Shouldn't getting broadband communication capabilities to rural America be a top priority also? Where I live, I cannot subscribe to DSL due to the poor quality of the telephone lines. Hell, just 4 years ago, the telephone company,(Inland Telephone), changed all the lines from the old aluminum wiring to the "new" copper wire. The fastest I can transfer connect out here is only at 33.6k on a good day. As we speak, I am only connected at 26.4k. I find this assanine, esepecially when I can move 14 miles to town, and have access to DSL, Cable, and WiFi. Out here, the only option for high speed data transfers is sattilite. Far too expensive for me. This should be a major priority if we intend to bring rural america out of the mid-ninteys, and into the 21st century of data transfer speed. Hell, I would be happy if I could connect at just 53k, but I do not think that the monopolistic telephone companies will be upgrading the lines within the next 20 years. After all, the aluminum wiring went out of common usage during the 1970's, when copper wire replaced it. How long am I going to have to wait for 56k capabilities, 40 more years? I will propanbly be dead by then, as that would put me at 65 years old.
Here is a simple solution for violaters of perfectly reasonable rules you have set forth as a parent: Unplug the telephone line/network wire from thier computer for 2 weeks, and see if they are willing to live with your rules at the end of the two weeks. If they do not obide by your rules then, just change your password to login to your ISP, and cut the telephone cord running to thier computer/disconnect them from the router. and then they will have to buy thier own damn service, and telephone line/T1 connection. Tough love sucks, but it works.
A deal with BIOS maker Phoenix Technologies would allow the operating system to directly control hardware. It also raises concerns over who controls the software in PCs
Microsoft has expanded its relationship with BIOS maker Phoenix Technologies in a deal designed to more closely integrate the basic building blocks of the PC with the Windows operating system.
The relationship, announced this week, is designed to make PCs simpler and more reliable, the companies said. The move is likely to put consumer rights advocates on their guard, however, since both Microsoft and Phoenix are involved in plans to integrate digital rights management (DRM) technology at the operating system and hardware level. DRM is designed to give copyright owners more control over how users make use of software and content, but has been criticised as eroding consumer rights.
A BIOS, or basic input/output system, is the software that ties the operating system to a PC's hardware. Traditionally, it has carried out basic tasks such as hardware and system configuration, and has been standardized and simple enough to allow the installation of alternative operating systems, including Linux.
Phoenix's Core System Software (CSS) is a next-generation BIOS with a more sophisticated integration of operating system and hardware, for example making it easier for system administrators to remotely monitor the hardware configurations of their systems. CSS is designed for non-PC systems such as blade servers and embedded industrial devices as well as traditional desktops.
Microsoft said integration should mean simpler and more reliable computers. "This is a pivotal change for the industry, and it will rapidly advance serviceability, deployment, and management for servers, mobile devices, and desktops," said Microsoft general manager of Windows hardware Tom Phillips, in a statement. "Effectively, Phoenix is creating an entirely new category of system software."
Microsoft said the next-generation BIOS would allow future versions of Windows to manage server blades when they are connected to a system, without needing to be turned on. The BIOS would also allow better control of unauthorized devices connected to a system, Microsoft said.
Phoenix is one of the biggest BIOS providers, its customers including four of the top five PC manufacturers. Its products are also used by consumer electronics makers such as Pioneer, Matsushita, Sony and Toshiba.
Both Microsoft and Phoenix are currently arguing for closer integration of Windows with PC hardware, and DRM integrated throughout. Microsoft is planning to tie Windows DRM features to the hardware platform via its controversial Next Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) project, formerly known as Palladium. NGSCB is associated with the next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, which is due in about two years' time.
Phoenix recently said it is touting round a BIOS with built-in DRM technology to major PC manufacturers. In September the company said it had developed a prototype of its Core Management Engine (CME) including DRM from Orbid. The DRM technology would allow content providers to identify which PCs and devices were authorised to play particular files, more effectively controlling content distribution, file-trading and moving software from one machine to another, according to Phoenix.
Phoenix said the DRM-enabled CME was not part of Microsoft's NGSCB, but that the technology was complementary. The CME would allow PC makers to embed digital rights management directly into the hardware, though they would have the option of allowing users to turn it off.
Consumer electronics makers are particularly interested in the technology, according to Phoenix.
"f the list is legal, then you might as well just make telemarking ILLEGAL... same effect."
