I have a 486SX running X with FVWM on 20 megs of ram in one corner, a P75 with 32 megs (no video, keyboard or mouse), and a Compaq Deskpro 4000 with 96 megs and a Trident video card running RH6.2 with *lots* of updates. My backup server has dual PPros and a lot of disk since a decent tape drive is just too expensive. I standardized on kernel 2.4.19 with the (0)1 scheduler patch for all my boxes, and built it from tarballs for each specific CPU type on my main workstation. (Main workstation has dual P3 Coppermines at 1 Ghz and 1048 megs of ram.) All of these machines can do the usual linux office apps (NOT StarOffice -- it uses too many resources). You won't do too much multimedia on them tho, and a kernel compile takes 8 hours on the 486. That's why I have the new workstation mentioned above.
Funny thing that you should mention the (0)1 scheduler - I think it's one of the best things out there. Both my boxes are SMP, with RH8 and a homebrew 2.4.19 kernel and the scheduler patch. A typical workload includes a few concurrent compile jobs, reading/. with mozilla, and enjoying some mp3's - all at once. The older box performs without a hitch - it's dual PPros with 1Mb caches and 128 Mb ram. It keeps up with my Dad's new P4 on XP for all the usual office-type apps and stuff. I haven't been able to get my head around the NPTL yet, though I'd love to get that going. Any good HOWTO-type links for NPTL? Thanks.
who could really use this, I bet. Their typical job ATM has an array of at least 3000x2000 data points as input (starting the job) and the job requires differential calculus to the 12th decimal point for each possible combination... last I heard, their shiny! new! pentium 4s with WinXP were choking and gagging for days on end.... so like I said, bring it on, AMD.
I'd guess that the zealotry is inversely proportional to the user base, simply because stepping completely outside the norn requires some guts in the first place. In other words, Windows doesn't "need" zealots, since it's going to have a huge user base in the first place (think OEM contracts...) There's probably a bit of soul-searching, technical travails, etc. along the way through a new territory. Think this leads to a sort of "bonding" with fellow users? You bet it does, and it only reinforces itself.
I have no problems using Linux 24x7x365, and I don't feel the need to justify it to anyone, for some odd reason. After all, it's *my* system and *my* preferences; others have theirs, and that's ok.
Actually, they stick with the 45 deg. angle so that the rear cylinder clears the oil tank. There's more efficient designs, I'm sure, but I *love* the fact that the whole crank and rod assembly is on roller bearings. Also, it would be massively expensive to redesign the crankcase, leading to questions of backwards compatibility. That said, you *can* put a modern set of cylinders on say, a flathead case and ride it every day. For that matter, I've seen people put Chevy pistons in 'em -- 1500 + cc's can be fun!
got news for ya... I did that work in college and I still do it. Will everyone here on slashdot please think about that the next time they use something made of steel (cars, silverware, computer cases, etc.)
And BTW, I have had to hose the remains of stupider co-workers out of the conveyors...
Spacefem wrote that "we have it easy..." and I strongly agree, based on experience. I have worked in factories for most of my adult life (I'm 35 now) and I'm here to tell you that it can be quite debilitating. Medically and physically, it becomes quite expensive when your living depends on your good health and you have to take off a week or two for medical problems. In other words, a week or two of no income.
It's not the Golden Era of manufacturing anymore in my part of the US; $25k gross is considered a decent middle-class income here. If you are fortunate to have any financial reserves, they are probably very slim.
It's mentally debilitating; there are no fellow geeks, so it tends to get lonely beyond a certain point. (my answer is to do Linux at home). Certainly, there's little of the intellectually stimulating debate that I love. (I majored in English, with a few years each of Philosophy and Art. Now I'm into networking)
Now for the perspective: I have to wonder how much of this sociologist's observations are specific to the IT industry, or is it all just becoming part of the US corporate ethos? IMHO, business is a very human activity, but the way we go about it certainly isn't sometimes.
I don't think so... I think what really has everyone spooked is the tie-in to the hardware, combined with Microsoft's past business practices, especially wrt OEM contracts and their market coverage. Please refer to my post later on down the page. Thanks.
"...neither Linux nor Unix is tied to the hardware."
Thank $DEITY for that, I say. I don't need to question my OS security and large file support deeply enough to require special hardware.
That's an interesting idea about having it all in one app -- I just hope people eventually learn the difference between an app and an OS. Not that M$'s statements under oath will make that any easier.
BTW I thought it was funny how NTFS is (evidently) considered to be new and advanced... yawns...
An anecdote regarding all this: my General Manager enthusiastically told me a few months ago that the "NT" part of "Windows NT" stands for "New Technology". Er, IMO it's only new if you've been hiding under a very obscure rock for the last 20 years. On a feature-by-feature basis there's nothing new about any of the ideas implemented in NT, and I have to wonder how this is any different aside from relying on hardware to do the job that the software should be doing in the first place.
