it's going to make it really difficult to rip the audio from those CDs.
Um, unless you're going to put encryption in the air between the speakers and my ears a simple plugin device can capture the signal and record it. A device like... oh... maybe a tape recorder. I suppose you'll lose quality in practice but in theory at least you'd get a recording as good as your play back.
It's all well and good to delude ourselves into thinking there's a viable alternative, but for most people there simply isn't.
The only reason that there isn't a viable alternative is because it isn't viable to assume people will look for an alternative. It's easier to stay put in a place that is tolerable than it is to move to some place better. It's easier to put up with Earthquakes than to learn to cope with cold weather. It's easier to put up with freezing temperatures than having to learn how to deal with a new culture. It's easier to deal with what we know than the unknown.
But, at some point... when things become intolerable then it's worth the effort. The threshold is different for different people. For many people they don't even know there is an alternative.
It's all well and good to delude ourselves into thinking that there isn't an alternative but for most people they simply can't be bothered to try and find one. It's just not worth the effort.
And that's why people, stay in the inner city, stay in their home towns when the jobs leave, stay in their home country, or why they don't vote. It's easier. Searching, finding, caring are risky, dangerous and hard work.
You may not find what you're looking for. You may not beable to go back. If you never risk anything you never risk losing anything.
if you consider the install base. No, really. Think about it. The size of the install base, the population of machines surveyed... That's actually not too bad.
from the article:
During one month, 1,285,500 working stations were scanned...
That's a big population. And these were stations using custom in-house software, complex industrial apps, and such. That means these weren't necessarily common users, common apps, or very common environments.
I think it's supposed to be a remark about XP defenders claiming that XP is rock solid, never has problems, is always dependible... and if it's otherwise it's the user's fault.
I'm so sick of you elitist linux-ites making unfounded and ignorant statements just because it follows your religion.
Now, I'd like to know how that is relevant to the parent post?
He'd be smart to stay on Win98 forever. Soon he'll be virus proof because there'll be so few people using Windows98. At least that's how the argument goes for why there are so few major linux viruii.
isn't the whole point of Windows supposed to be that it is easy to use and easy to administer? Isn't that why it's supposed to better than UNIX?
Easy is in the eye of the beholder.
People don't use Windows because it's better. They use it because it's easier. It's easier than having to learn something new. It's easier than having to install new software. It's easier than having to think about choices. It's just easier.
It's easier to reboot 12 times. Easier to just use Office. Easier to just reinstall the OS. Easier to just not care.
People don't vote because it's easier not to vote. Easier not to make up their minds... easier to just complain.
Change is hard work. Even if it's good change. Change is stressful even if it's change for the better. Change is not easier than just suffering with what you know. Learning is hard work.
I DO have to reboot for the odd driver install (graphic driver updates, etc.), but NEVER for an OS failure of anykind.
So I take it these computers just sit and do nothing all day? Because, my wife's laptop is a Windows XP machine and all she uses it for is browsing and email. All I do with it is run the latest Norton Anti-Virus and install patches once every few months. That damn thing decided it wouldn't boot a few weeks ago after installing a set of updates. I tried reinstalling XP and it still won't come up. I've had it checked out and there's nothing wrong with the hardware, ran spin-rite on the drives... no problems. Nothing wrong at all. No errors. The thing was buggy, crashed all the time, and a virus magnet and all it had on it was MSIE.
Try it with a cup full of water, holding the handle outward. Turn it clockwise, once over your arm, and the second time under your elbow (keeping it upright the whole time). Interestingly and amazingly, the cup stays upright, and watching the handle makes two full 360% turns; yet your arm isn't twisted!
uh, yeah, but that's still spinning.
And you're assuming that the person isn't sitting down and can get their torso up and around the object. And the 720 degree full spin is just because of additional spatial dimensions which the object has to turn through. The 3-space representation of the object is just a projection of its higher dimensional self. Ofcourse this can be argued to exist as pure conceptual metaphor since spin-space can be argued to not actually exist... ofcourse the definition of actually is open for debate.
Okay, follow me here on this little bit of circular argument...
I had a long argument with a coworker over the topic of whether the Moon spun. The Moon always presents the same face to the Earth, says he, therefore it never spins. Says I, yes, but from the perspective of the Sun the Moon changes faces so it does spin.
No, the Moon doesn't spin.
Yes it does.
No it doesn't.
Okay, here's an apple and an orange make the "Moon" go 'round the "Earth" and always present the same face to the Earth.
See, it's not spinning!
Then why are your hands all twisted up like that after half a revolution?