Good. I suggest we make telemarketing a capital offence. If we kill them all, we will have no problems with the unsolicited telephone marketing practice. I say we reinstitute burning at the stake, and only for the low life scum of telemarketers.
"Mandrake wasn't around in 1993. At that time, the GNU project was still a collection of tools that you could use on other unix operating systems. Linus had just started writing his kernel for it."
My point was <b>NOT</b> that mandrake existed in '93, (which it did not until '98), but that Linux still has major obsitcals to overcome if it desires to win over the uneducated masses from the MS platform. I am not against Linux in any way, after all an OS is an OS, and not a religion. As far as the guy who says that he does not use it for religious reasons, but just pretty much because he can, this is the smartest thing I have seen posted as a comment to this thread. It also re-affirms my statment. I belive in usage of new OSes because of the learning experience involved, not because I dislike a company's practices. After all, MS may not be the best company in the world as far as fair compitiion is concerned, but they have finally managed to produce a quality product that suits my needs (XP, 2000 WS 2003 EE).
I also use Mandrake 9.1 periodically, and the main reason I do not use it more often is because my modem is not suppoted, and I am not on a LAN. Yes, I have a USR6558B win modem, and I am too cheap to buy a Linux compatible one. If I had support for this modem, I wold use it more often than I do. (currently 1ce per week). Anymore, a computer without internet access is like a car without a heater. Not required, but sure missed if absent. The sad thing is, I have found a Win31 driver for my modem, but not a Linux Mandrake 9.1 compatible one.
Also the install process needs to resemble the one from Windows if you want to tout ease of use and user freindlyness. Yes "apt get install mozilla1.4stable" is pretty easy, but if one has no Linux (or command line) experience, how is one supposed to install anything? Thsy would not. Also consider the vast poputlation that is connected via 56k modem. Even if they do know the proper linux command, they do not have time to get 50 MB of OO.o 1.1 when they just want thier copy of Works 2000 to work like it does on thier Windows box.
Renember, most people only want thier computer to function as an appliance, they do not want to be bothered to update it, or care for its security. Stupid? Yes. It is like trying to drive your car without ever changing the oil, or flushing the coolant system. Works OK for a while, but then performance degrades, and finally the vehicle dies. Most people only want a computer because thier friends have it, and to get games that they see on TV. They do not care about the compexities of the OS underneath.
An easy way to get the population to buy a *nix setup with thier funds and not have to worry about learning a new interface is to give the consumer 3 options on first login to thier account. 1. Windows Clone, 2. Mac like interface, 3.Standard KDE, 4. Standard Gnome, 5.Custom UI. This would attract the greatest consumer base without infringing on user choice. The settings should also be customizable from the initial selected UI, in case the user wants to change the theme. But it must be similar to the Windows XP themes dialoqe to not intimidate the user. Don't you think that after MS spent a couple hundred million USD to develop and reserch a UI, that they would nearn somthing about what a consumer expects?
In short, use an OS because you want to, desire to learn, or because it suits your needs. Not to "stick it to the man." Bill Gates, and Microsoft Corporation could honestly give a shit less if only 3% of the desktop share use Linux as thier sole OS. Do it to expand your knowlade, or for any other reason to be a jackass wannabe loser bent on revenge.
There is much wrong with Windows also. Such as the virii problem. With 90%+ of the market share, virri would be a problem for any OS. Also the lack of command line history, and device compatibilty for XP.
Take the best of both OSes and roll them into one package. Combined with application support, a smooth U
"To bolster his argument, Ozzie used the Notes R3 feature set to recreate a scenario close to what was described in the patent. After the hard part of putting together a Notes R3 computing environment that included MS-DOS 6.22, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, and a circa-1993 copy of Excel 5.0 obtained from eBay, it only took Ozzie about 15 minutes to knock out a demo without any programming using the out-of-the-box UI of Notes and Excel."
--/BEGIN OSS FREAK MODE/--
Oh no!! he used a M$ setup of Windoze 3.11 FW, M$-DO$ 6.22, and M$ Excel 5.0! He must be a pawn of the "Evil Empire M$". Why can't he use Linux on his 486? Everyone knows that Mandrake 9.1 works better than any M$ Windoze product on a 486 with 16 MB RAM and a 500 MB HDD. WAHHH!! It's not OSS!!! He can't free himself from the M$ grip of tyranny. Come on, It's a brave GNU world. Joseph Stallan, Er, Richard Stallman wont be pleased with this! He is going to the Siberian Goulag for sure. DIE CAPATALISTS!! LONG LIVE CARL MARX, AND JOSEPH STALLAN. HEIL HITLER!!
