time. This box came with Windows NT 4.0 for DEC Alpha back in '98. That OS was a bit of a kludge because it was still a 32-bit version of Windows. For some time Alpha NT ran most large Exchange, SQL, and IIS servers. Oracle ran on Alpha NT as well. The software for Alpha NT was plentiful in the server world, so compatibility wasn't an issue. My Alpha was purchased for running Lightwave 3D under Windows NT (alpha version). NT (and 2000 and XP) has a hardware abstraction layer which allows for multiple architectures to run on NT without having to re-write the entire code. NT 4.0 was also available for PowerPC and MIPS processors. There were very few of these boxes around, though I did see a PowerPC/NT Box running when I worked at Nortel.
I believe that much of the code used in writing the 64-bit Itanium version of windows was actually developed during the MS/Digital collaboration. Shortly after Compaq bought Digital, us alpha users were presented with a letter saying that Compaq will discontinue work on 64-bit windows. I imagine that must have been a nightmare for quite a few CIO's that had banked on 64-bit windows. Recently we were informed that the Alpha team was sold to Intel by Compaq!
Anyway, Linux supports 64-bit like a champ.
A few platforms available... MIPS Sparc64 PowerPC Compaq Alpha Itanium Amd's new x86-64(for Hammer series chips)
A couple of things that make me go hmm? Microsoft still compiles on Alpha machines(read that on the microsoft site somewhere deep inside MSDN). Microsoft runs TONS of Compaq Hardware. Microsoft develops an OS that runs exclusively on Intel processors.
It comes as no suprise that the fastest (outside of a power4 which is really 4 processors) processor was killed by these three companies getting together.
Download RPMS from mirror. I used ftp.rpmfind.net. Switch to GNOME desktop Open Linux Console and enter the download directory I used Nautalis to move all the i18n rpms to a separate directory (new at linux, oi) Then, I ran rpm -Uvh *.rpm from the console After which, I received many error messages
package x depends on package y (this I interpreted to mean I need package y)
I was right: Download package y from www.rpmfind.net. package x conflicts with package y:
I removed package y using rpm -e [label of package y]
I was removing one libobdc++-qt2pre4, I believe, and rpm -e did not work. So I used gnorpm to find and remove the package. That was an oddity. Don't forget to download the new version of switchdesk (note, all the downloaded packages from www.rpmfind.net were for Redhat Rawhide 1.0.
Looks like the bug is gone, no new ghostscript, KDE just didn't know which printing system to use. It was set up to use CUPS, and I'm using LPD. Still, that is definetly a UI bug.
I put up my screenshots and
info on installation.
Found a bug... I can't print from Konquerer.
I'm going to try a new version of ghostscript because KDE 3 may
have installed a version (I'm not sure right now) that is
incompatible with the linux printer drivers I got from hp.
Slashdot Mirror
Back in the early '90's there was a store in Houston that exclusively sold Sony products. That store was wonderful because you could get two things there you couldn't get anywhere else in town: rare Sony products and just about ANY accessory for any product Sony made. They helped you get Sony products fixed, they ordered anything you would want, and everyone that worked there was passionate about their product line. It was like going to a high end camera shop where there really weren't any "salesmen", just enthusiasts. I've been in the Sony store in Houston's Galleria shopping mall. Really, I wasn't that impressed. I really don't like stores like this. I can live without the "Bose Store" or the "Apple Store" as well.
The thing is that Sony is no longer a premium brand. Their computers aren't the best, their TV's aren't the best, and their Hi-Fi equipment is total crap. For equivalent prices you can get a Yamaha receiver for Hi-Fi, a Samsung DLP television that looks better, and an IBM or Apple notebook. Sony just doesn't have the appeal it had when they used to make those great machined aluminum DiscMan CD players of the '90s.
