The problem with the ISS is that, from its placement on in orbit, its not really in a position to be of any real value.
Someone will have to look up the article, but I was reading something which basically said in terms of space travel, the ISS is worthless. Its position was only chosen because it is convient for Russia, rather than being chosen as a stepping stone off the planet.
im gunna get me an open source version of dis. cuz open sources are better than the micro$loth windoze kindz of sources. M$ iz teh evil, and dey have really bad sources, unlike teh opne sources.
Mike Dell is really following intelligent business. The jobs of CEO and Chairman, while it looks good on your resume to hold both, are really two jobs with completely different responsibilities, and unless its a really small corp, they should really be done by two separate people.
It was all the rage in the dot-bomb era, but as usually reality comes crashing back in, demonstrating that there really IS a reason businesses run the way they do. So kudos to MD, who went out on top, unlike Eisner who had to be forced out. But the difference between the two is that MD is looking out for his company, and Eisner is looking out for Eisner.
Yes, they do. In many (not all, of course) law firms, IT people are treated at the same level as janitors. I would never work somewhere like that, but there are plenty of places I wouldnt work.
Plus, I guess when you have a place where your paperwork is crucial to your business, it makes sense to have the people creating the documents happy. Quite frankly, most companies needs are more for memos and such, rather than documents spanning hundreds of pages.
As I said, WP is pretty good at what it does. Its just the technical side that is really bad, which is a shame.
WP ran into a lot of problems because of how it was made. I worked for two companies who did a major conversion from WP to MS Office, and both had the same issue: the users loved WP, and the support staff hated it. Since the IT department does the software purchasing, guess who won?
As far as USING the product goes, WP is great. A lot of times I swear at Word for messing up my formatting, being difficult to get a layout 'just right', etc.
But as far as supporting the program technically, WP is a nightmare. They had a component called 'PrintPerfect', which would not only screw up printing for WP, but for anything else on that computer. It basically shortcircuitted the entire Windows print subsystem, trying to get it to use WP's print program. Also, there are tons of other technical issues- IMO the programmers didnt understand how to program for Windows, and rewrote a whole bunch of stuff which was already there in the WinAPIs.
Also, for some reason WP makes it VERY difficult to get service packs. On MSO, you can just use Office Update, or download the whole thing for yourself. Likewise, researching a WP problem is extremely difficult, whereas MSO problems can be searched for via technet.
Its a shame that WP had a good product, but shot themselves in the foot because of bad programming.
I think that a well-trained geologist/astronaut could pull far more information from a short walk on mars than those rovers could their whole time on the surface.
Not really: look at the current unmanned rovers on Mars. There is a TEAM of geologists picking spots for it to check, analysing the data it discovers, etc. If you send a geologist there, you have to pick one who is both qualified AND can meet the requirements for becoming an astronaut.
Not only that, but there are way more issues with having a person there than a robot. A robot carries a RISK of biocontamination. A human carries an eventual CERTAINTY of this.
Im not saying Im against manned expeditions, but like the previous poster said, lets not fool ourselves that we support it for anything other than the cool factor.
Its pretty sad that your (not you're) only grammatical point can be my ommission of using a "'" in contractions, and skipping capitalization.
You, however, are using entirely wrong words: "To, Too, and Two" are different words with different meanings. So are "There, Their, and They're", as well as "Your and You're".
Likewise, you dont even know what is and isnt a word, as we see in your statement-
"cant" is not a word, it's spelled "can't".
"Cant" IS a word, but I assumed you would use the context clues to determine that I mean can't, rather than cant.
Im still not going to use punctuation, if for no better reason than to piss you off. But, your (not you're) bullshit excuse of 'posting in a hurry' is completely nonsense. You are just some semi-literate slob who doesnt know the correct way to use words. But dont let that get in my way of posting your ignorance on slashdot- around here, you just fit right in.
I wonder if you supported Dean before
No, I supported Senator Kerry right from the start.
Notice I can spell prenuptial correctly, which you spelled as "prenupual"
Wow, so you can spell prenuptial, but somehow the correct spellings of "they're" and "you're" escape you. Congraduations! (1)
IMO, dropping capitalization and punctuation is a far lesser offense than actaully getting a word WRONG. Given that I had no other misspellings, its pretty obvious that "prenupual" was a hurried mistake. Your (not you're) writing (not righting) is rife with mistakes. Im sure your (not you're) post caused much time to be spent next to a dictionary.
