Come on, give him/her a break. I hope nobody seriously tries to "pay him back for leaving himself so wide open". This is childish and beneath any respectable hacker, as this would not pose much of a challege anyway; kind of like Mike Tyson and Pee Wee Herman duking it out (god wouldn't that be a beautiful site though). I admire the principled hacker, the one who hacks for a higher purpose, over the 'just because I can do it' hacker. Not that the latter isn't still a little fun at times.
With that said, this does raise a good point. I ain't handing my password strategy over to a bunch of foaming-at-the-mouth script kiddies. Not that I wouldn't enjoy crushing anyone who tried messing with my account (note the.gov extension). We've dealt with all kinds of break-in attempts before, and they've all had a happy ending for us. We had problems with packet sniffers a few years back.
Now all of NASA exclusively uses ssh. This is very secure because it uses RSA authentication instead of just passwords. All (most) other ports are closed except for ssh, and you can't get access without the private key from each authorized machine. This makes it more like authorized machines instead of authorized users. I Like it a Lot (spoken with a Jim Carrey accent)!
I mostly keep them all written down on a piece of paper that I guard with my life. I never keep an electronic record.
I'm sorry to disagree with your disagreement, but the 'finding of fact' has definitely determined that Microsoft IS a monopoly and that they have been conducting inappropriate business practices. The only thing that has yet to be determined is the type of punishment that will be inflicted. If you would have taken the time out to read (I assume you can read) the 'findings of fact', you would have read that "the Court finds the following facts to have been proved by a preponderance of the evidence." If that ain't guilty I don't know what is.
You must not be a regular/. reader or you would have already come across the recent post The Battle That Could Lose Us The War that highlights the frustration of other Linux users due to the lack of plugin support for the Linux version of Netscape. I guess the so called 'binch of losers' that you refer to are a larger group than you suspected.
I wonder why your comments were so hostile? I suppose it's just your way of venting some of that built up anguish at having to say "Yes Sir. Right away, Sir. I'll spit shine those shoes right after I take your laundry to the cleaners, Sir" all day long at work.
I am preparing a web page showing my homebuilt tesla coil. You will be able to find it at http://cml.grc.nasa.gov/~chuck/tesla.html , but it's not finished just yet. I hate to do this, but I have to boot into Win95 in order to use my Snappy video capture (I already complained to http://www.play.com about not having a Linux driver, but it did no good and I'm too cheap to run out and buy a real video capture board). I'll put up some pictures showing my setup along with a quick and dirty explanation. By today's tesla coil standards, this is about the simplest and crudest design possible, but it does work. I know there are much better designs out there, so if you want more sophisticated stuff, do a google search.
You know what, you're right! I bet a prostitute like you does make a lot of money; and gets lots of ass too! God, why didn't I think about that. It's a shame I've been wasting my life away when I could have made something of myself like you did. Thanks for straightening me out. I'll certainly aspire to be more like you in the future, or at least I'll think about your wisdom everytime I'm constipated and pushing out that really stubborn one.
OK, I'll dig through my stuff and post the details. It might not be up till tomorrow because I've got some real work (what's that?) to finish up before then.
CAUTION!! However, I must still emphasize caution. The electricity coming out of the tesla coil is not harmful because it is very high frequency current, but if you accidentally touch the neon transformer that powers it, you're dead. I think the neon transformer I used puts out about 9,000 V, and since (for DC and low frequency AC) Power(P)=Current(I)*Voltage(V) and Current(I)=Voltage(V)/Resistance(R), this means
P = V^2/R
Which means that the power goes up with the square of the voltage since the resistance of your body is fixed. The current is thus determined by the resistance of your body, and at low frequencies, the current can be extremely high and very dangerous. If you short the neon transformer leads, the current approaches infinity, but it will eventually be limited by the small resistance of the wires themselves (but it will still be large current).
After it comes out of the tesla coil, the voltage is very high, but so is the frequency (the high frequency is generated by the oscillation of the L-C circuit: the capacitor(C) and inductor(L)). For very high frequencies, a magnetic field is created by the rapidly varying current but it lags behind the current so that it tends to push the charge onto the surface of the conductor. This leads to what is known as the "skin effect". The instantaneous current can be quite large, but because it travels over the surface of the conductor, the dissipation of electrical power into other forms of energy (burning flesh) is minimized. CAUTION!!