Thanks for the insightful comment, I hadn't thought of looking at it like that before but I definitely agree with it. I stand educated, and your definition all of a sudden explains a lot of political crap (at least in the US)
Which really surprises me, regarding Massachusets. For myself personally, it was always about standing up for what I believe in. [1] Although Virginia/West Virginia's behavior doesn't really surprise me, given their proximity to D.C.
[1] I believe in freely sharing potentially useful information with fellow humans in whatever form it may require, including paper, text, and computer instructions/data
BTW, that's a cool quote about the Mensa girls, it's beem years since I dealt with them... *sigh*
Cringely and P2P
on
Cringely on P2P
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
Dude hits the nail right on the head, IMHO. Especially the part towards the end about the Grateful Dead and residual incomes vs direct publishing (now truly enabled by the 'net)
My only real question to all of this is: How does any of this differ from the social uproar caused by Johannes Gutenberg printing the Bible with his movable-type press? (Which really messed up Europe for at least a hundred years -- some publishers are still extant). Surely, the social upheavals were reflected in the massive financial swings of the time. What makes this (internet-based publishing) any different?
Just a "thank you" for the most realistic post on this topic so far, IMHO. The only bone I could possibly pick is the fact that this slashdot user still does ok with dialup. (financial reasons)
I may be getting out on a limb here, but the thing about being "chatty" with their servers.... and the fact that I refuse to be "online" without firewalling... is their target market really that dumb or lazy?
Why does this sound so much like the typical windows usage, trying to hit 90% of the market?
Ooops, can't say the "W" word, I'll just say "transparent crystalline structure for viewing"
Meanwhile I *might* continue to purchase VHS videos if/when Hollywood puts out something that I feel is worth it.
Slashdot Mirror
I have a 486SX running X with FVWM on 20 megs of ram in one corner, a P75 with 32 megs (no video, keyboard or mouse), and a Compaq Deskpro 4000 with 96 megs and a Trident video card running RH6.2 with *lots* of updates. My backup server has dual PPros and a lot of disk since a decent tape drive is just too expensive. I standardized on kernel 2.4.19 with the (0)1 scheduler patch for all my boxes, and built it from tarballs for each specific CPU type on my main workstation. (Main workstation has dual P3 Coppermines at 1 Ghz and 1048 megs of ram.) All of these machines can do the usual linux office apps (NOT StarOffice -- it uses too many resources). You won't do too much multimedia on them tho, and a kernel compile takes 8 hours on the 486. That's why I have the new workstation mentioned above.
Funny thing that you should mention the (0)1 scheduler - I think it's one of the best things out there. Both my boxes are SMP, with RH8 and a homebrew 2.4.19 kernel and the scheduler patch. A typical workload includes a few concurrent compile jobs, reading /. with mozilla, and enjoying some mp3's - all at once. The older box performs without a hitch - it's dual PPros with 1Mb caches and 128 Mb ram. It keeps up with my Dad's new P4 on XP for all the usual office-type apps and stuff. I haven't been able to get my head around the NPTL yet, though I'd love to get that going. Any good HOWTO-type links for NPTL? Thanks.
who could really use this, I bet. Their typical job ATM has an array of at least 3000x2000 data points as input (starting the job) and the job requires differential calculus to the 12th decimal point for each possible combination... last I heard, their shiny! new! pentium 4s with WinXP were choking and gagging for days on end.... so like I said, bring it on, AMD.
I'd guess that the zealotry is inversely proportional to the user base, simply because stepping completely outside the norn requires some guts in the first place. In other words, Windows doesn't "need" zealots, since it's going to have a huge user base in the first place (think OEM contracts...) There's probably a bit of soul-searching, technical travails, etc. along the way through a new territory. Think this leads to a sort of "bonding" with fellow users? You bet it does, and it only reinforces itself.
I have no problems using Linux 24x7x365, and I don't feel the need to justify it to anyone, for some odd reason. After all, it's *my* system and *my* preferences; others have theirs, and that's ok.
Actually, they stick with the 45 deg. angle so that the rear cylinder clears the oil tank. There's more efficient designs, I'm sure, but I *love* the fact that the whole crank and rod assembly is on roller bearings. Also, it would be massively expensive to redesign the crankcase, leading to questions of backwards compatibility. That said, you *can* put a modern set of cylinders on say, a flathead case and ride it every day. For that matter, I've seen people put Chevy pistons in 'em -- 1500 + cc's can be fun!
Typo. OK, I was trashed. It should read "computers"
Did you ever step on a lego block while barefooted?
Well, nowdays I step on a few compuers.