For a long time I ran a dual-boot Windows/Linux machine so I could evaluate them both, before eventually moving to Linux.
Who gives a shit? What does this have to do with the price of tea in China?
My guess is you've only ever run MS products, and refuse to try anything else, and likely are even hostile toward them. Why make an informed decision when you can just pick a popular one and attack anyone who suggests possible alternatives, right?
Hmm, another uninformed troll. No, I have used plenty of other OS's besides MS, because when I started using computers, MS was just another company making BASIC.
My hostility is saved for stupid people making comments rooted in ignorance, much like yourself.
Fools like yourself need to use an alternative OS as some way of defining yourself as a person: if that werent what you were trying to do, than why bring up your Linux usage in a political discussion? Face it, you are just some rube who needs to point out the fact that you are using Linux to anybody who will listen. Your grasp of politics is vapid at best, and you sound to be an ignorant slob who barely made it out of high school. BUT, you use Linux, so you are morally superior than everyone else!
(1) yes, I know how to spell congratulations (as well as a great many other words). I was making a joke based on irony.
I havent? Thats funny, my resume might say otherwise.
Lots of them "break new ground" in terms of IS/IT.
Sure, lots of the stupid ones. Lots of the IT/IS shops who ignore the concept that the "Information" in Information Technology is their primary concern. Lots of the shops who breat new ground are the ones who, like in Munich, forget this in their quest to play with something that is new and different.
Walmart is an obvious example of a company that spends a fortune to use technology to get a leg up in terms of logistics.
Walmart isnt breaking new ground. They are doing a measured roll-out of a new technology, which will tie in to their existing way of doing things; there is a subtle difference. Munich is doing a helter-skelter, seat-of-the-pants conversion, while Walmart is just adding on to something which is already working correctly.They written their own OSes for devices to get equipment to do things it was never meant to do; and as a result they have the bestl logistics in the world from a cost perspective.
Um, whatever that is supposed to mean. Somehow, I dont thing Walmart is going to have their systems being run by clustered playstations held together by duct tape and clothes hangers.
With one notable exception the banks that didn't "break new ground" 30 years ago no longer exist. Free checking, CDs paying almost bond interest and high internal expenses to manage accounts wiped them out.
Oh, you mean 'fake free checking'? And those things you are mentioning arent 'breaking new ground', they are just marketting spin. When a grocery store has a sale on milk or ten pizzas for $20, they arent breaking new ground.
I have worked for banks, and have many friends who do, and believe me, there is NO ground breaking going on there.
It doesn't always pay to be a technology laggered
I am going to assume you meant laggard. Anyway, there is no intelligent reason to be the first to do something. Especially if you are in the position of betting all your information and productivity on it. But, as I said, thats why somebody was able to con a government into this- because any smart corporation would never have done it. There are too many risks, and nobody would bet their company's future on some stupid plan with the only goal of sticking it to Microsoft. There isnt a cost savings, either long term or short term, and for as massive a project as a city wide conversion of both desktops and infrastructure goes, there was practically NO planning. And, if you read the original article, there was NO testing being done! Their "testing" was being done in their production environment, as the conversion was being done... pardon me, but thats not testing.
Also, they are going to be WAY over budget. I will predict they are going to ring in at *least* double the original cost estimate, meaning, at that figure, they are spending three times the cost of staying with Windows. I also predict their support costs are going to be at least twice what they were before. With the current generation of Windows, organizations are getting to lower their total support costs; Munich is wisely bucking that trend and doubling it!
I keep saying it, but it bears repeating: the only reason this is being done is because the City of Munich cant go out of business. All they need to do is create a new tax to pay for a very stupid mistake which would have drove a company in the real world out of business.
You dont know what solutions MS products offer, aside from Word and Excel, therefore you are very unqualified as to what other reasons a tech shop would have for wanting MS. Again, its a case of a non-technical person trying to make a technical decision.
If you ever become an expert on using Windows products, or work in a place that has people who know what they are doing, then you will be qualified to say that they have nothing to offer over their competitors.