On a slightly less dramatic scale, I built a working Tesla Coil for my seventh-grade science fair project. It's easy. It had a neon transformer (from neon signs), a huge homemade capacitor built from a sheet of glass (about 2'x2') covered with aluminum foil on both sides, a homemade step-up air-core transformer (don't remember the exact winding ratio), and a spark gap made from two nails hammered into a piece of wood (with adjustable spacing). It kicked Ass! It made the loudest sound I've ever heard and the light show of electrical discharge was fantastic. I've never had such an emotional attachment to any piece of hardware since (until I got my first computer of course).
I loved scaring my mom half to death by holding a screwriver in my hand and placing it near the transformer. Brilliant sparks would shoot over to my screwdriver and I would laugh hysterically with glee (head tilted back revealing all my baby teeth) as the surge of electrical power coarsed over my skin (the reason it doesn't hurt you is because at high frequencies, electricity travels over the surface of the conductor, which was ME!). I can't believe my mom never actually fainted.
When science fair time came around, I can't quite express the jubilation of being in a room with all these other lame projects like "How music affects plants" and "Why recycling will save the world" and then flipping that switch, causing a sweet symphony of girlish shrieks to echo loud and far. The power to make people shit their pants. Now that's REAL power!
If anyone wants, I can post a few pictures and directions on how to make one. However, please be careful. I don't want to be responsible for anyone electricuting him/herself. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't.
I'm sorry to hear about your unfortunate circumstances. Good luck with your adventures in the land down under. I think a lot of people here can relate to your situation. Doesn't it suck that girls often seem to fall for the 'bad' guy when they have a perfectly ready and willing love slave waiting for them in the background. I hate the 'just want to be friends' line. Well, just wanted you to know there was a sympathetic ear out there somewhere.
I know this is somewhat offtopic, but what the hay (please don't moderate me down, this is just a lighthearted discussion anyway, right?). I was watching this great show last night about mazes (don't ask), and they were trying to figure out the origin of mazes and why they are appealing to us and stuff. It got me to thinking that life is like a maze. You never really know where you're headed until you've already gone down the wrong path (ooh deep). The cool thing about a maze is that you can always backtrack and try a different way until you finally work your way out. Life doesn't always give you that option.
I guess my point is that relationships are also the same way. You have to try out different things and find out what works for you without being afraid to make a few boo-boo's. You can't know the answer until you've taken a chance and made some mistakes. Thus, there is no ONE best way to find your SO. That's what makes life so interesting, though. No two lives are exactly the same. For some, online romance works. For others, it will never work. That's why I always take advice with a grain of salt. I live my way, and that's the only way to live!
Hmmm.. maybe there's another late night documentary on mazes. Where's that TV guide.
I met my wife at Arby's, where we both worked during our high school years -shudder at the thought-; been together ever since (over 10 years). Aarrggghh! I still have the same jacket I used to wear to work. It just hangs unused in my closet, still reeking from those unmistakable Arby's grease stains! I guess I keep it to remind me how much I hated working in the fast food 'industry', just in case I get lazy and start playing too much Tombraider when I should be working (can't wait for Tombraider 4, coming this November hopefully); lest I slip back into that particular circle of Hell. Now, why did you have to make me drudge up all those repressed memories? My wife Teresa was the only good thing that came out of that place. That's my story.
Actually, I think it might not be such a bad idea if M$ were to start releasing some of it's non-OS software (including IE) for other platforms. Even though their OS sucks, they do have some neat programs, IE being one of them. As much as I hate Windows, I do sometimes miss the variety of apps that were available when I used that system.
Back when Win95 was first released (and before I found out about Linux) I used to have fun playing around with Compton's Encyclopedia, MS Encarta, and of course all the games. Now, I use Linux exclusively because it is a much more stable and robust OS, but I long for the day when there will be just as many good apps for Linux. I still need to dual boot into Windows now and then because my wife likes to use the American Greeting Create-a-Card program to make greeting cards. There is no reason why this kind of software can't one day be made available for Linux.
