Maybe because wandering around the office continually reminding professionals how to do their own jobs (assuming they are competent), makes you an arrogant asshole?
No, it just makes me right.
And as for doing it "continually", because I take the time to make sure my target person or audience understands what I am telling them the first time, I don't need to repeat it.
Sorry, but I've done with my BOFH days - as far as I am concerned, all the technical knowledge in my head is pretty much open source. If someone asks me something and they're interested in hearing my solution, that's good enough for me to tell them.
So if you're so clever, how come you didn't warn the guy that might happen at the time?
It took me to reach my mid-30s (about 10 years ago) to realise that you can't go through life being an arrogant jerk and revelling in the mistakes of others - we ALL started knowing nothing and making far more mistakes than we do now.
Take my advice. Help people avoid mistakes, give them your advice respectfully and nicely, give them a chance to listen to you. In the long run, it will pay dividends - people respect you and occasionally thank you for bailing them out.
...I don't have to endure the pain of listening to one or more big black blokes shouting incoherently over some 7-year old playing a stylophone as a soundtrack.
And let me know when they make a controller that grants musical taste to these people.
When was the last time you saw a pretty mobile phone advert that said "This device is equipped with Digital Rights Management technology which is designed to remove what you previously considered to be 'Fair Usage' of any media that you owned"?
When I count to three, you geeks down in the "Evil" pigeonhole push apart "Microsoft" and "Sony", the rest of us will lever "Nokia" out of the "Probably Okay Guys" pigeonhole and with enough impetus, it should should drop straight down into "Evil" between the two of them.
Oh, and while you guys are down there, can you sweep up the "SCO" ashes?
Since when did software upgrades mean buying new hardware?
Just about every time Microsoft releases a new version of Windows.
And before the Apple fanbois start raining positive mod points down on me for the anti-MS attack, Apple have yet to make anything good, cheap or open enough for me to want to even consider handing over money for it.
But by your own argument, if a device has to "just play music" or "just get you on eBay", then if it does both of those things, then why would you care if Apple makes it or not?
Oh, and please stop with the incorrect usage of the word "ecosystem" when talking about small, white electronic boxes...
I suspect that part of Apple's restrictive software distribution strategy is to avoid malware and crapware from creeping into the iPhone ecosystem.
So you mean to say that with iPhone software they are taking a completely different stance than with OS X? Because Apple have blatantly refused to fix quite a few security holes in Safari and OS X so far so things aren't looking that great for iPhone security...
Oh, and stop with the "corporate speak" please - an "ecosystem" is a natural phenomena based on flora, fauna, geography & climate, it has no relevance to a small white portable device apart from trying to make it sound a lot more important than it actually is.
Surely "the perfect gadget" is one that allows a user to customise it to whatever he/she needs on the basis that every user will have differing requirements - in which case, why would you choose a closed platform using a closed OS with a limited development environment?
Conversely, an open platform is probably going to have a standard expansion slot in it that allows you to add pretty much all of the storage you need? And it's pretty certain you can get some nice free source code somewhere to compile stuff how you want it?
Yep, by all means throw back at me the classic counter-attack that "Linux is not intuitive for new users" and I will sit here nodding my head. But the fact is, if you want something bad enough, then you should expect to have to do some work for it.
My view of many Apple users is that they want it easy "out of the box" and if they like the stuff then good on them - but to me, "perfect gadget" and "closed platform" are diametric opposites because it needs to be open to be customizable as much as I want to be, even if it means I'm sometimes up till 2am fiddling with a config file.
I'm a middle-aged geek that hates spending money. I can't say I was ever into the "brand name" thing but then I was a teenager during the 70s here in the UK when the whole "brand name" thing was in its infancy so I kind of missed it - and because I'm a grumpy old man now, I could care less about it now.
So I've never understood the "stand out from the crowd" attitude - to me, mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras etc. are tools to get a job done. Yes, they need to be convenient and portable, they need to be usable but my attitude is that if it's not easy to use out of the box then, whatever - I'll learn to use it and read the instruction manual. And as for what shape or colour it is - within reason I really don't care.