I am an expert, and I can say that MS has tons of clear advantages over any other OS or NOS out there. You personally try to make using Linux/Windows out to be some kind of ideological arguement, when its not. Tech shops like Windows, know how to use it, and can hire people who know how to use it. It is also a product which is focused on business needs, rather than being something programmer hobbyists enjoy.
Theres nothing wrong with that, but business needs are far different from programmer hobbyist needs.
They're no longer struggling with Windows, like 99% of the world's organisations
Actually, its more like 95%. This figure was also cited in the article, so you may want to give that a read.
And they'll be pissing themselves laughing next time a big virus hits
I piss myself laughing when I hear about companies getting whacked by viruses too. The only difference is that I work with all MS stuff, but I take appropriate precautions, like using a firewall and scanning for viruses. I havent had to deal with a virus outbreak in at least three years.
And Steve got it right:
"The people who are making political decisions instead of business decisions, we're going to lose some," said Ballmer. "The people who are making business decisions based on where are the applications, what is the value, what is the lowest cost of ownership, we're not losing them.
"For us, anything that becomes a political issue, nobody wins them all on merit."
Yep, its as I predicted over a year ago. Linux is the new pseudo-tech savy executive's latest buzzword. Congratulations!
Once again- non-technical people make technical decision, disaster ensues. And, in this case, if you like MS products, hillarity ensues.
It seems that the main problem in Munich is with the knowledgebase of the integrators
Yep, three cheers for Munich joining the Linux "early adopter" program! As I said long ago, and got modded down for, Munich is going to waste tons of money.
There are no good tools to do a MS to Linux conversion. There are no real case studies to read. Most people dont even UNDERSTAND how Linux works, or how to use it, so you cant even hire qualified people (because no matter how good the admin is, you still need people to visit the desktops). MEANING that Munich is going to have to have all this done for themselves, they are going to be doing the expensive (and, from an IT perspective, very negligent) job of breaking new ground.
As I said before, its a good thing this was a government and not a company. A company would be forced out of business over a botched job like this. Munich can just raise taxes and stick it to all their residents and businesses.
They're. It means "they are". "Their" is a location, among other meanings.
Just because you don't support free enterprise doesn't mean that's how things are done in this country Who says I dont support free enterprise? If anything, I would say Im one of the biggest proponents of free enterprise than the majority of people on this website.
My guess is your inconsistent with who you give the benefit of the doubt
you're. It means "You are". "Your" is a possive, among other meanings.
You probably figure Cheney only serves the rich since he's a "have", how about this to put things in perspective about how much money Kerry really has.
No, I figure Cheney only serves the rich because he is a member of the Old Boy Network, just like Bush. GHWB is a sell-out from WAY back in the day.
If you want to spew half baked ideas, you will have to do it against someone far less certain on the basis of their political ethics than myself.
and that's why I dislike Kerry
Good, so dont vote for him.
Compare, for example how they want to fix health care.
Health care isnt going to get 'fixed'. Nor would a purchased politician like Bush even try it anyway. There is way too much money being thrown at Congress for things to ever change.
Of course, we get them every time. No matter what technological advance arises, some goofball who read/watched 1984 too many times as a child had to ring in and let us know that "Big Brother" is going to come in, take over our minds, then replace us all with cyborg drones.
Of course, they conviently ignore the fact that something like this will help people determine the cause of an accident and who was at fault, but the same people who complain about accountability are the same ones who drive 80mph on the shoulder during rush hour, or bob and weave thru traffic, cutting people off just so they can get to work 4 minutes faster.
Vonage doesnt charge extra for 911 service. Now I dont really know if they pay extra for the service (I would imagine they DO), but they provide it free of charge.
You DO have to activate it, however. This can be done from your Vonage configuration page, which you access by signing in to their website.
so what does that prove, that people cant marry whoever they want? just because you endorse some kind of caste system where only the wealthy can marry each other doesnt mean thats how things are done in this country. if you dislike that, go to the middle east or india- they wont let people marry outside their 'station'
In fact, if Kerry is elected, he will the the 3rd richest US president ever (behind George Washington and JFK).
sigh, I like this bullshit statement the grassroots Republican conartists are pushing out.
Lets get this straight- Kerry isnt hugely wealthy. His WIFE is hugely wealthy.