I am excited about the recent ruling against M$ because maybe this is the start of an era where software vendors will start taking Linux more seriously; once they realize that most people don't care what OS they're using as long as they can still use the programs they like. I predict that someday in the near future (5-10 years) M$ will lose its dominance in the OS market, but it will still retain its strengths as a software vendor. Remember, what made M$ succeed was not its superior OS but rather that it produced a plethora of software that 'normal' people could use. This will alwyas be their strength. I think they should realize, however, that their days of OS dominance are numbered.
Now that MS has been found guilty, I'm wondering what kind of punishment they will receive. Do you think it's possible that the judge might take feedback from the technical community at large to determine what is appropriate?
Even though it's doubtful, I think this is a great opportunity for Slashdot readers to make some suggestions of our own. I wonder if we can draw up some kind of a document that expresses a concensus of the Slashdot community and our recommendation about what needs to be done.
Now that MS is on their knees, this is the perfect opportunity for us to do more than just complain. We have a chance to DO something real about it. I think we should not let this opportunity to make a difference slip on by.
Here are some of my suggestions:
(1) Force MS to port some of their applications to other competing operating systems. I think people in the general community are always confusing the OS with the applications that run on it. There is no reason why some of their applications such as Word, Excel & IE could not not be made to run on UNIX, Linux, FreeBSD, etc. If the applications were made available on Linux, who cares what the underlying OS is? I think the judge already made this distinction with regards to the web browser, why not extend this to all their applications? Maybe they could be forced to provide assistance to the WINE and other Win32 porting projects.
(2) Also, I think there should be more pressure on other vendors to make their software available on other OS. In particular, a lot of the Netscape plugins have no Linux version (this relates to a previous post) and this drives me crazy. I hate it when my MS friends are bragging about some new cool plugin that I can't make use of because I'm running Linux. There is absolutely no reason why these plugins could not run also on Linux! I don't know if MS has anything to do with the lack of plugin support on other platforms (by putting pressure on the developers), but if they are in any way responsible for this, they should be forced to stop this practive and even encourage multi-platform development.
(3) Wouldn't it also be great if MS was forced to pay a huge fine, and then that money was invested in an organization that fosters the porting of applications to other operating systems? Maybe the time has finally come to end the Windows dominance once and for all!
I bet we'll see many more companies coming out to support Linux and other OS's because of the ruling against M$. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens during the next few months. Exciting times for Linux!
I hate to be paranoid (or actually, I might even enjoy it a little), but is there any indepedent way to verify that they have actually stopped collecting this data. I mean, how do we know that this patch is really going to fix the problem? Maybe they'll still be covertly collecting some information from our system and shipping it off to some dark and dusty room filled with cancer-prone government officials poring over our records in glee. I mean, it's scary to think they would even attempt this in the first place, and I don't exactly trust people who've tried to pull one over on me.
This is just another reason to promote Open Source. If you have access to the source code, there's no way they can get away with something like this. I like to know EXACTLY what my programs are doing.
I don't think you can conclude that the Patriot missles were not effective from what you just said. If the memo indeed stated that "the Patriot missle did not destroy any inbound SCUD missles that posed a critical or tactical threat based solely on their trajectory at the time of their destruction", this does not directly imply that the Patriot missle was ineffective. The true effectiveness of the Patriot missle should be measured as the ratio between the number of 'hits' divided by the total number of attempts irregardless of the direction of the SCUD.
For example, suppose that none of the SCUD missles were headed towards a critical target because their guidance system stunk. This would be a fault of the SCUD design, not the effectiveness of the Patriot missle in destroying them. Suppose all of these SCUDS that were headed at 'noncritical' targets were shot down by the Patriots. This would not violate the memo statement made above, but it would indicate a 100% effectiveness of the Patriot missle based solely on the hit to attempt ratio. Just a modest observation.
I realize this is flamebait and all, and I hate to state the obvious, but you have a lousy sense of humor. I don't find anything remotely funny about another person's pain and suffering. I usually ignore such trivial mindless rubbish, but this one went just a little too low. Two thumbs down.