I could go on, but Sony just doesn't do it for me anymore. The only Sony products that could really save their ass in the eyes of enthusiats are their camcorders and video game consoles. Those are the only two pieces of Sony equipment I use anymore. When I was younger, I would buy just about anything that said Sony, because I knew it was the best when it came to high tech gadgets. That is no longer a certainty. Sony has blown it. They are the "Jack of all trades, master of none."
Matt
Have you ever heard of development costs? The software you use cost a TON of money to develop, and has a relatively small customer base compared to the hardware it runs on. Remember, all the web surfers in the world will be using the same type of hardware you're using, while a select few people actually NEED the software you're using. So, sure the software is expensive. The point is, that software is the real tool. The hardware is the platform.
If you're running all that software on one $1000 computer, then I pity your customers for your productivity.
Software is pirated because it CAN be pirated. You're gonna have a hard time pirating silicon. This is the prime difference between SOFTware and HARDware. Trust this, if Linux weren't open source, people would pirate it. People pirate software they will never use to it's full extent either. I wonder how many people have pirated copies of Autocad that they really don't know how to use at all. How many pirated copies of photoshop are used just for resizeing and converting image types? Why do people steal things? That's a real question. They steal what they think they "deserve". It's a real bullshit mentality. At least in the case of stealing Windows XP, people really do get what they deserve. Sorry I'm going on so long here, but new ideas keep popping up. Yes, I'm suffering from post before you think right now. Maybe it boils down to laziness. People will steal Windows XP before they learn to run Linux. People will steal Photoshop before they find out what other options that exist for less money or for free, as in The Gimp. So, who are the real assholes? Sure, Ballmer makes some pretty outrageous statements and basically exists to ruin the good names of the software developers and geniuses that work for him. But, the real assholes are the unwashed masses that allow companies like Microsoft to make products that actually push up the cost of hardware by being bloated and full of useless "features". Let's face it, without customers, a company means nothing. This is not to let MS off the hook entirely though, they do everything in their power (too much power) to keep customers "loyal". As stated in Full Metal Jacket, "It's a huge shit sandwich, and we're all going to have to take a bite." But that's not entirely true either. Believe it or not, Microsoft actually "helps" open source users by forcing an increase in the power of hardware systems. My Linux box really flies on some pretty cheap hardware. It's just a P3 1GHz/512MB RAM/GeForce 5200 and it runs great. Most people wouldn't even purchase a system with those specs if they saw it in a store. I'll tell you what, I bet it runs better than most P4 systems sold with windows in most cases the average user comes across. It's not that I can't afford a fast computer, I'm writing this on a G4 Aluminum PowerBook, a computer I was proud to pay a ton of money for. Anyway, Ballmer, you may be right, statistically, but philisophically, you're dead wrong man. Matt
Hate to say it, but who the fuck did Ben Franklin think he was. It's not up to any man to tell any other man what he does or does not deserve. That doesn't even agree with Ben Franklin's own spiritual beliefs. I would never want that quote related to my name. Oh and that Carl Sagan saying ... I say, give 'em an inch, they'll take a mile.
Actually, the only part of NT or 2000 that runs on the hardware is the HAL. :)
You're using the term "developer" pretty lightly there big fella.
Umm, that's odd because I still run an NT alpha machine (500MHz PWS500a) and with all the cheap stuff available for Alpha on eBay, The machine still outruns my 1GHz PIII when it comes to rendering in Lightwave and has very snappy performance.
Why not just run BSD natively? Maybe you really like Garage Band or all that other wonderful OSX specific software. Okay Mr. Snerdley. Yes, I do understand that you might want to develop for a Mac. Unless you "REALLY NEED" OSX for the sofware you're writing, OSX will support your Linux software with a recompile. BTW, I'm writing this to you from my Mac. :)
I'd say about 50 times less people died without cause today than any day that Sadam Hussein was in power.
Did you fight in Vietnam? Bush is a dick? ...
f-this posting bs, I'm off to write my own blog, and, if you don't understand my logic there, well, I feel sorry for your family and friends
So, Bush did what he could to stay out of Vietnam, and liberals attack him for this?