I would also imagine that, when you are talking about that kind of money, that there is definitely a prenupual agreement, meaning Kerry will not even get that money in the even of a divorce, or even most likely her death. Im sure he will get something, but my guess would be it going to her children (in a trust fund), or else some other family member.
Riiight... Im just sure that every store is going to give Budweiser complete and unfettered access to their sales data.
Hmmm, somehow, I dont see that as a threat. But keep up with the conspiracy theory! Maybe in ten years I will see yours right next to the one about that impersonator who replaced Paul McCartney...
>b> I think because there is no way to engage in cannibalism without harming another person, and that if a person is willing to accept that harm his competence is in question.
You could eat people who have died natural deaths. That doesnt harm the other 'person' (because they are, like, dead). Whether they are willing or not, I guess depends on their stance toward being an 'organ donor'.
Slashdot Mirror
Someone will have to look up the article, but I was reading something which basically said in terms of space travel, the ISS is worthless. Its position was only chosen because it is convient for Russia, rather than being chosen as a stepping stone off the planet.
im gunna get me an open source version of dis. cuz open sources are better than the micro$loth windoze kindz of sources. M$ iz teh evil, and dey have really bad sources, unlike teh opne sources.
I have no interest in this unless it features graphic depictions of tentacle rape.
It was all the rage in the dot-bomb era, but as usually reality comes crashing back in, demonstrating that there really IS a reason businesses run the way they do. So kudos to MD, who went out on top, unlike Eisner who had to be forced out. But the difference between the two is that MD is looking out for his company, and Eisner is looking out for Eisner.
Yeah!
anti-Grand Theft Auto
Boo!
See!!! I TOLD you guys Linux was communist!!
Plus, I guess when you have a place where your paperwork is crucial to your business, it makes sense to have the people creating the documents happy. Quite frankly, most companies needs are more for memos and such, rather than documents spanning hundreds of pages.
As I said, WP is pretty good at what it does. Its just the technical side that is really bad, which is a shame.
As far as USING the product goes, WP is great. A lot of times I swear at Word for messing up my formatting, being difficult to get a layout 'just right', etc.
But as far as supporting the program technically, WP is a nightmare. They had a component called 'PrintPerfect', which would not only screw up printing for WP, but for anything else on that computer. It basically shortcircuitted the entire Windows print subsystem, trying to get it to use WP's print program. Also, there are tons of other technical issues- IMO the programmers didnt understand how to program for Windows, and rewrote a whole bunch of stuff which was already there in the WinAPIs.
Also, for some reason WP makes it VERY difficult to get service packs. On MSO, you can just use Office Update, or download the whole thing for yourself. Likewise, researching a WP problem is extremely difficult, whereas MSO problems can be searched for via technet.
Its a shame that WP had a good product, but shot themselves in the foot because of bad programming.
Not really: look at the current unmanned rovers on Mars. There is a TEAM of geologists picking spots for it to check, analysing the data it discovers, etc. If you send a geologist there, you have to pick one who is both qualified AND can meet the requirements for becoming an astronaut.
Not only that, but there are way more issues with having a person there than a robot. A robot carries a RISK of biocontamination. A human carries an eventual CERTAINTY of this.
Im not saying Im against manned expeditions, but like the previous poster said, lets not fool ourselves that we support it for anything other than the cool factor.
Let me guess- they ran into trademark issues regarding their name.
Let the whining about Invisible War commence!
You, however, are using entirely wrong words: "To, Too, and Two" are different words with different meanings. So are "There, Their, and They're", as well as "Your and You're".
Likewise, you dont even know what is and isnt a word, as we see in your statement-
"Cant" IS a word, but I assumed you would use the context clues to determine that I mean can't, rather than cant.Im still not going to use punctuation, if for no better reason than to piss you off. But, your (not you're) bullshit excuse of 'posting in a hurry' is completely nonsense. You are just some semi-literate slob who doesnt know the correct way to use words. But dont let that get in my way of posting your ignorance on slashdot- around here, you just fit right in.
I wonder if you supported Dean before
No, I supported Senator Kerry right from the start.