This is actually very similar to some of the genetic testing that will soon be widespread. When they think they have uncovered the 'violence gene' in someone, that person will be branded at birth (maybe even before). The kid wouldn't even have a chance. I'm sure there will also be tests for intelligence, athletic ability, courage (for a soldier), etc. It's scary to think that even before a person is born they will already be profiled. Talk about a class system.
As far as this computer test goes, I just think it's really stupid to actually think that this type of testing will work. Even if you are even moderately intelligent, it would not be that difficult to figure out how to lie in order to past the test. What they are counting on is an HONEST mass murder. Give me a break!
I prefer "fix some cookies and run a hot bath" myself;)
I don't think he was excluding the group of "geek girls", just that USUALLY a "geek girl" might not be a good match for a "geek boy". In my case that is definitely true. That's not to say there aren't exceptions (like in your case), just statistically speaking. Maybe a "geek girl" would be good for a "suit(ironed t-shirt)-guy". Of course, it does always come down to each person's individuality.
The last thing my wife wants to talk about with me is computers, but I find that refreshing. When I'm brain-fried, I love to get my mind off my normal work and think about dumb things. I suppose there are people who never get brain-fried, but I'm not one of them.
OK, excuse me while I dumb-down a little so I can blend back into the mortal world (I have to wrap some presents for my niece's b-day party). There's no show like Jerry Springer... there's no show like Jerry Springer. Kansas, here I come! Cheers.
This was a great post. It's nice to have a little personal stuff mixed in with all the tech stuff. A good balance. I think Rob should consider a BOOK DEAL. I know a lot of geeks who would appreciate it. I loved the computer analogies (HOWTO, Open Source, etc.)
I think some people missed the point though. This was not a "how to get laid" tutorial, but rather "how to have a MEANINGFUL long-lasting relationship". It's much more difficult to do the latter.
From my own experience I can attest that much of this advice is true. I have been happily-married for six years now, and I've been a geek the whole time, although not necessarily just with computers. I just recently graduated with my PhD in Applied Math from Northwestern, and it was no picnic. Sometimes I think the only thing that kept me sane was my "non-geek" wife.
It's eerie how much my own relationship mirrors what Rob described as a good match. The last thing in the world my wife cares to talk about is computers, but she respects my own passion for them. Also, she knows better than to disturb me when I'm in MY room, but when I come out, she's there waiting for me just the same (unless it's that time of the month. look out!). An old-fashioned girl is definitely the way to go. If she were any more liberated, we wouldn't have made it this far.
I think the focus should be on developing native Linux apps. We don't need M$.
However, this could be a very good thing because it will bring more attention to Linux in the mainstream, although I still haven't yet decided if that is a truly good thing or not. As the masses start to realize that there is an alternative to Windows that can run all their favorite little apps, they will become more interested in finding out more about this Linux thing. Then, once we have their attention, we can do the old bait and switch. They will be able to directly compare Win32 ported apps to native Linux apps (IE5 vs. Netscape/Mozilla). They may start seeing that the native apps run better and they can pretty much do the same stuff that they did before with the other OS. To be effective and long-lasting, change must occur slowly over time, and this could be another bridge that allows more people to migrate to Linux.
I don't think this will harm the Open Source movement at all. If anything, it will boost its momentum as more and more people start seeing the value of competition.
Excuse me for a moment while I laugh hysterically...
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
This whole "30 year-old technology" thing is getting a little old. How about saying something original that actually makes sense. If you're going to criticise Linux, which is all well and fine, please state specific features that are inferior because they are based on this "30 year old technology". Otherwise, this is nonsensical noise.
I challenge you to give me ONE aspect of M$ Windows that is also not based, at least partly, on some older technology. By technology, make sure you keep in mind the WHOLE of technology, such as our decimal system and all the other principles of mathematics, statistics and physics that have evolved over thousands of years. It is foolish to think that anybody can truly come up with something that is NOT based on older technology. The whole of modern Science and Mathematics has evolved over millenia to the point where it is today. There would never be any advancements if we didn't learn from our mistakes and improve because of it.
