I was a Classical Civilization (Latin) major as an undergrad. I took very low level and basic 1 computer related course (Electrical Engineering, actually). I then worked for a year at a Talent/Literary Agency. I'm now working as a developer at a defense contractor and simultaneously in a Master's program in CS.
I can't compare myself to someone who did not go to college, since there are none employed here, but I do notice that I grasp certain concepts much faster and sometimes in a different way than some of the straight EE/CS grads, mostly due to my language and Humanities background. It's not all positive, since I do need to work harder to get the initial concepts, but things like requirements, OOAD and algorithms are just clear, logical, and distinct writing -- that is to say, they do not differ drastically from good writing.
I don't think that a discipline -- be it science or humanities -- can advance or make major developments solely from within. New points of view -- wherever they come from -- need to address old problems; someone who is trained in a discipline is also trained in a certain way of looking at problems. It's only when an outsider tries to understand a problem that you get a truly new point of view. That's not to say that EE and CS grads are not useful or productive with respect to advancing CS -- far from it. I am talking more about broadbased interests and experience than education. You can be a CS major, for example, and still enjoy reading Classics, just as you can be a Classics major and enjoy programming; it is this cross-disciplinary approach that leads to revolutions.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that no matter what you major in, or even if you go to college (which I highly recommend), you need to be aware of the big picture of the world, and have interests outside of your work. The worst engineers here are some of the Electrical Engineers who are only concerned about their small component, with little or no concern about how the widget fits in with the
Correction: the iMac IS a G3. G3 (as you no doubt looked into before you posted) refers to the generation of the processor. The PPC 601 was G1, 604 was G2, and the 750 is G3. (I'm not sure if the 603 falls into G2).
The current iMac uses, as you correctly pointed out, a 266 Mhz PPC G3.
While rumors about (and some vague confirmation) a fourth revision of the iMac in the next week or so to 300 or 333 Mhz, you are right to point out that the current one uses a 266.
I'm not a lawyer, and I no longer even play one on TV anymore, but if they pay you to sue them, even if you drop the suit, isn't that illegal? Gotta be some sort of conspiracy or strongarm behaviour. I dunno. At the very least, Apple would lose all support the have for doing so.
I may be wrong, but as far as I've read, Linus yays or nays code to go into the kernel. Is he a dictator? mozilla.org approves or disapproves code which remains in their source.
Having a central authority is required unless you are eager to write code without direction, with bugs introduced with every patch, and a million incompatable trees of every file in the OS. Of course, this central authority never said that they are not allowing you to make ANY CHANGE WHATSOEVER you like for internal/personal usage. You don't have to submit your change if you just want to use it for yourself. You don't even need to document it. Spaghetti code is tasty code, huh?
If I only had the choice of Windows -- which is not even close to being the case, and ignoring anti-trust implications -- and I didn't like it, I would endeavor to write or help write an OS that I did like. The fact of the matter is that the OS I would write would be bad, but that which another would write would be good. If the market is dissatisfied, the market will move to create competition.
If you don't like Apple, don't buy or use Mac OS X Server. If you don't like Mac OS X Server, use another OS. You have choice. No one is forcing you to only buy Pepsi; you have the whole soda aisle to browse.
I want it (Linux | BeOS). I's be willing to buy it. I'm a customer.
There is no "average computer customer." It all depends on the market. The development market differs from the web design market differs from the server market differs from the game market differs from the office drone market differs from... well, you get the point.
If there are enough people out there who would buy a product, then there is a market for a product. The "average computer user" IN THAT MARKET has plenty of demand for the product. Is the market large enough to make a profit?
Just judging from the traffic at this site and many sites dedicated to "niche" OSs and applications, I think that there is a significant market for Linux and BeOS and most of the other products which the "average computer user" has no need for.
To paraphrase what you said, not every single customer wants Linux or BeOS. Who cares, as long as many customers DO want them?
It might not be what you have in mind (first of all, it does not come with a monitor), but the new G3 "Pro" systems (the Blue and White mini-towers) start at $1599, and I've seen them a hundred or so dollars less. Granted, if you're looking into Alphas, you'd want more memory, etc -- but it would still make quite a nice Linux box.