I don't get the "now" generation at all and they probably don't get me so we're even. As for Apple, they've never made anything that I particularly wanted at a price I wanted to pay but to give them credit, they've probably come a whole lot closer than Ferrari, Chanel or Gucci ever have.
In other words, my initial posting was an attempt was trying to make an objective statement of fact without too much emotion involved - I don't need stuff I buy to look nice to other people so take the fact that a fair proportion of the price of an Apple product has gone into making it look good, then I can find equally usable stuff a lot cheaper elsewhere.
To be fair, you make a good argument - it's the idiot that Trolled me for seeing my comment as a criticism of Apple rather than a comment of "why Apple's products have never given me a boner" that needs a good kicking.
On the assumption that certain sick people make child porn in order to make money from it and on the second assumption that a lot of those purchases are made over the Internet using standard financial transaction methods, how about just "naming and shaming" the banks and credit card companies who make money from the stuff being peddled?
Do that and I will start believing that the intention is to stop child porn and not to start introducing complete Internet censorship by "sneaking it in" using a topic about which there is (rightly) considerable public outcry.
...for those fanbois who still feel the need to personally thank Uncle Steve, he is currently bent over in reception with his trousers round his ankles waiting for you.
Make stuff that looks a certain way on the basis that you are appealing to the fact that some people are prepared to pay for exclusivity, rather than functionality, first.
Charge a premium price to keep it exclusive and pump the additional money into the overall design and look of the product so that the device can be worn or carried as a fashion accessory, thus appealing to those people that need to make open displays of allegiances to certain product brands.
In this respect, Apple are no different to Ferrari, Chanel or Gucci - in other words, fine for some but if you just need something to make phone calls, drop the kids off to school in, smell nice or keep your feet dry, there are probably a lot more economical ways of doing it.
Well, then I really would welcome your advice in Office 2003.
Because whenever I try to print labels (especially at Christmas) in MS Office 2003 on standard Avery label sheets using the included (or officially downloaded) label template, it never prints a sheet of labels (say on a 2x8 sheet of 16 labels) as they are on the screen. The screen shows all the addresses nicely centralised on each label but you waste half the packet adjusting the printer sp that they're not printed over the edge of labels - even then it's hit or miss on any of the three printers in our house.
I spend hours every year messing about with page setups, margins and printer setups and I have never once got it to work properly without using the "hit or miss" method of inserting a few extra lines between labels.
But this article isn't referring to Google Docs per se but the widgets that allow desktop integration - which is what the OP was whining about.
Okay, they're not released under the GPL, I'll give you that, but they are released under the Apache License which is still pretty much "here's the source code, have a play with it".
I just don't get you people that moan about getting stuff for free - who gives a shit? If you don't like it then either contribute some useful criticism or piss off and try something else. You've not lost anything in the process...
Do you own any music CDs? Can you download any of them on BitTorrent?
I suggest that you probably can which means, by your argument, that your music collection is crap.
Sorry, but I really don't get you people that constantly criticise free software for not giving you what you want - yet you're more than happy to pay good money for an OS or game that you constantly need to update from the Internet in order that it will do the job it says on the packaging.
It's FREE software - so if you like it, it's a great thing; if you don't, then you've not wasted any money. In which case keep that strength of conviction and PAY for commercial software rather than pirating it.
In my experience, a lot of MS Office home users conveniently forget that they're using illegal free copies of MS Office when they make comparisons to Ooo.
Also, I don't see how "ugly" is relevant - an office suite is a tool, designed to get a job done. If it's laid out logically and is easy on the eye, what's the problem? A desktop environment is for me to work in, not to proudly display to everyone else.
Yep, Ooo does not compete with MS Office on the integration or macros front - but please don't accuse Ooo of being buggy when Microsoft can create a 200MB-odd service pack (3) for Office 2003 and neither forget that MS Office invariably "cheats" by loading a big part of itself into memory when you start up (even if you need that memory for something else) in order to start quicker.
I've used both packages extensively and I can't really see a great speed difference - if anything, if you compile Ooo (in Linux) for the CPU platform you're using, it's a bit faster. Yes, it doesn't have all the "bells and whistles" MS Office has but 90% of MS Office users use about 10% of its features - and for that Ooo is more than adequate.