--/END OSS FREAK MODE/-- OK, now that the piss ant whining is over, no body else needs to follow suit. This is a good discovery. Grow up MS is not out to kill you, steal your house, and rape your wife/daughter/mother/girlfriend. All the Whiners are just too cheap to buy a legit product, or do not know where/how to get a pirated copy. (Note: I did not say all OSS users. Just those who try and impose their preference on others.)
An OS is an OS. They are all good for different things. It is an operating system, not a religion. You do not need converts to Linux, or to Windows.
I have an old P1 running Windows NT 3.51, and that's good enough for that machine. My new machine runs Windows XP Professional. Did you hear that? I am using Windows XP Professional Build 2600.xpsp2.030422-1633 to type this, and mysteriously, this text appears exactly as it would have if I typed it on Windows 3.11, or Mandrake 9.1. Wow, pretty strange! Must be an act of God himself to allow this to happen. NOT!!
Understand this: What I decide to use on my computers at home will not directly interfere with any other person as long as it is 100% patched, fire walled, and has a up to date virus scanner. As long as a system is locked down, it does not matter what OS you are running. A Windows box is just as secure as a Linux box under if the proper measures are taken. Also, a Linux box can be just as insecure as Windows ME if the administrator is incompetent.
Also, if conversion of the masses to Linux is so important to you, why don't you quit talking bullshit about how MS is only easier because more people understand it, the masses are trained on it and not *nix, MS stole the technology, Et cetera? IF it is such a big deal, be proactive and change the situation by providing a service or solution that is not yet implemented by MS, and offer it in your distribution. And if you expect to have the masses desire your product, you have to provide it to a better quality than the competition would or does. People are resistant to change.
For change to occur, you have to be able to provide something that is in high demand, and at a good and reasonable price also. Also, just because your distribution is better than the rest as far as features and ease of use are concerned, does not mean that you will succeed. To succeed, you must have a form of advertisement, and a mission statement that can be met. It does not matter if I create the best OS and office suite on the market if only I have it, and maybe only 1000 other people. Without advertisement, and consumer product awareness, how do you expect it to succeed? It will not. An old saying, "It takes money to make money." still holds true in this case.
Granted choice is a good thing, but when there are choices of literally hundreds of distributions offering pretty close to the same experience, (Such as SuSE vs. Red Hat vs. Mandrake vs. Lycoris), why would anyone want to compare the subtle differenc
Your friend is mis-informed. The retail version of Windows XP Home Edition costs $208.76 after taxes. Windows XP Professional costs $408.76 after taxes. These are for the full installaion media. The upgrade disc sets are about half of the cost for the consumer. If you decide to buy it OEM, you must purchase it along with hardware. This hardware can be anything. I bought a mouse for $25.00, and this counted. The cost for OEM Windows XP Professional is $80, while the home edition OEM is only $50.00. Therefore, What MS is offering to tiger direct is nothing new. If I as a consumer can manage to get Windows XP for only $50.00, surly TigerDirect could have pushed for only $10.00 if they decided to press the issue.
I have had my SoftHome.Net address for a couple years now, anbd the service is very good. You can check your email via the web, or a POP3/SMTP client such as Mozilla, Outlook express, ect. The only dis advantage to the free service is that you get about 2 messages per week from SoftHome.Net advertizing somthing, but other than that, it is a very good service.
I'll second that. The way I see it, organized religion is for people with weak minds that are incapable of deciding what to do in life, and to distinglish right from wrong. I don't need some "devine" being telling me what I can and cannot do. If I want to get stoned, masturbate, eat pork, steal, and use "god" as a profane verb, I can! I have no idea why people waste thier lives on such BS. I guess because just reasoning everything with "god wants you to" is for simple minds.
I have a laptop similar to this one, except the specifications are almost double. It is a 486dx2/66 with 8 MB RAM, and a 125MB HDD. DR-DOS 7.03 runs rather well on this for the core OS, as does Windows 3.11 for Workgroups for a GUI. If you do not feel like supporting MS (which you would not nessesarily be doing, because Windows 3.11 is freely available on many abandonware sites. But if you have a moral objetion to running abandonware, you can also use Seal Desktop 2.