I don't disagree with your complaint that Macs at least seem significantly more expensive than "comparable" PCs. I do think that CHRP's demise is a big loss. At least they seem to be using more and more "standard" parts -- UltraDMA, USB, (I believe) VGA out, PCI, etc. The more they use, the cheaper they can afford to sell computers for.
It is Yale. I haven't looked at the wall since I graduated in '96 (and although I was an undergraduate, I did spend a fair amount of time in the law school library), but I don't remember too much "hyper adolescent" postings. Maybe it has changed.
The Law School at the University I went to has a free speech wall that they call, creatively, The Wall. There are only two rules: you must sign (and date) anything you post or write on a post; you cannot remove anyone else's post. Anything can be posted -- newspaper articles, essays, invective letters, anything. It just has to be signed.
You might think that it gets reduced to personal mudslinging, but it doesn't. Since each poster much take ownership of their post, people think about what they write. It works because there is responsiblity, and the community is fairly honorable; I have not heard of any false signatures.
That said, I waver about whether I would want to keep or ban Anonynous Cowards. A large percentage of the AC posts are off topic or poorly thought our or just insulting. Then there are some posts which really shine. Some of the best posts I have seen here are from ACs. And some of the worst are from those with a login. You don't need to be an AC to write a "First Post!" comment, and firsties are often not ACs. It is also a simple matter to get a login without giving any real information about yourself (only giving a @yahoo or @hotmail or @dejanews e-mail address).
I believe in being responsible for my posts. I try to put my name on every post, and certainly my URL and e-mail address work. There are some to whom responsibility is not an issue. As long as ACs are allowed, there can be no limit on them, and they should be allowed to post whatever drivel or gems they care to, just as those with a login can.
I say keep ACs. Thresholds exist so that you can ignore them if you like; I prefer just to ignore those posts which deserve ignoring.
Slashdot Mirror
I was a Classical Civilization (Latin) major as an undergrad. I took very low level and basic 1 computer related course (Electrical Engineering, actually). I then worked for a year at a Talent/Literary Agency. I'm now working as a developer at a defense contractor and simultaneously in a Master's program in CS.
I can't compare myself to someone who did not go to college, since there are none employed here, but I do notice that I grasp certain concepts much faster and sometimes in a different way than some of the straight EE/CS grads, mostly due to my language and Humanities background. It's not all positive, since I do need to work harder to get the initial concepts, but things like requirements, OOAD and algorithms are just clear, logical, and distinct writing -- that is to say, they do not differ drastically from good writing.
I don't think that a discipline -- be it science or humanities -- can advance or make major developments solely from within. New points of view -- wherever they come from -- need to address old problems; someone who is trained in a discipline is also trained in a certain way of looking at problems. It's only when an outsider tries to understand a problem that you get a truly new point of view. That's not to say that EE and CS grads are not useful or productive with respect to advancing CS -- far from it. I am talking more about broadbased interests and experience than education. You can be a CS major, for example, and still enjoy reading Classics, just as you can be a Classics major and enjoy programming; it is this cross-disciplinary approach that leads to revolutions.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that no matter what you major in, or even if you go to college (which I highly recommend), you need to be aware of the big picture of the world, and have interests outside of your work. The worst engineers here are some of the Electrical Engineers who are only concerned about their small component, with little or no concern about how the widget fits in with the
Correction: the iMac IS a G3. G3 (as you no doubt looked into before you posted) refers to the generation of the processor. The PPC 601 was G1, 604 was G2, and the 750 is G3. (I'm not sure if the 603 falls into G2).
The current iMac uses, as you correctly pointed out, a 266 Mhz PPC G3.
While rumors about (and some vague confirmation) a fourth revision of the iMac in the next week or so to 300 or 333 Mhz, you are right to point out that the current one uses a 266.
Russell Ahrens
I'm not a lawyer, and I no longer even play one on TV anymore, but if they pay you to sue them, even if you drop the suit, isn't that illegal? Gotta be some sort of conspiracy or strongarm behaviour. I dunno. At the very least, Apple would lose all support the have for doing so.