Slashdot Mirror
Come on, give him/her a break. I hope nobody seriously tries to "pay him back for leaving himself so wide open". This is childish and beneath any respectable hacker, as this would not pose much of a challege anyway; kind of like Mike Tyson and Pee Wee Herman duking it out (god wouldn't that be a beautiful site though). I admire the principled hacker, the one who hacks for a higher purpose, over the 'just because I can do it' hacker. Not that the latter isn't still a little fun at times.
.gov extension). We've dealt with all kinds of break-in attempts before, and they've all had a happy ending for us. We had problems with packet sniffers a few years back.
With that said, this does raise a good point. I ain't handing my password strategy over to a bunch of foaming-at-the-mouth script kiddies. Not that I wouldn't enjoy crushing anyone who tried messing with my account (note the
Now all of NASA exclusively uses ssh. This is very secure because it uses RSA authentication instead of just passwords. All (most) other ports are closed except for ssh, and you can't get access without the private key from each authorized machine. This makes it more like authorized machines instead of authorized users. I Like it a Lot (spoken with a Jim Carrey accent)!
I mostly keep them all written down on a piece of paper that I guard with my life. I never keep an electronic record.
I'm sorry to disagree with your disagreement, but the 'finding of fact' has definitely determined that Microsoft IS a monopoly and that they have been conducting inappropriate business practices. The only thing that has yet to be determined is the type of punishment that will be inflicted. If you would have taken the time out to read (I assume you can read) the 'findings of fact', you would have read that "the Court finds the following facts to have been proved by a preponderance of the evidence." If that ain't guilty I don't know what is.
/. reader or you would have already come across the recent post The Battle That Could Lose Us The War that highlights the frustration of other Linux users due to the lack of plugin support for the Linux version of Netscape. I guess the so called 'binch of losers' that you refer to are a larger group than you suspected.
You must not be a regular
I wonder why your comments were so hostile? I suppose it's just your way of venting some of that built up anguish at having to say "Yes Sir. Right away, Sir. I'll spit shine those shoes right after I take your laundry to the cleaners, Sir" all day long at work.
I am preparing a web page showing my homebuilt tesla coil. You will be able to find it at http://cml.grc.nasa.gov/~chuck/tesla.html , but it's not finished just yet. I hate to do this, but I have to boot into Win95 in order to use my Snappy video capture (I already complained to http://www.play.com about not having a Linux driver, but it did no good and I'm too cheap to run out and buy a real video capture board). I'll put up some pictures showing my setup along with a quick and dirty explanation. By today's tesla coil standards, this is about the simplest and crudest design possible, but it does work. I know there are much better designs out there, so if you want more sophisticated stuff, do a google search.
You know what, you're right! I bet a prostitute like you does make a lot of money; and gets lots of ass too! God, why didn't I think about that. It's a shame I've been wasting my life away when I could have made something of myself like you did. Thanks for straightening me out. I'll certainly aspire to be more like you in the future, or at least I'll think about your wisdom everytime I'm constipated and pushing out that really stubborn one.
OK, I'll dig through my stuff and post the details. It might not be up till tomorrow because I've got some real work (what's that?) to finish up before then.
CAUTION!!
However, I must still emphasize caution. The electricity coming out of the tesla coil is not harmful because it is very high frequency current, but if you accidentally touch the neon transformer that powers it, you're dead. I think the neon transformer I used puts out about 9,000 V, and since (for DC and low frequency AC) Power(P)=Current(I)*Voltage(V) and Current(I)=Voltage(V)/Resistance(R), this means
P = V^2/R
Which means that the power goes up with the square of the voltage since the resistance of your body is fixed. The current is thus determined by the resistance of your body, and at low frequencies, the current can be extremely high and very dangerous. If you short the neon transformer leads, the current approaches infinity, but it will eventually be limited by the small resistance of the wires themselves (but it will still be large current).
After it comes out of the tesla coil, the voltage is very high, but so is the frequency (the high frequency is generated by the oscillation of the L-C circuit: the capacitor(C) and inductor(L)). For very high frequencies, a magnetic field is created by the rapidly varying current but it lags behind the current so that it tends to push the charge onto the surface of the conductor. This leads to what is known as the "skin effect". The instantaneous current can be quite large, but because it travels over the surface of the conductor, the dissipation of electrical power into other forms of energy (burning flesh) is minimized.