Notice I can spell prenuptial correctly, which you spelled as "prenupual"
Wow, so you can spell prenuptial, but somehow the correct spellings of "they're" and "you're" escape you. Congraduations! (1)
IMO, dropping capitalization and punctuation is a far lesser offense than actaully getting a word WRONG. Given that I had no other misspellings, its pretty obvious that "prenupual" was a hurried mistake. Your (not you're) writing (not righting) is rife with mistakes. Im sure your (not you're) post caused much time to be spent next to a dictionary.
For a long time I ran a dual-boot Windows/Linux machine so I could evaluate them both, before eventually moving to Linux.
Who gives a shit? What does this have to do with the price of tea in China?
My guess is you've only ever run MS products, and refuse to try anything else, and likely are even hostile toward them. Why make an informed decision when you can just pick a popular one and attack anyone who suggests possible alternatives, right?
Hmm, another uninformed troll. No, I have used plenty of other OS's besides MS, because when I started using computers, MS was just another company making BASIC.
My hostility is saved for stupid people making comments rooted in ignorance, much like yourself.
Fools like yourself need to use an alternative OS as some way of defining yourself as a person: if that werent what you were trying to do, than why bring up your Linux usage in a political discussion? Face it, you are just some rube who needs to point out the fact that you are using Linux to anybody who will listen. Your grasp of politics is vapid at best, and you sound to be an ignorant slob who barely made it out of high school. BUT, you use Linux, so you are morally superior than everyone else!
(1) yes, I know how to spell congratulations (as well as a great many other words). I was making a joke based on irony.
I havent? Thats funny, my resume might say otherwise.
Lots of them "break new ground" in terms of IS/IT.
Sure, lots of the stupid ones. Lots of the IT/IS shops who ignore the concept that the "Information" in Information Technology is their primary concern. Lots of the shops who breat new ground are the ones who, like in Munich, forget this in their quest to play with something that is new and different.
Walmart is an obvious example of a company that spends a fortune to use technology to get a leg up in terms of logistics.
Walmart isnt breaking new ground. They are doing a measured roll-out of a new technology, which will tie in to their existing way of doing things; there is a subtle difference. Munich is doing a helter-skelter, seat-of-the-pants conversion, while Walmart is just adding on to something which is already working correctly. They written their own OSes for devices to get equipment to do things it was never meant to do; and as a result they have the bestl logistics in the world from a cost perspective.
Um, whatever that is supposed to mean. Somehow, I dont thing Walmart is going to have their systems being run by clustered playstations held together by duct tape and clothes hangers.
With one notable exception the banks that didn't "break new ground" 30 years ago no longer exist. Free checking, CDs paying almost bond interest and high internal expenses to manage accounts wiped them out.
Oh, you mean 'fake free checking'? And those things you are mentioning arent 'breaking new ground', they are just marketting spin. When a grocery store has a sale on milk or ten pizzas for $20, they arent breaking new ground.
I have worked for banks, and have many friends who do, and believe me, there is NO ground breaking going on there.
It doesn't always pay to be a technology laggered
I am going to assume you meant laggard. Anyway, there is no intelligent reason to be the first to do something. Especially if you are in the position of betting all your information and productivity on it. But, as I said, thats why somebody was able to con a government into this- because any smart corporation would never have done it. There are too many risks, and nobody would bet their company's future on some stupid plan with the only goal of sticking it to Microsoft. There isnt a cost savings, either long term or short term, and for as massive a project as a city wide conversion of both desktops and infrastructure goes, there was practically NO planning. And, if you read the original article, there was NO testing being done! Their "testing" was being done in their production environment, as the conversion was being done... pardon me, but thats not testing.
Also, they are going to be WAY over budget. I will predict they are going to ring in at *least* double the original cost estimate, meaning, at that figure, they are spending three times the cost of staying with Windows. I also predict their support costs are going to be at least twice what they were before. With the current generation of Windows, organizations are getting to lower their total support costs; Munich is wisely bucking that trend and doubling it!
I keep saying it, but it bears repeating: the only reason this is being done is because the City of Munich cant go out of business. All they need to do is create a new tax to pay for a very stupid mistake which would have drove a company in the real world out of business.
If you ever become an expert on using Windows products, or work in a place that has people who know what they are doing, then you will be qualified to say that they have nothing to offer over their competitors.