Ummm...
1. EVERYBODY was wrong about the war in Vietnam. That was a messed up time in recent history. I'd say the communists that slaughtered 2million cambodian civilians were the most wrong, but wtf? 2. Dude, where was Clinton during the Vietnam War? Oh ya, Great Britain 3. When was the last time George Bush
1. They went to a known Bush hater and known liar for documents pertaining to his military service. 2. No documents were known to exist 3. They didn't verify the documents 4. They spent days saying they were right, against all the evidence 5. They blamed the whole thing on Burkett, they didn't "admit" anything An honest mistake is a mistake in which you had NO INTENTION OF HARM. That is not the case here.
Okay, I'm writing this reply on my Mac, but my windows xp computer is right behind me. The thing is that Windows XP machines do have a nasty way of getting unstable when programming distributed programs w/ SQL Server/Visual Studio/Javascript/Debuggers and such running all the time. Then throw a couple custom vb dlls into the mix, and yes, that's when windows sucks. I, just now, was writing my reasons for still having a computer that runs Windows XP, and CRAP, every reason I have is useless. I litterally stumped myself. I guess the point I'm trying to make about is about failures anyway. Okay, I'm an expert, so that makes my data a little useless. But... My XP machine gives me errors and warnings so few times that I really believe that there are more USER errors in windows because there are probably a higher percentage of uninformed users running windows than any other OS. Common User Errors 1. Installing reputationless or shotty shareware ... big no no ... that KaZaa program is probably a big source of errors and virii
2. Not installing updates ... those windows updates keep me humming along nicely
3. Poor file management
4. Lack of Anti-Virus protection... most machines come with anti-virus, most users don't update it. Automatic updates help, but alot of users don't update the subscriptions to updates
5. Not updating hardware drivers ... although system and component manufacturers regularly provide driver updates, most users don't look for them or update them.
My point is that I don't know of any reason that a windows machine can't be stable. The one sitting behind me has only been shut down for hardware upgrades in the last two months, and hasn't crashed at all.
OTOH ... My Mac crashed 3 times when I hit the F button by accident while playing Capture the Flag in Unreal Tournament 2004 (which, btw, is SOOO much better than Doom 3 multiplayer, but that's another story)
I know that sending a plain text e-mail ballot would be rediculously unsecure (not insecure, right?). But, what would be the security problem of sending an e-mail with a properly encrypted, and I mean very strongly encrypted, ballot as an attachment to an e-mail. Couldn't that solve the problem of securing the ballots and verifying their integrity? Matt
...the msdn interface. In fact, I'd bet it is the same thing. There is an ie behavior called treeview.htc that creates a tree from transforming XML. I used it last year at an ie only shop to create an interface. It is no longer supported by Microsoft, but it's pretty easy to work with the source. I can't believe Yahoo didn't have developers that could create an interface like that one. It's not that hard if you use that behavior. But it is totally incompatible with computers for people that use good operating systems/browsers. I'm writing to you from a nice new PowerBook running OSX/Safari :) (and my little sony srx-99p runs Fedora Core 2/Mozilla)
Matt - Didn't want to wait to sign on
As a person that understands the value of honesty, I think that the "administrative" error in the report has little to do with the story.
I recently missed a discrete math test because of the "Spring Ahead" clock change. My professor offered me the chance to retake the exam at a later date. I was offered answers to the test questions within 5 minutes of being given that gift from the professor. If I had taken those answers, I would have felt like a piece of shit, and eventually would have had to make good anyway. I can't live with cheating and lying.
Lying causes pain... Pain causes people to search for relief...
In college many search for relief in drugs, alcohol, and sex...