So perhaps then people here could answer a question I have had for a while: Why is it that the people in America, at least over the last couple of decades, continue to vote into office, hmmm, shall we say "substandard" presidents that appear to not have the ability to piece a sentence together, let along come up with a solid set of foreign policies?
Ahem!
Dear Fellow Countryman
Eleven words... "our glorious prime minister Gordon 'Tax It If It Moves' Brown". Enough said.
Slashdot Mirror
No, it just makes me right.
And as for doing it "continually", because I take the time to make sure my target person or audience understands what I am telling them the first time, I don't need to repeat it.
Sorry, but I've done with my BOFH days - as far as I am concerned, all the technical knowledge in my head is pretty much open source. If someone asks me something and they're interested in hearing my solution, that's good enough for me to tell them.
It took me to reach my mid-30s (about 10 years ago) to realise that you can't go through life being an arrogant jerk and revelling in the mistakes of others - we ALL started knowing nothing and making far more mistakes than we do now.
Take my advice. Help people avoid mistakes, give them your advice respectfully and nicely, give them a chance to listen to you. In the long run, it will pay dividends - people respect you and occasionally thank you for bailing them out.
And let me know when they make a controller that grants musical taste to these people.
When was the last time you saw a pretty mobile phone advert that said "This device is equipped with Digital Rights Management technology which is designed to remove what you previously considered to be 'Fair Usage' of any media that you owned"?
...Hairy Jacksy!
Oh, and while you guys are down there, can you sweep up the "SCO" ashes?
Just about every time Microsoft releases a new version of Windows.
And before the Apple fanbois start raining positive mod points down on me for the anti-MS attack, Apple have yet to make anything good, cheap or open enough for me to want to even consider handing over money for it.
Oh, and please stop with the incorrect usage of the word "ecosystem" when talking about small, white electronic boxes...
So you mean to say that with iPhone software they are taking a completely different stance than with OS X? Because Apple have blatantly refused to fix quite a few security holes in Safari and OS X so far so things aren't looking that great for iPhone security...
Oh, and stop with the "corporate speak" please - an "ecosystem" is a natural phenomena based on flora, fauna, geography & climate, it has no relevance to a small white portable device apart from trying to make it sound a lot more important than it actually is.
Conversely, an open platform is probably going to have a standard expansion slot in it that allows you to add pretty much all of the storage you need? And it's pretty certain you can get some nice free source code somewhere to compile stuff how you want it?
Yep, by all means throw back at me the classic counter-attack that "Linux is not intuitive for new users" and I will sit here nodding my head. But the fact is, if you want something bad enough, then you should expect to have to do some work for it.
My view of many Apple users is that they want it easy "out of the box" and if they like the stuff then good on them - but to me, "perfect gadget" and "closed platform" are diametric opposites because it needs to be open to be customizable as much as I want to be, even if it means I'm sometimes up till 2am fiddling with a config file.
I'm a middle-aged geek that hates spending money. I can't say I was ever into the "brand name" thing but then I was a teenager during the 70s here in the UK when the whole "brand name" thing was in its infancy so I kind of missed it - and because I'm a grumpy old man now, I could care less about it now.
So I've never understood the "stand out from the crowd" attitude - to me, mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras etc. are tools to get a job done. Yes, they need to be convenient and portable, they need to be usable but my attitude is that if it's not easy to use out of the box then, whatever - I'll learn to use it and read the instruction manual. And as for what shape or colour it is - within reason I really don't care.
I don't get the "now" generation at all and they probably don't get me so we're even. As for Apple, they've never made anything that I particularly wanted at a price I wanted to pay but to give them credit, they've probably come a whole lot closer than Ferrari, Chanel or Gucci ever have.
In other words, my initial posting was an attempt was trying to make an objective statement of fact without too much emotion involved - I don't need stuff I buy to look nice to other people so take the fact that a fair proportion of the price of an Apple product has gone into making it look good, then I can find equally usable stuff a lot cheaper elsewhere.
To be fair, you make a good argument - it's the idiot that Trolled me for seeing my comment as a criticism of Apple rather than a comment of "why Apple's products have never given me a boner" that needs a good kicking.