CAUTION!!
On a slightly less dramatic scale, I built a working Tesla Coil for my seventh-grade science fair project. It's easy. It had a neon transformer (from neon signs), a huge homemade capacitor built from a sheet of glass (about 2'x2') covered with aluminum foil on both sides, a homemade step-up air-core transformer (don't remember the exact winding ratio), and a spark gap made from two nails hammered into a piece of wood (with adjustable spacing). It kicked Ass! It made the loudest sound I've ever heard and the light show of electrical discharge was fantastic. I've never had such an emotional attachment to any piece of hardware since (until I got my first computer of course).
I loved scaring my mom half to death by holding a screwriver in my hand and placing it near the transformer. Brilliant sparks would shoot over to my screwdriver and I would laugh hysterically with glee (head tilted back revealing all my baby teeth) as the surge of electrical power coarsed over my skin (the reason it doesn't hurt you is because at high frequencies, electricity travels over the surface of the conductor, which was ME!). I can't believe my mom never actually fainted.
When science fair time came around, I can't quite express the jubilation of being in a room with all these other lame projects like "How music affects plants" and "Why recycling will save the world" and then flipping that switch, causing a sweet symphony of girlish shrieks to echo loud and far. The power to make people shit their pants. Now that's REAL power!
If anyone wants, I can post a few pictures and directions on how to make one. However, please be careful. I don't want to be responsible for anyone electricuting him/herself. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't.
At the risk of sounding intrusive, why do you have to break it off? Why not stick it out?
I'm sorry to hear about your unfortunate circumstances. Good luck with your adventures in the land down under. I think a lot of people here can relate to your situation. Doesn't it suck that girls often seem to fall for the 'bad' guy when they have a perfectly ready and willing love slave waiting for them in the background. I hate the 'just want to be friends' line. Well, just wanted you to know there was a sympathetic ear out there somewhere.
I know this is somewhat offtopic, but what the hay (please don't moderate me down, this is just a lighthearted discussion anyway, right?). I was watching this great show last night about mazes (don't ask), and they were trying to figure out the origin of mazes and why they are appealing to us and stuff. It got me to thinking that life is like a maze. You never really know where you're headed until you've already gone down the wrong path (ooh deep). The cool thing about a maze is that you can always backtrack and try a different way until you finally work your way out. Life doesn't always give you that option.
I guess my point is that relationships are also the same way. You have to try out different things and find out what works for you without being afraid to make a few boo-boo's. You can't know the answer until you've taken a chance and made some mistakes. Thus, there is no ONE best way to find your SO. That's what makes life so interesting, though. No two lives are exactly the same. For some, online romance works. For others, it will never work. That's why I always take advice with a grain of salt. I live my way, and that's the only way to live!
Hmmm.. maybe there's another late night documentary on mazes. Where's that TV guide.
I met my wife at Arby's, where we both worked during our high school years -shudder at the thought-; been together ever since (over 10 years). Aarrggghh! I still have the same jacket I used to wear to work. It just hangs unused in my closet, still reeking from those unmistakable Arby's grease stains! I guess I keep it to remind me how much I hated working in the fast food 'industry', just in case I get lazy and start playing too much Tombraider when I should be working (can't wait for Tombraider 4, coming this November hopefully); lest I slip back into that particular circle of Hell. Now, why did you have to make me drudge up all those repressed memories? My wife Teresa was the only good thing that came out of that place. That's my story.
Actually, I think it might not be such a bad idea if M$ were to start releasing some of it's non-OS software (including IE) for other platforms. Even though their OS sucks, they do have some neat programs, IE being one of them. As much as I hate Windows, I do sometimes miss the variety of apps that were available when I used that system.
Back when Win95 was first released (and before I found out about Linux) I used to have fun playing around with Compton's Encyclopedia, MS Encarta, and of course all the games. Now, I use Linux exclusively because it is a much more stable and robust OS, but I long for the day when there will be just as many good apps for Linux. I still need to dual boot into Windows now and then because my wife likes to use the American Greeting Create-a-Card program to make greeting cards. There is no reason why this kind of software can't one day be made available for Linux.