That's just a turn... not a SPIN!
So, back to moons, orbital debris, and ring particles...
Those aren't moons... they're rings and those rings are just moons and those debris aren't rings they're just asteroids caught in the gravity of the larger planet... and those artificial moons are just satellites! And... And... that's not a bug it's an unplanned feature!
Found a cheap GE keyboard at Walmart the other day that was *gasp* very nearly just a regular keyboard... $12 and ultra thin... three extra keys though (like you said) a "power button" a "sleep button" and a "resume button" that sit at the very top left and top right of the board... out of the way. Otherwise, just a plain-jane 105-key keyboard. (sorry not the old 101 key keyboard)
The Mac was a completely new paradigm in the Human-Computer interface, and a new key gave outstanding access to it.
No, it wasn't a new paradigm. It was a new mass-market application of a 1960's idea.
It was definately the first time lay-people had the interface in front of them. Still, the ground work was there just waiting for someone to do something with it... work that was done analytically searching the space of know devices and possibilities and factoring in the obvious missing components. Humans haven't changed much... so the interfaces haven't either.
The addition of more command keys is just as silly as the addition of new mouse buttons... it merely multiplies the number of contexts for a command. In unix systems we have a long standing tradition of three-button mice. The middle-button is nearly always reserved for clip-board functions such as copy and paste. Newer mice have copy,paste, up and down arrow embedded in a single button/wheel on the mouse. This makes far more sense than forcing the user to switch from a pointing context to a typing context when you are using the pointing device to select text.
I already have three key modifiers and three buttons why would I need more? Only if there isn't enough contexts for the input devices... more mouse buttons provide contexts... so does an escape key allowing me to switch from data input mode to command mode on my keyboard... but that's a "vi" thing.
The MOUSE was a revolutionary change to the Human-Computer interface when the Mac started using it. Lots of people complained about how it was a bad idea.
The MOUSE was invented in the 1960's by
Doug Engelbart it was not a Revolutionary change introduced by the Mac. And I've never heard complaints about it being a "bad idea"... until just now. I would tend to think that the interface was in the realm of public ideas by the time Apple made it onto the scene.
Pretty much... couldn't do my job if I used Lockout.
HK Virtual Girl Friend is found superior to real
on
Virtual Girlfriend
·
· Score: 3, Funny
(Future Onion Headline)
Bill Jones broke up with his real Girlfriend Cathy Smith today because in his words, "At least the Virtual Girlfriend puts out." When questioned about the break-up Cathy was perturbed, "Like I wanted to put out for that Lo-oo-zer! He was like always giving me these virtual things... never anything real... I mean... I'm like flesh and blood here I want real stuff. My other boyfriends bring me actual gifts."
It is this reporter's opinion that Bill is indeed better off with his HK Virtual Girlfriend because his real one was a total brat.
Isn't it obvious? More stuff for free... no more shrink-wrapped software. Faster workstation deployment. The network is the computer. No more ghosting drives when a new employee joins the company. No more dependence on proprietary platforms like Windows. The OS of the Web... down with Microsoft... hurray for the browser for it frees us from the tyranny of Windows.
And, all that other OSS/GNU/Free as in speech stuff.
I don't think big brother is coming to confiscate your clock cycles...
The hard thing is holding on during the dry-spells. Whatever the next wave is I certainly hope I catch more of it this time... last time I got soaked.
I will say this much... I'm spending a lot of time thinking about the silly things we do with computers and why we don't do some other silly things... I'm thinking there are a few small components that will be coming along now that will make things that were just... silly... in the 90's seem like something obvious today.
The elements are all on the table... now what do we make of it?
Right, just like word processors have made it easy for everyone to write a book,
You make a good point. We have better paint today than we did 500 years ago... but it still takes an accomplished painter to create a master work. But, will companies pay for Maestroes when a few fellas plucking on banjoes will get the job done? I suppose a few will... but most won't... and some can't stand clasical music and would rather have Blue-Grass.
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it's going to make it really difficult to rip the audio from those CDs.
... oh ... maybe a tape recorder. I suppose you'll lose quality in practice but in theory at least you'd get a recording as good as your play back.
Um, unless you're going to put encryption in the air between the speakers and my ears a simple plugin device can capture the signal and record it. A device like
It's all well and good to delude ourselves into thinking there's a viable alternative, but for most people there simply isn't.
The only reason that there isn't a viable alternative is because it isn't viable to assume people will look for an alternative. It's easier to stay put in a place that is tolerable than it is to move to some place better. It's easier to put up with Earthquakes than to learn to cope with cold weather. It's easier to put up with freezing temperatures than having to learn how to deal with a new culture. It's easier to deal with what we know than the unknown.