Seal is available on Sourceforge.net, and is very decent. DR-DOS is free for personal use, but unless you purchase a lisence to use it, there is no support. You do not need to purchase it though. If you go here, you can get it completly free.
This is almost assanine how fast technolgy is going. My motherboard is a DFI 586ITOX Rev. G, and I have 2 PCI slots (1 being shared), and 6 ISA slots. The only way I even have a modem for my system is because I fished it out of the trash behind a computer store that was throwing out all old equipment. I would like to upgrade, but I need to have at least 2 ISA slots, and modern motherboards do not have any. I find this rather inconvenient. Also, finding a motherboard that supports SDRAM is getting very difficult too. I have been looking for a decent P4 motherboard with 2 ISA slots and 4 SD RAM slots, but I do not think this is going to happen anytime soon. I have 768MB in SDRAM, and I am not about to throw any of it away just because of new "improved" technolgy. Where are all the old PIII and PII boards these days. And the processors? It is like trying to find gold at the dumpster now.
Not like MS letting the govornment view some of the source is benificial to them anyhow. You forgot to account for the fact that MS will more than likely make them sign a NDA. and all the souce code is propitary anyhow. No body else may use it in any form without explicit premission from MS. If this were the not case, WINE would be able to run every Windows program seamlessly, but as of now, it needs configuing for every program you wish to run on it. Not really news, more like this:
You: "My neighbor just got a new car." Your friend: "does he let you drive it?" You: No, but atleast I get to look at it." Your friend: "who cares then?" You: "Good point."
Having them use DOS is like telling microsoft to steal more. They would gladly do it, and would benifit from it. I say make them use System 3.3 on a Macintosh SE
Is to ban all forms of telephone solicitiation by any company, for profit of not. Instead of having a national DNC list, we should have an OICL nation wide. (DNC is DO Not Call, OICL is Opt-In Caller List) Anyone who is not on the OICL should not be called. I used to telemarket, so I know what they do, and the lies they tell. I will tell you this: No matter what they say, never buy a program called: Mainstreet Savings, Galleria, Premier Health Plus, Simple Escapes, or 24 Protect Plus. Even if it is only $9.95/Mo. They are scams. They are money traps. Let everyone know. Write your congressman, lets get this bill passed!
I work for a telemarketing company, and every day I call about 600 people per day. There is approximatly 100 people working in the same call center as me. Just going off of the volume of calls per day that I make, there are at least 60000 calls going out over the course of 16 hours. 10% of these calls end in sales, while 10% of the sales will end in an upsale als0. But this is beside the point.
Here are some ways that people try and avoid telemarketing calls, and the results of what happens:
1-one who is called states that they are not available (some are quite stupid also, "Im not here" is a common resopnce)
Result-we disposition as not available. Re-calls house in 2-3 hours.
2-one who is called says they are busy.
Result-dispositioned as not available. Recall house in 2-3 hours
3-one who is called cannot speak english, or not well.
Result-dispositioned as a lnguage problem. House recalled (maybe in 5 months) waiting for them to learn english
4-one who is called says they are not interested.
Result-give second effort, if refused, disposition as refusal. one who is called rmoved from that program's list. Continues to remain on other lists.
5-one who is called hangs up without stated reason.
Result-dispositioned as hung up, recalls house in 20 miniutes.
6-one who is called brings up threats of lawsuit / or is an irate customer.
Result- dispositioned as refusal. See results above.
7-one who is called requests to be placed on do not call list.
Result-Give DNC responce. Dispositioned as DNC. Federal law mandates that the called number be placed on company DNC list within 90 days.
8-disconnected tone.
Result- dispositioned as disconnect. Number is dropped from list.
9-number is fax machine.
Result- dispositioned as disconnect. Number dropped
10-awnserwing machine.
Result-dispositioned as awnsering machine, called back in 2-3 hours
11-one who is called is deaf/has difficult hearing on the fone.
Result- put a random sequence of numbers into the telephone box at the cublcle, to "fool" the caller ID system, and continue call.
General guidelines that work:
1. Request to be placed on DNC list (and say you have requested so before. Since it is a previous requset, we will red flag it, and it will have more importance being removed even faster.
2. Speak a forign language, and dont speak any english. You dont even have to know any of the language that you are speaking, but caller will not know that. Will be language barrier. (Maybe recalled in 5 months).