I am excited about the recent ruling against M$ because maybe this is the start of an era where software vendors will start taking Linux more seriously; once they realize that most people don't care what OS they're using as long as they can still use the programs they like. I predict that someday in the near future (5-10 years) M$ will lose its dominance in the OS market, but it will still retain its strengths as a software vendor. Remember, what made M$ succeed was not its superior OS but rather that it produced a plethora of software that 'normal' people could use. This will alwyas be their strength. I think they should realize, however, that their days of OS dominance are numbered.
MORE APPS FOR LINUX!
MORE APPS FOR LINUX!
Why would you look for garbage? Are you a garbage collector?
Now that MS has been found guilty, I'm wondering what kind of punishment they will receive. Do you think it's possible that the judge might take feedback from the technical community at large to determine what is appropriate?
Even though it's doubtful, I think this is a great opportunity for Slashdot readers to make some suggestions of our own. I wonder if we can draw up some kind of a document that expresses a concensus of the Slashdot community and our recommendation about what needs to be done.
Now that MS is on their knees, this is the perfect opportunity for us to do more than just complain. We have a chance to DO something real about it. I think we should not let this opportunity to make a difference slip on by.
Here are some of my suggestions:
(1) Force MS to port some of their applications to other competing operating systems. I think people in the general community are always confusing the OS with the applications that run on it. There is no reason why some of their applications such as Word, Excel & IE could not not be made to run on UNIX, Linux, FreeBSD, etc. If the applications were made available on Linux, who cares what the underlying OS is? I think the judge already made this distinction with regards to the web browser, why not extend this to all their applications? Maybe they could be forced to provide assistance to the WINE and other Win32 porting projects.
(2) Also, I think there should be more pressure on other vendors to make their software available on other OS. In particular, a lot of the Netscape plugins have no Linux version (this relates to a previous post) and this drives me crazy. I hate it when my MS friends are bragging about some new cool plugin that I can't make use of because I'm running Linux. There is absolutely no reason why these plugins could not run also on Linux! I don't know if MS has anything to do with the lack of plugin support on other platforms (by putting pressure on the developers), but if they are in any way responsible for this, they should be forced to stop this practive and even encourage multi-platform development.
(3) Wouldn't it also be great if MS was forced to pay a huge fine, and then that money was invested in an organization that fosters the porting of applications to other operating systems? Maybe the time has finally come to end the Windows dominance once and for all!
Any comments or additional suggestions?
I bet we'll see many more companies coming out to support Linux and other OS's because of the ruling against M$. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens during the next few months. Exciting times for Linux!
I hate to be paranoid (or actually, I might even enjoy it a little), but is there any indepedent way to verify that they have actually stopped collecting this data. I mean, how do we know that this patch is really going to fix the problem? Maybe they'll still be covertly collecting some information from our system and shipping it off to some dark and dusty room filled with cancer-prone government officials poring over our records in glee. I mean, it's scary to think they would even attempt this in the first place, and I don't exactly trust people who've tried to pull one over on me.
This is just another reason to promote Open Source. If you have access to the source code, there's no way they can get away with something like this. I like to know EXACTLY what my programs are doing.
I don't think you can conclude that the Patriot missles were not effective from what you just said. If the memo indeed stated that "the Patriot missle did not destroy any inbound SCUD missles that posed a critical or tactical threat based solely on their trajectory at the time of their destruction", this does not directly imply that the Patriot missle was ineffective. The true effectiveness of the Patriot missle should be measured as the ratio between the number of 'hits' divided by the total number of attempts irregardless of the direction of the SCUD.
For example, suppose that none of the SCUD missles were headed towards a critical target because their guidance system stunk. This would be a fault of the SCUD design, not the effectiveness of the Patriot missle in destroying them. Suppose all of these SCUDS that were headed at 'noncritical' targets were shot down by the Patriots. This would not violate the memo statement made above, but it would indicate a 100% effectiveness of the Patriot missle based solely on the hit to attempt ratio. Just a modest observation.
Ummmm,
I realize this is flamebait and all, and I hate to state the obvious, but you have a lousy sense of humor. I don't find anything remotely funny about another person's pain and suffering. I usually ignore such trivial mindless rubbish, but this one went just a little too low. Two thumbs down.