'Nuff said
Cool, now we can all get our spam faster. Then we will have all day to just sit there and buzz warmly to the harmony of the ultimate BSOD!
got news for ya... I did that work in college and I still do it. Will everyone here on slashdot please think about that the next time they use something made of steel (cars, silverware, computer cases, etc.) And BTW, I have had to hose the remains of stupider co-workers out of the conveyors...
Spacefem wrote that "we have it easy..." and I strongly agree, based on experience. I have worked in factories for most of my adult life (I'm 35 now)
and I'm here to tell you that it can be quite debilitating. Medically and physically, it becomes quite expensive when your living depends on your good health and you have to take off a week or two for medical problems. In other words, a week or two of no income.
It's not the Golden Era of manufacturing anymore in my part of the US; $25k gross is considered a decent middle-class income here. If you are fortunate to have any financial reserves, they are probably very slim.
It's mentally debilitating; there are no fellow geeks, so it tends to get lonely beyond a certain point. (my answer is to do Linux at home). Certainly, there's little of the intellectually stimulating debate that I love. (I majored in English, with a few years each of Philosophy and Art. Now I'm into networking)
Now for the perspective: I have to wonder how much of this sociologist's observations are specific to the IT industry, or is it all just becoming part of the US corporate ethos? IMHO, business is a very human activity, but the way we go about it certainly isn't sometimes.
Any chance you could spare a straw?
But I spent a lot of time scratching various body parts in front of them (along with the occasional booger, well-aimed).
They did away with the cameras last year.
I fully support the right to be mooned by members of the opposite sex.
First, I totally agree with you. However, I have found a point of humor in your 5th paragraph, re:
"MS is not good at the sandbox."
It just came to mind that my cat is *very* good at the sandbox, and cheaper too.
Sorry bout that, I just couldn't resist. It was too easy to pass up, LOL.
Heh, thanks. I saved the jpeg and added it to my /usr/local/doc for future reference. Now I've got something to laugh at for a few days, thanks again!
I don't think so... I think what really has everyone spooked is the tie-in to the hardware, combined with Microsoft's past business practices, especially wrt OEM contracts and their market coverage. Please refer to my post later on down the page. Thanks.
"...neither Linux nor Unix is tied to the hardware."
Thank $DEITY for that, I say. I don't need to question my OS security and large file support deeply enough to require special hardware.
That's an interesting idea about having it all in one app -- I just hope people eventually learn the difference between an app and an OS. Not that M$'s statements under oath will make that any easier.
BTW I thought it was funny how NTFS is (evidently) considered to be new and advanced... yawns...
An anecdote regarding all this: my General Manager enthusiastically told me a few months ago that the "NT" part of "Windows NT" stands for "New Technology". Er, IMO it's only new if you've been hiding under a very obscure rock for the last 20 years. On a feature-by-feature basis there's nothing new about any of the ideas implemented in NT, and I have to wonder how this is any different aside from relying on hardware to do the job that the software should be doing in the first place.
Thanks for the insightful comment, I hadn't thought of looking at it like that before but I definitely agree with it. I stand educated, and your definition all of a sudden explains a lot of political crap (at least in the US)
Which really surprises me, regarding Massachusets. For myself personally, it was always about standing up for what I believe in. [1]
Although Virginia/West Virginia's behavior doesn't really surprise me, given their proximity to D.C.
[1] I believe in freely sharing potentially useful information with fellow humans in whatever form it may require, including paper, text, and computer instructions/data
BTW, that's a cool quote about the Mensa girls, it's beem years since I dealt with them... *sigh*
Dude hits the nail right on the head, IMHO.
Especially the part towards the end about the Grateful Dead and residual incomes vs direct publishing (now truly enabled by the 'net)
My only real question to all of this is: How does any of this differ from the social uproar caused by Johannes Gutenberg printing the Bible with his movable-type press? (Which really messed up Europe for at least a hundred years -- some publishers are still extant). Surely, the social upheavals were reflected in the massive financial swings of the time. What makes this (internet-based publishing) any different?
Funny: tell them you upgraded Serious: marketing stats
Just a "thank you" for the most realistic post on this topic so far, IMHO. The only bone I could possibly pick is the fact that this slashdot user still does ok with dialup. (financial reasons)
chmod 1777 /tmp
I may be getting out on a limb here, but the thing about being "chatty" with their servers.... and the fact that I refuse to be "online" without firewalling... is their target market really that dumb or lazy?
Why does this sound so much like the typical windows usage, trying to hit 90% of the market?
Ooops, can't say the "W" word, I'll just say "transparent crystalline structure for viewing"
Meanwhile I *might* continue to purchase VHS videos if/when Hollywood puts out something that I feel is worth it.
Ever notice how "authentication" is never a problem with cash? Naahhh, it couldn't be....