But, at some point... when things become intolerable then it's worth the effort. The threshold is different for different people. For many people they don't even know there is an alternative.
It's all well and good to delude ourselves into thinking that there isn't an alternative but for most people they simply can't be bothered to try and find one. It's just not worth the effort.
And that's why people, stay in the inner city, stay in their home towns when the jobs leave, stay in their home country, or why they don't vote. It's easier. Searching, finding, caring are risky, dangerous and hard work.
You may not find what you're looking for. You may not beable to go back. If you never risk anything you never risk losing anything.
You just proved the point. Linux is usable, for those that know how to use it.
Yes, that's the point I'm trying to prove. It was my point. This is how I prove points. Points are things I prove.
BTW: On a completely unrelated note... it's easier for me to just use linux. But that's not the point.
if you consider the install base. No, really. Think about it. The size of the install base, the population of machines surveyed... That's actually not too bad.
from the article:
During one month, 1,285,500 working stations were scanned...
That's a big population. And these were stations using custom in-house software, complex industrial apps, and such. That means these weren't necessarily common users, common apps, or very common environments.
How is this remotely relveant to the article?
I think it's supposed to be a remark about XP defenders claiming that XP is rock solid, never has problems, is always dependible... and if it's otherwise it's the user's fault.
I'm so sick of you elitist linux-ites making unfounded and ignorant statements just because it follows your religion.
Now, I'd like to know how that is relevant to the parent post?
He'd be smart to stay on Win98 forever. Soon he'll be virus proof because there'll be so few people using Windows98. At least that's how the argument goes for why there are so few major linux viruii.
isn't the whole point of Windows supposed to be that it is easy to use and easy to administer? Isn't that why it's supposed to better than UNIX?
Easy is in the eye of the beholder.
People don't use Windows because it's better. They use it because it's easier. It's easier than having to learn something new. It's easier than having to install new software. It's easier than having to think about choices. It's just easier.
It's easier to reboot 12 times. Easier to just use Office. Easier to just reinstall the OS. Easier to just not care.
People don't vote because it's easier not to vote. Easier not to make up their minds... easier to just complain.
Change is hard work. Even if it's good change. Change is stressful even if it's change for the better. Change is not easier than just suffering with what you know. Learning is hard work.
I DO have to reboot for the odd driver install (graphic driver updates, etc.), but NEVER for an OS failure of anykind.
... no problems. Nothing wrong at all. No errors. The thing was buggy, crashed all the time, and a virus magnet and all it had on it was MSIE.
So I take it these computers just sit and do nothing all day? Because, my wife's laptop is a Windows XP machine and all she uses it for is browsing and email. All I do with it is run the latest Norton Anti-Virus and install patches once every few months. That damn thing decided it wouldn't boot a few weeks ago after installing a set of updates. I tried reinstalling XP and it still won't come up. I've had it checked out and there's nothing wrong with the hardware, ran spin-rite on the drives
I think I am going to call Bullsh*t.
If you currently have any department traditions or know of any, could you please take a moment to share them with me.
We post Ask Slashdot questions asking about traditions.
someone moderate this parent post up... good post!
Try it with a cup full of water, holding the handle outward. Turn it clockwise, once over your arm, and the second time under your elbow (keeping it upright the whole time). Interestingly and amazingly, the cup stays upright, and watching the handle makes two full 360% turns; yet your arm isn't twisted!
uh, yeah, but that's still spinning.
And you're assuming that the person isn't sitting down and can get their torso up and around the object. And the 720 degree full spin is just because of additional spatial dimensions which the object has to turn through. The 3-space representation of the object is just a projection of its higher dimensional self. Ofcourse this can be argued to exist as pure conceptual metaphor since spin-space can be argued to not actually exist... ofcourse the definition of actually is open for debate.
Okay, follow me here on this little bit of circular argument...
... not a SPIN!
I had a long argument with a coworker over the topic of whether the Moon spun. The Moon always presents the same face to the Earth, says he, therefore it never spins. Says I, yes, but from the perspective of the Sun the Moon changes faces so it does spin.
No, the Moon doesn't spin.
Yes it does.
No it doesn't.
Okay, here's an apple and an orange make the "Moon" go 'round the "Earth" and always present the same face to the Earth.
See, it's not spinning!
Then why are your hands all twisted up like that after half a revolution?
That's just a turn
So, back to moons, orbital debris, and ring particles...