3. Give your credit card creditors a invalid number, a fax machine, or a modems number. You wont be getting the call, and number will be removed.
4. Refuse the offer. Will give second effort, maybe third also, but if you hold your ground, will be dispositioned as refusal. Removed from that call list, remain on others.
I hope this pointer list helps you stop those endless calls
And then what happens when the latest games require ever faster processors? "Oh no...I want to be able to play doom 12 but it requires a 4 gig processor to play it...hmmm...na, I won't bother upgrading coz then I'll have a palladium system"...don't see that scenario happening.
To me, the difference between a 1.7Ghz and a 2.8Ghz is so miniscule that there is no difference to the human sitting behind the chair. I type this from a P1 166 with only 256MB SDRAM running Windows XP SP1. I may in the future upgrade to a PIII 800Mhz, but I do not run graphically intensive applications, or complile code, so there is no point in me going any faster. I have no desire to find the 12*E10 digit of Pi, compile any code, or do graphical intensive work. I use my system to design websites, crack softwares, very light gaming, office work, burning CD's for people and myself, hacking, and surfing the net.
Granted, if I did upgrade, there would be a noticable speed increase. I have no need for that speed however, so this would be boondoggle for me to go beyond a pentium three. There would be no point in this for me. Old technology has been proven, and I will stay with it until it costs more to maintain my system than it does to buy a new one.
If an application will not run on my system, I will not upgrade just so I can run that application. I can live without it. Renember, the flight to the moon was calculated on a computer that was the size of a small room with only 500k of memory.
By the way, I got this computer for free, somebody just threw it on the trash heap. Yes, I did improve it from what it was, but it is now adequate for my needs. If only people would realize that there is nothing wrong with old computers just because a faster system came out. That would be a miricle
:start ; Lack of consumer demand creates lack of money. Lack of money creates lack of development. Lack of development creates lack of production. Lack of production creates lack of product. Lack of product creates lack of intrest. Lack of intrest creates lack of consumer demand. ; GOTO start
If you really want to fight it, the simplest way to go about it is to get it known on the net to Joe User. If enough people are aware of the scheme that MS, Intel, and AMD are planning, people will not want to purchase it, and will even make a concious effort to make sure that thier new computers do not come with this so-called "enhancement".
When the big three realize that there is no customer base for a product like this, production of Pallidium will cease.
Slashdot Mirror
Shouldn't getting broadband communication capabilities to rural America be a top priority also? Where I live, I cannot subscribe to DSL due to the poor quality of the telephone lines. Hell, just 4 years ago, the telephone company,(Inland Telephone), changed all the lines from the old aluminum wiring to the "new" copper wire. The fastest I can transfer connect out here is only at 33.6k on a good day. As we speak, I am only connected at 26.4k. I find this assanine, esepecially when I can move 14 miles to town, and have access to DSL, Cable, and WiFi. Out here, the only option for high speed data transfers is sattilite. Far too expensive for me. This should be a major priority if we intend to bring rural america out of the mid-ninteys, and into the 21st century of data transfer speed. Hell, I would be happy if I could connect at just 53k, but I do not think that the monopolistic telephone companies will be upgrading the lines within the next 20 years. After all, the aluminum wiring went out of common usage during the 1970's, when copper wire replaced it. How long am I going to have to wait for 56k capabilities, 40 more years? I will propanbly be dead by then, as that would put me at 65 years old.
What do you do when you run out of gas at when driving down the highway? Do you walk, or do you just sit there?
Here is a simple solution for violaters of perfectly reasonable rules you have set forth as a parent: Unplug the telephone line/network wire from thier computer for 2 weeks, and see if they are willing to live with your rules at the end of the two weeks. If they do not obide by your rules then, just change your password to login to your ISP, and cut the telephone cord running to thier computer/disconnect them from the router. and then they will have to buy thier own damn service, and telephone line/T1 connection. Tough love sucks, but it works.
Microsoft moves to integrate Windows with BIOS
<i>Matthew Broersma</i>
<i>ZDNet UK</i>
<i>October 03, 2003, 17:25 BST</i>
A deal with BIOS maker Phoenix Technologies would allow the operating system to directly control hardware. It also raises concerns over who controls the software in PCs
Microsoft has expanded its relationship with BIOS maker Phoenix Technologies in a deal designed to more closely integrate the basic building blocks of the PC with the Windows operating system.