I may be wrong, but as far as I've read, Linus yays or nays code to go into the kernel. Is he a dictator? mozilla.org approves or disapproves code which remains in their source.
Having a central authority is required unless you are eager to write code without direction, with bugs introduced with every patch, and a million incompatable trees of every file in the OS. Of course, this central authority never said that they are not allowing you to make ANY CHANGE WHATSOEVER you like for internal/personal usage. You don't have to submit your change if you just want to use it for yourself. You don't even need to document it. Spaghetti code is tasty code, huh?
If I only had the choice of Windows -- which is not even close to being the case, and ignoring anti-trust implications -- and I didn't like it, I would endeavor to write or help write an OS that I did like. The fact of the matter is that the OS I would write would be bad, but that which another would write would be good. If the market is dissatisfied, the market will move to create competition.
If you don't like Apple, don't buy or use Mac OS X Server. If you don't like Mac OS X Server, use another OS. You have choice. No one is forcing you to only buy Pepsi; you have the whole soda aisle to browse.
Russell Ahrens
EEK! I've been looking for an app that can do that for my Mac!
Do you know what Mac app can do that?
I want it (Linux | BeOS). I's be willing to buy it. I'm a customer.
There is no "average computer customer." It all depends on the market. The development market differs from the web design market differs from the server market differs from the game market differs from the office drone market differs from... well, you get the point.
If there are enough people out there who would buy a product, then there is a market for a product. The "average computer user" IN THAT MARKET has plenty of demand for the product. Is the market large enough to make a profit?
Just judging from the traffic at this site and many sites dedicated to "niche" OSs and applications, I think that there is a significant market for Linux and BeOS and most of the other products which the "average computer user" has no need for.
To paraphrase what you said, not every single customer wants Linux or BeOS. Who cares, as long as many customers DO want them?
Russell Ahrens
It might not be what you have in mind (first of all, it does not come with a monitor), but the new G3 "Pro" systems (the Blue and White mini-towers) start at $1599, and I've seen them a hundred or so dollars less. Granted, if you're looking into Alphas, you'd want more memory, etc -- but it would still make quite a nice Linux box.
I don't disagree with your complaint that Macs at least seem significantly more expensive than "comparable" PCs. I do think that CHRP's demise is a big loss. At least they seem to be using more and more "standard" parts -- UltraDMA, USB, (I believe) VGA out, PCI, etc. The more they use, the cheaper they can afford to sell computers for.
Russell Ahrens
It is Yale. I haven't looked at the wall since I graduated in '96 (and although I was an undergraduate, I did spend a fair amount of time in the law school library), but I don't remember too much "hyper adolescent" postings. Maybe it has changed.
The Law School at the University I went to has a free speech wall that they call, creatively, The Wall. There are only two rules: you must sign (and date) anything you post or write on a post; you cannot remove anyone else's post. Anything can be posted -- newspaper articles, essays, invective letters, anything. It just has to be signed.
You might think that it gets reduced to personal mudslinging, but it doesn't. Since each poster much take ownership of their post, people think about what they write. It works because there is responsiblity, and the community is fairly honorable; I have not heard of any false signatures.
That said, I waver about whether I would want to keep or ban Anonynous Cowards. A large percentage of the AC posts are off topic or poorly thought our or just insulting. Then there are some posts which really shine. Some of the best posts I have seen here are from ACs. And some of the worst are from those with a login. You don't need to be an AC to write a "First Post!" comment, and firsties are often not ACs. It is also a simple matter to get a login without giving any real information about yourself (only giving a @yahoo or @hotmail or @dejanews e-mail address).
I believe in being responsible for my posts. I try to put my name on every post, and certainly my URL and e-mail address work. There are some to whom responsibility is not an issue. As long as ACs are allowed, there can be no limit on them, and they should be allowed to post whatever drivel or gems they care to, just as those with a login can.
I say keep ACs. Thresholds exist so that you can ignore them if you like; I prefer just to ignore those posts which deserve ignoring.
Russell Ahrens