Those aren't moons... they're rings and those rings are just moons and those debris aren't rings they're just asteroids caught in the gravity of the larger planet... and those artificial moons are just satellites! And... And... that's not a bug it's an unplanned feature!
Initially, the internet was bits of meaningless data between two computers.
Today? Bits of meaningless data between millions of computers.
Dude, data is always meaningless... meaning happens between the ears of fuzzy-headed monkeys.
Found a cheap GE keyboard at Walmart the other day that was *gasp* very nearly just a regular keyboard... $12 and ultra thin... three extra keys though (like you said) a "power button" a "sleep button" and a "resume button" that sit at the very top left and top right of the board... out of the way. Otherwise, just a plain-jane 105-key keyboard. (sorry not the old 101 key keyboard)
The Mac was a completely new paradigm in the Human-Computer interface, and a new key gave outstanding access to it.
No, it wasn't a new paradigm. It was a new mass-market application of a 1960's idea. It was definately the first time lay-people had the interface in front of them. Still, the ground work was there just waiting for someone to do something with it... work that was done analytically searching the space of know devices and possibilities and factoring in the obvious missing components. Humans haven't changed much... so the interfaces haven't either.
The addition of more command keys is just as silly as the addition of new mouse buttons... it merely multiplies the number of contexts for a command. In unix systems we have a long standing tradition of three-button mice. The middle-button is nearly always reserved for clip-board functions such as copy and paste. Newer mice have copy,paste, up and down arrow embedded in a single button/wheel on the mouse. This makes far more sense than forcing the user to switch from a pointing context to a typing context when you are using the pointing device to select text.
I already have three key modifiers and three buttons why would I need more? Only if there isn't enough contexts for the input devices... more mouse buttons provide contexts... so does an escape key allowing me to switch from data input mode to command mode on my keyboard... but that's a "vi" thing.
The MOUSE was a revolutionary change to the Human-Computer interface when the Mac started using it. Lots of people complained about how it was a bad idea.
... until just now. I would tend to think that the interface was in the realm of public ideas by the time Apple made it onto the scene.
The MOUSE was invented in the 1960's by Doug Engelbart it was not a Revolutionary change introduced by the Mac. And I've never heard complaints about it being a "bad idea"
I need root and the web to do my job?
Pretty much... couldn't do my job if I used Lockout.
(Future Onion Headline)
Bill Jones broke up with his real Girlfriend Cathy Smith today because in his words, "At least the Virtual Girlfriend puts out." When questioned about the break-up Cathy was perturbed, "Like I wanted to put out for that Lo-oo-zer! He was like always giving me these virtual things... never anything real... I mean... I'm like flesh and blood here I want real stuff. My other boyfriends bring me actual gifts."
It is this reporter's opinion that Bill is indeed better off with his HK Virtual Girlfriend because his real one was a total brat.
Nobody is going to stumbling all over themselves to dump Windows just because a web app arrived on the scene.
Um, that would be reality. We don't do that here... this is Slashdot.
huh?
Isn't it obvious? More stuff for free... no more shrink-wrapped software. Faster workstation deployment. The network is the computer. No more ghosting drives when a new employee joins the company. No more dependence on proprietary platforms like Windows. The OS of the Web... down with Microsoft... hurray for the browser for it frees us from the tyranny of Windows.
And, all that other OSS/GNU/Free as in speech stuff.
I don't think big brother is coming to confiscate your clock cycles...
Couldn't I just *store* my documents online, instead of having to move all my applications there as well?
How about storing your documents locally and just loading your applications from an online source?
The hard thing is holding on during the dry-spells. Whatever the next wave is I certainly hope I catch more of it this time... last time I got soaked.
... silly ... in the 90's seem like something obvious today.
I will say this much... I'm spending a lot of time thinking about the silly things we do with computers and why we don't do some other silly things... I'm thinking there are a few small components that will be coming along now that will make things that were just
The elements are all on the table... now what do we make of it?
Right, just like word processors have made it easy for everyone to write a book,
... but most won't... and some can't stand clasical music and would rather have Blue-Grass.
You make a good point. We have better paint today than we did 500 years ago... but it still takes an accomplished painter to create a master work. But, will companies pay for Maestroes when a few fellas plucking on banjoes will get the job done? I suppose a few will
at least 1 in 3 people were taking CS just for the money
33% of the legacy code I have had to maintain from the last ten years would reflect that lack of passion I'd say.
I got my degree in math, then went to work in IT. Now I've forgot all my math, and the IT field is dead.
That just doesn't add up. Perhaps you can go into dentistry instead?