The relationship, announced this week, is designed to make PCs simpler and more reliable, the companies said. The move is likely to put consumer rights advocates on their guard, however, since both Microsoft and Phoenix are involved in plans to integrate digital rights management (DRM) technology at the operating system and hardware level. DRM is designed to give copyright owners more control over how users make use of software and content, but has been criticised as eroding consumer rights.
A BIOS, or basic input/output system, is the software that ties the operating system to a PC's hardware. Traditionally, it has carried out basic tasks such as hardware and system configuration, and has been standardized and simple enough to allow the installation of alternative operating systems, including Linux.
Phoenix's Core System Software (CSS) is a next-generation BIOS with a more sophisticated integration of operating system and hardware, for example making it easier for system administrators to remotely monitor the hardware configurations of their systems. CSS is designed for non-PC systems such as blade servers and embedded industrial devices as well as traditional desktops.
Microsoft said integration should mean simpler and more reliable computers. "This is a pivotal change for the industry, and it will rapidly advance serviceability, deployment, and management for servers, mobile devices, and desktops," said Microsoft general manager of Windows hardware Tom Phillips, in a statement. "Effectively, Phoenix is creating an entirely new category of system software."
Microsoft said the next-generation BIOS would allow future versions of Windows to manage server blades when they are connected to a system, without needing to be turned on. The BIOS would also allow better control of unauthorized devices connected to a system, Microsoft said.
Phoenix is one of the biggest BIOS providers, its customers including four of the top five PC manufacturers. Its products are also used by consumer electronics makers such as Pioneer, Matsushita, Sony and Toshiba.
Both Microsoft and Phoenix are currently arguing for closer integration of Windows with PC hardware, and DRM integrated throughout. Microsoft is planning to tie Windows DRM features to the hardware platform via its controversial Next Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) project, formerly known as Palladium. NGSCB is associated with the next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, which is due in about two years' time.
Phoenix recently said it is touting round a BIOS with built-in DRM technology to major PC manufacturers. In September the company said it had developed a prototype of its Core Management Engine (CME) including DRM from Orbid. The DRM technology would allow content providers to identify which PCs and devices were authorised to play particular files, more effectively controlling content distribution, file-trading and moving software from one machine to another, according to Phoenix.
Phoenix said the DRM-enabled CME was not part of Microsoft's NGSCB, but that the technology was complementary. The CME would allow PC makers to embed digital rights management directly into the hardware, though they would have the option of allowing users to turn it off.
Consumer electronics makers are particularly interested in the technology, according to Phoenix.
"f the list is legal, then you might as well just make telemarking ILLEGAL... same effect." Good. I suggest we make telemarketing a capital offence. If we kill them all, we will have no problems with the unsolicited telephone marketing practice. I say we reinstitute burning at the stake, and only for the low life scum of telemarketers.
"Mandrake wasn't around in 1993. At that time, the GNU project was still a collection of tools that you could use on other unix operating systems. Linus had just started writing his kernel for it."
My point was <b>NOT</b> that mandrake existed in '93, (which it did not until '98), but that Linux still has major obsitcals to overcome if it desires to win over the uneducated masses from the MS platform. I am not against Linux in any way, after all an OS is an OS, and not a religion. As far as the guy who says that he does not use it for religious reasons, but just pretty much because he can, this is the smartest thing I have seen posted as a comment to this thread. It also re-affirms my statment. I belive in usage of new OSes because of the learning experience involved, not because I dislike a company's practices. After all, MS may not be the best company in the world as far as fair compitiion is concerned, but they have finally managed to produce a quality product that suits my needs (XP, 2000 WS 2003 EE).
I also use Mandrake 9.1 periodically, and the main reason I do not use it more often is because my modem is not suppoted, and I am not on a LAN. Yes, I have a USR6558B win modem, and I am too cheap to buy a Linux compatible one. If I had support for this modem, I wold use it more often than I do. (currently 1ce per week). Anymore, a computer without internet access is like a car without a heater. Not required, but sure missed if absent. The sad thing is, I have found a Win31 driver for my modem, but not a Linux Mandrake 9.1 compatible one.