Cutting down on cheating cuts down on these other issues (or at least, I believe, that is what Georgia Tech is trying to accomplish)
I believe that this sort of corporate maneuvering should lead to a bill that actually creates two internets. My proposed bill would create one free internet based on public infrastructure with free access (of course we still have to pay taxes) and the other, a corporate internet so microsoft could have their playground. Here's the key point, the corporate internet would be a pay service as we pay now for our ISP service. If you're dumb enough to pay for AOL, you're dumb enough to pay for the MicrosoftNet. Therefore, we have plenty of people left over that will pay for "premium" content from NBC, ABC, Viacom, Etc... on the MSNet. Microsoft is happy. Dumb users are happy. And, I'm happy, because I don't have to share my bandwith with people downloading the latest TV Guide.
1. The XBox doesn't look as "high tech" as the PS2. - Hillbillies don't care what's on the inside, c'mon this is America. 2. I have an XBox and the controllers are fscking huge. - Games are for kids. 3. Alright, I really doubt a majority of parents want their 10 yr old playing Halo. Where is microsoft's "Sonic the Hedgehog" or "Mario Bros."?
I'm writing this post on a 64-bit 500MHz Alpha machine running Redhat Linux 7.1. Here's a story about 64-bit Windows. Digital and Microsoft worked on 64-bit windows together for some time. This box came with Windows NT 4.0 for DEC Alpha back in '98. That OS was a bit of a kludge because it was still a 32-bit version of Windows. For some time Alpha NT ran most large Exchange, SQL, and IIS servers. Oracle ran on Alpha NT as well. The software for Alpha NT was plentiful in the server world, so compatibility wasn't an issue. My Alpha was purchased for running Lightwave 3D under Windows NT (alpha version). NT (and 2000 and XP) has a hardware abstraction layer which allows for multiple architectures to run on NT without having to re-write the entire code. NT 4.0 was also available for PowerPC and MIPS processors. There were very few of these boxes around, though I did see a PowerPC/NT Box running when I worked at Nortel.
I believe that much of the code used in writing the 64-bit Itanium version of windows was actually developed during the MS/Digital collaboration. Shortly after Compaq bought Digital, us alpha users were presented with a letter saying that Compaq will discontinue work on 64-bit windows. I imagine that must have been a nightmare for quite a few CIO's that had banked on 64-bit windows. Recently we were informed that the Alpha team was sold to Intel by Compaq!
Anyway, Linux supports 64-bit like a champ.
A few platforms available...
MIPS
Sparc64
PowerPC
Compaq Alpha
Itanium
Amd's new x86-64(for Hammer series chips)
A couple of things that make me go hmm?
Microsoft still compiles on Alpha machines(read that on the microsoft site somewhere deep inside MSDN).
Microsoft runs TONS of Compaq Hardware.
Microsoft develops an OS that runs exclusively on Intel processors.
It comes as no suprise that the fastest (outside of a power4 which is really 4 processors) processor was killed by these three companies getting together.
Download RPMS from mirror. I used ftp.rpmfind.net.
Switch to GNOME desktop
Open Linux Console and enter the download directory
I used Nautalis to move all the i18n rpms to a separate directory (new at linux, oi)
Then, I ran rpm -Uvh *.rpm from the console
After which, I received many error messages
package x depends on package y (this I interpreted to mean I need package y)
I was right: Download package y from www.rpmfind.net.
package x conflicts with package y:
I removed package y using rpm -e [label of package y]
I was removing one libobdc++-qt2pre4, I believe, and rpm -e did not work. So I used gnorpm to find and remove the package. That was an oddity.
Don't forget to download the new version of switchdesk (note, all the downloaded packages from www.rpmfind.net were for Redhat Rawhide 1.0.
bug because it gave me two error messages, then popped up a printing preferences dialog. (excuse spelling, I'm tired too much school work this week.
Looks like the bug is gone, no new ghostscript, KDE just didn't know which printing system to use. It was set up to use CUPS, and I'm using LPD. Still, that is definetly a UI bug.
I put up my screenshots and info on installation.
Found a bug... I can't print from Konquerer.
I'm going to try a new version of ghostscript because KDE 3 may have installed a version (I'm not sure right now) that is incompatible with the linux printer drivers I got from hp.
Have Fun...