This is actually very similar to some of the genetic testing that will soon be widespread. When they think they have uncovered the 'violence gene' in someone, that person will be branded at birth (maybe even before). The kid wouldn't even have a chance. I'm sure there will also be tests for intelligence, athletic ability, courage (for a soldier), etc. It's scary to think that even before a person is born they will already be profiled. Talk about a class system.
As far as this computer test goes, I just think it's really stupid to actually think that this type of testing will work. Even if you are even moderately intelligent, it would not be that difficult to figure out how to lie in order to past the test. What they are counting on is an HONEST mass murder. Give me a break!
I prefer "fix some cookies and run a hot bath" myself ;)
... there's no show like Jerry Springer. Kansas, here I come! Cheers.
I don't think he was excluding the group of "geek girls", just that USUALLY a "geek girl" might not be a good match for a "geek boy". In my case that is definitely true. That's not to say there aren't exceptions (like in your case), just statistically speaking. Maybe a "geek girl" would be good for a "suit(ironed t-shirt)-guy". Of course, it does always come down to each person's individuality.
The last thing my wife wants to talk about with me is computers, but I find that refreshing. When I'm brain-fried, I love to get my mind off my normal work and think about dumb things. I suppose there are people who never get brain-fried, but I'm not one of them.
OK, excuse me while I dumb-down a little so I can blend back into the mortal world (I have to wrap some presents for my niece's b-day party). There's no show like Jerry Springer
This was a great post. It's nice to have a little personal stuff mixed in with all the tech stuff. A good balance. I think Rob should consider a BOOK DEAL. I know a lot of geeks who would appreciate it. I loved the computer analogies (HOWTO, Open Source, etc.)
I think some people missed the point though. This was not a "how to get laid" tutorial, but rather "how to have a MEANINGFUL long-lasting relationship". It's much more difficult to do the latter.
From my own experience I can attest that much of this advice is true. I have been happily-married for six years now, and I've been a geek the whole time, although not necessarily just with computers. I just recently graduated with my PhD in Applied Math from Northwestern, and it was no picnic. Sometimes I think the only thing that kept me sane was my "non-geek" wife.
It's eerie how much my own relationship mirrors what Rob described as a good match. The last thing in the world my wife cares to talk about is computers, but she respects my own passion for them. Also, she knows better than to disturb me when I'm in MY room, but when I come out, she's there waiting for me just the same (unless it's that time of the month. look out!). An old-fashioned girl is definitely the way to go. If she were any more liberated, we wouldn't have made it this far.
I agree.
I think the focus should be on developing native Linux apps. We don't need M$.
However, this could be a very good thing because it will bring more attention to Linux in the mainstream, although I still haven't yet decided if that is a truly good thing or not. As the masses start to realize that there is an alternative to Windows that can run all their favorite little apps, they will become more interested in finding out more about this Linux thing. Then, once we have their attention, we can do the old bait and switch. They will be able to directly compare Win32 ported apps to native Linux apps (IE5 vs. Netscape/Mozilla). They may start seeing that the native apps run better and they can pretty much do the same stuff that they did before with the other OS. To be effective and long-lasting, change must occur slowly over time, and this could be another bridge that allows more people to migrate to Linux.
I don't think this will harm the Open Source movement at all. If anything, it will boost its momentum as more and more people start seeing the value of competition.
Excuse me for a moment while I laugh hysterically...
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
This whole "30 year-old technology" thing is getting a little old. How about saying something original that actually makes sense. If you're going to criticise Linux, which is all well and fine, please state specific features that are inferior because they are based on this "30 year old technology". Otherwise, this is nonsensical noise.
I challenge you to give me ONE aspect of M$ Windows that is also not based, at least partly, on some older technology. By technology, make sure you keep in mind the WHOLE of technology, such as our decimal system and all the other principles of mathematics, statistics and physics that have evolved over thousands of years. It is foolish to think that anybody can truly come up with something that is NOT based on older technology. The whole of modern Science and Mathematics has evolved over millenia to the point where it is today. There would never be any advancements if we didn't learn from our mistakes and improve because of it.
Next time, think before you write!