Also the install process needs to resemble the one from Windows if you want to tout ease of use and user freindlyness. Yes "apt get install mozilla1.4stable" is pretty easy, but if one has no Linux (or command line) experience, how is one supposed to install anything? Thsy would not. Also consider the vast poputlation that is connected via 56k modem. Even if they do know the proper linux command, they do not have time to get 50 MB of OO.o 1.1 when they just want thier copy of Works 2000 to work like it does on thier Windows box.
Renember, most people only want thier computer to function as an appliance, they do not want to be bothered to update it, or care for its security. Stupid? Yes. It is like trying to drive your car without ever changing the oil, or flushing the coolant system. Works OK for a while, but then performance degrades, and finally the vehicle dies. Most people only want a computer because thier friends have it, and to get games that they see on TV. They do not care about the compexities of the OS underneath.
An easy way to get the population to buy a *nix setup with thier funds and not have to worry about learning a new interface is to give the consumer 3 options on first login to thier account. 1. Windows Clone, 2. Mac like interface, 3.Standard KDE, 4. Standard Gnome, 5.Custom UI. This would attract the greatest consumer base without infringing on user choice. The settings should also be customizable from the initial selected UI, in case the user wants to change the theme. But it must be similar to the Windows XP themes dialoqe to not intimidate the user. Don't you think that after MS spent a couple hundred million USD to develop and reserch a UI, that they would nearn somthing about what a consumer expects?
In short, use an OS because you want to, desire to learn, or because it suits your needs. Not to "stick it to the man." Bill Gates, and Microsoft Corporation could honestly give a shit less if only 3% of the desktop share use Linux as thier sole OS. Do it to expand your knowlade, or for any other reason to be a jackass wannabe loser bent on revenge.
There is much wrong with Windows also. Such as the virii problem. With 90%+ of the market share, virri would be a problem for any OS. Also the lack of command line history, and device compatibilty for XP.
Take the best of both OSes and roll them into one package. Combined with application support, a smooth U
"To bolster his argument, Ozzie used the Notes R3 feature set to recreate a scenario close to what was described in the patent. After the hard part of putting together a Notes R3 computing environment that included MS-DOS 6.22, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, and a circa-1993 copy of Excel 5.0 obtained from eBay, it only took Ozzie about 15 minutes to knock out a demo without any programming using the out-of-the-box UI of Notes and Excel."
--/BEGIN OSS FREAK MODE/--
Oh no!! he used a M$ setup of Windoze 3.11 FW, M$-DO$ 6.22, and M$ Excel 5.0! He must be a pawn of the "Evil Empire M$". Why can't he use Linux on his 486? Everyone knows that Mandrake 9.1 works better than any M$ Windoze product on a 486 with 16 MB RAM and a 500 MB HDD. WAHHH!! It's not OSS!!! He can't free himself from the M$ grip of tyranny. Come on, It's a brave GNU world. Joseph Stallan, Er, Richard Stallman wont be pleased with this! He is going to the Siberian Goulag for sure. DIE CAPATALISTS!! LONG LIVE CARL MARX, AND JOSEPH STALLAN. HEIL HITLER!!
--/END OSS FREAK MODE/--
OK, now that the piss ant whining is over, no body else needs to follow suit. This is a good discovery. Grow up MS is not out to kill you, steal your house, and rape your wife/daughter/mother/girlfriend. All the Whiners are just too cheap to buy a legit product, or do not know where/how to get a pirated copy. (Note: I did not say all OSS users. Just those who try and impose their preference on others.)
An OS is an OS. They are all good for different things. It is an operating system, not a religion. You do not need converts to Linux, or to Windows.
I have an old P1 running Windows NT 3.51, and that's good enough for that machine. My new machine runs Windows XP Professional. Did you hear that? I am using Windows XP Professional Build 2600.xpsp2.030422-1633 to type this, and mysteriously, this text appears exactly as it would have if I typed it on Windows 3.11, or Mandrake 9.1. Wow, pretty strange! Must be an act of God himself to allow this to happen. NOT!!
Understand this: What I decide to use on my computers at home will not directly interfere with any other person as long as it is 100% patched, fire walled, and has a up to date virus scanner. As long as a system is locked down, it does not matter what OS you are running. A Windows box is just as secure as a Linux box under if the proper measures are taken. Also, a Linux box can be just as insecure as Windows ME if the administrator is incompetent.