Argentina - a southern hemisphere Hispanic country with a lot of sun inhabited by a multitude of dark-skinned people that like soccer.
Yes, it's an easy mistake to make, isn't it?
Do that and I will start believing that the intention is to stop child porn and not to start introducing complete Internet censorship by "sneaking it in" using a topic about which there is (rightly) considerable public outcry.
..."truth" and "Microsoft".
... he is still the arrogant salesman in the sharp suit who owns the road and has a small willy.
...for those fanbois who still feel the need to personally thank Uncle Steve, he is currently bent over in reception with his trousers round his ankles waiting for you.
Make stuff that looks a certain way on the basis that you are appealing to the fact that some people are prepared to pay for exclusivity, rather than functionality, first.
Charge a premium price to keep it exclusive and pump the additional money into the overall design and look of the product so that the device can be worn or carried as a fashion accessory, thus appealing to those people that need to make open displays of allegiances to certain product brands.
In this respect, Apple are no different to Ferrari, Chanel or Gucci - in other words, fine for some but if you just need something to make phone calls, drop the kids off to school in, smell nice or keep your feet dry, there are probably a lot more economical ways of doing it.
Because whenever I try to print labels (especially at Christmas) in MS Office 2003 on standard Avery label sheets using the included (or officially downloaded) label template, it never prints a sheet of labels (say on a 2x8 sheet of 16 labels) as they are on the screen. The screen shows all the addresses nicely centralised on each label but you waste half the packet adjusting the printer sp that they're not printed over the edge of labels - even then it's hit or miss on any of the three printers in our house.
I spend hours every year messing about with page setups, margins and printer setups and I have never once got it to work properly without using the "hit or miss" method of inserting a few extra lines between labels.
But this article isn't referring to Google Docs per se but the widgets that allow desktop integration - which is what the OP was whining about.
Okay, they're not released under the GPL, I'll give you that, but they are released under the Apache License which is still pretty much "here's the source code, have a play with it".
I just don't get you people that moan about getting stuff for free - who gives a shit? If you don't like it then either contribute some useful criticism or piss off and try something else. You've not lost anything in the process...
I suggest that you probably can which means, by your argument, that your music collection is crap.
Sorry, but I really don't get you people that constantly criticise free software for not giving you what you want - yet you're more than happy to pay good money for an OS or game that you constantly need to update from the Internet in order that it will do the job it says on the packaging.
It's FREE software - so if you like it, it's a great thing; if you don't, then you've not wasted any money. In which case keep that strength of conviction and PAY for commercial software rather than pirating it.
In my experience, a lot of MS Office home users conveniently forget that they're using illegal free copies of MS Office when they make comparisons to Ooo.
Also, I don't see how "ugly" is relevant - an office suite is a tool, designed to get a job done. If it's laid out logically and is easy on the eye, what's the problem? A desktop environment is for me to work in, not to proudly display to everyone else.
Yep, Ooo does not compete with MS Office on the integration or macros front - but please don't accuse Ooo of being buggy when Microsoft can create a 200MB-odd service pack (3) for Office 2003 and neither forget that MS Office invariably "cheats" by loading a big part of itself into memory when you start up (even if you need that memory for something else) in order to start quicker.
I've used both packages extensively and I can't really see a great speed difference - if anything, if you compile Ooo (in Linux) for the CPU platform you're using, it's a bit faster. Yes, it doesn't have all the "bells and whistles" MS Office has but 90% of MS Office users use about 10% of its features - and for that Ooo is more than adequate.
Funnily enough, they're the very same people that came up with "Microsoft Works".
That the Earth sucks.
Neither. I shall stick to good pint of British real ale any day - there's nowt better than a pint of "London Pride" or "Summer Lightning".
Yes, I'll happily use that beer to wash down a nice fat German Bratwurst smeared with sauerkraut and mustard.
But the best British ale is the best in the world, the Krauts can stick to their fine sausages and if I want "bubbles" then I'll go take a bath.
Ahem!
Dear Fellow Countryman
Eleven words... "our glorious prime minister Gordon 'Tax It If It Moves' Brown". Enough said.