I am an expert, and I can say that MS has tons of clear advantages over any other OS or NOS out there. You personally try to make using Linux/Windows out to be some kind of ideological arguement, when its not. Tech shops like Windows, know how to use it, and can hire people who know how to use it. It is also a product which is focused on business needs, rather than being something programmer hobbyists enjoy.
Theres nothing wrong with that, but business needs are far different from programmer hobbyist needs.
Actually, its more like 95%. This figure was also cited in the article, so you may want to give that a read.
And they'll be pissing themselves laughing next time a big virus hits
I piss myself laughing when I hear about companies getting whacked by viruses too. The only difference is that I work with all MS stuff, but I take appropriate precautions, like using a firewall and scanning for viruses.
I havent had to deal with a virus outbreak in at least three years.
And Steve got it right:
Yep, its as I predicted over a year ago. Linux is the new pseudo-tech savy executive's latest buzzword. Congratulations!Once again- non-technical people make technical decision, disaster ensues. And, in this case, if you like MS products, hillarity ensues.
Yep, three cheers for Munich joining the Linux "early adopter" program! As I said long ago, and got modded down for, Munich is going to waste tons of money.
There are no good tools to do a MS to Linux conversion. There are no real case studies to read. Most people dont even UNDERSTAND how Linux works, or how to use it, so you cant even hire qualified people (because no matter how good the admin is, you still need people to visit the desktops). MEANING that Munich is going to have to have all this done for themselves, they are going to be doing the expensive (and, from an IT perspective, very negligent) job of breaking new ground.
As I said before, its a good thing this was a government and not a company. A company would be forced out of business over a botched job like this. Munich can just raise taxes and stick it to all their residents and businesses.
Feel free to mod down the truth.
Oh NOOOSSS!!!!1111 teh M1cr0$l0th iz gunna pwnz all teh TV'es!!111
d0es diss m3an w3 hav3 2 by r tv'es fr0m M$ ?!?!?!
They're. It means "they are". "Their" is a location, among other meanings.
Just because you don't support free enterprise doesn't mean that's how things are done in this country Who says I dont support free enterprise? If anything, I would say Im one of the biggest proponents of free enterprise than the majority of people on this website.
My guess is your inconsistent with who you give the benefit of the doubt
you're. It means "You are". "Your" is a possive, among other meanings.
You probably figure Cheney only serves the rich since he's a "have", how about this to put things in perspective about how much money Kerry really has.
No, I figure Cheney only serves the rich because he is a member of the Old Boy Network, just like Bush. GHWB is a sell-out from WAY back in the day.
If you want to spew half baked ideas, you will have to do it against someone far less certain on the basis of their political ethics than myself.
and that's why I dislike Kerry
Good, so dont vote for him.
Compare, for example how they want to fix health care.
Health care isnt going to get 'fixed'. Nor would a purchased politician like Bush even try it anyway. There is way too much money being thrown at Congress for things to ever change.
Ummm... never mind.
Of course, they conviently ignore the fact that something like this will help people determine the cause of an accident and who was at fault, but the same people who complain about accountability are the same ones who drive 80mph on the shoulder during rush hour, or bob and weave thru traffic, cutting people off just so they can get to work 4 minutes faster.
You DO have to activate it, however. This can be done from your Vonage configuration page, which you access by signing in to their website.
so what does that prove, that people cant marry whoever they want? just because you endorse some kind of caste system where only the wealthy can marry each other doesnt mean thats how things are done in this country. if you dislike that, go to the middle east or india- they wont let people marry outside their 'station'
sigh, I like this bullshit statement the grassroots Republican conartists are pushing out.
Lets get this straight- Kerry isnt hugely wealthy. His WIFE is hugely wealthy.
I would also imagine that, when you are talking about that kind of money, that there is definitely a prenupual agreement, meaning Kerry will not even get that money in the even of a divorce, or even most likely her death. Im sure he will get something, but my guess would be it going to her children (in a trust fund), or else some other family member.
Hmmm, somehow, I dont see that as a threat. But keep up with the conspiracy theory! Maybe in ten years I will see yours right next to the one about that impersonator who replaced Paul McCartney...
There is already a stripped-down version of Windows out there. Its called XP Embedded.
You could eat people who have died natural deaths. That doesnt harm the other 'person' (because they are, like, dead). Whether they are willing or not, I guess depends on their stance toward being an 'organ donor'.