Also, if conversion of the masses to Linux is so important to you, why don't you quit talking bullshit about how MS is only easier because more people understand it, the masses are trained on it and not *nix, MS stole the technology, Et cetera? IF it is such a big deal, be proactive and change the situation by providing a service or solution that is not yet implemented by MS, and offer it in your distribution. And if you expect to have the masses desire your product, you have to provide it to a better quality than the competition would or does. People are resistant to change.
For change to occur, you have to be able to provide something that is in high demand, and at a good and reasonable price also. Also, just because your distribution is better than the rest as far as features and ease of use are concerned, does not mean that you will succeed. To succeed, you must have a form of advertisement, and a mission statement that can be met. It does not matter if I create the best OS and office suite on the market if only I have it, and maybe only 1000 other people. Without advertisement, and consumer product awareness, how do you expect it to succeed? It will not. An old saying, "It takes money to make money." still holds true in this case.
Granted choice is a good thing, but when there are choices of literally hundreds of distributions offering pretty close to the same experience, (Such as SuSE vs. Red Hat vs. Mandrake vs. Lycoris), why would anyone want to compare the subtle differenc
bgates@microsoft.com
Your friend is mis-informed. The retail version of Windows XP Home Edition costs $208.76 after taxes. Windows XP Professional costs $408.76 after taxes. These are for the full installaion media. The upgrade disc sets are about half of the cost for the consumer. If you decide to buy it OEM, you must purchase it along with hardware. This hardware can be anything. I bought a mouse for $25.00, and this counted. The cost for OEM Windows XP Professional is $80, while the home edition OEM is only $50.00. Therefore, What MS is offering to tiger direct is nothing new. If I as a consumer can manage to get Windows XP for only $50.00, surly TigerDirect could have pushed for only $10.00 if they decided to press the issue.
I have had my SoftHome.Net address for a couple years now, anbd the service is very good. You can check your email via the web, or a POP3/SMTP client such as Mozilla, Outlook express, ect. The only dis advantage to the free service is that you get about 2 messages per week from SoftHome.Net advertizing somthing, but other than that, it is a very good service.
I'll second that. The way I see it, organized religion is for people with weak minds that are incapable of deciding what to do in life, and to distinglish right from wrong. I don't need some "devine" being telling me what I can and cannot do. If I want to get stoned, masturbate, eat pork, steal, and use "god" as a profane verb, I can! I have no idea why people waste thier lives on such BS. I guess because just reasoning everything with "god wants you to" is for simple minds.
I have a laptop similar to this one, except the specifications are almost double. It is a 486dx2/66 with 8 MB RAM, and a 125MB HDD. DR-DOS 7.03 runs rather well on this for the core OS, as does Windows 3.11 for Workgroups for a GUI. If you do not feel like supporting MS (which you would not nessesarily be doing, because Windows 3.11 is freely available on many abandonware sites. But if you have a moral objetion to running abandonware, you can also use Seal Desktop 2.
Seal is available on Sourceforge.net, and is very decent. DR-DOS is free for personal use, but unless you purchase a lisence to use it, there is no support. You do not need to purchase it though. If you go here, you can get it completly free.
That's true. I will just have to go dumpster diving some more. Oh yeah, your sig goes good with what you said. It is so true!
This is almost assanine how fast technolgy is going. My motherboard is a DFI 586ITOX Rev. G, and I have 2 PCI slots (1 being shared), and 6 ISA slots. The only way I even have a modem for my system is because I fished it out of the trash behind a computer store that was throwing out all old equipment. I would like to upgrade, but I need to have at least 2 ISA slots, and modern motherboards do not have any. I find this rather inconvenient. Also, finding a motherboard that supports SDRAM is getting very difficult too. I have been looking for a decent P4 motherboard with 2 ISA slots and 4 SD RAM slots, but I do not think this is going to happen anytime soon. I have 768MB in SDRAM, and I am not about to throw any of it away just because of new "improved" technolgy. Where are all the old PIII and PII boards these days. And the processors? It is like trying to find gold at the dumpster now.
Not like MS letting the govornment view some of the source is benificial to them anyhow. You forgot to account for the fact that MS will more than likely make them sign a NDA. and all the souce code is propitary anyhow. No body else may use it in any form without explicit premission from MS. If this were the not case, WINE would be able to run every Windows program seamlessly, but as of now, it needs configuing for every program you wish to run on it. Not really news, more like this:
You: "My neighbor just got a new car."
Your friend: "does he let you drive it?"
You: No, but atleast I get to look at it."
Your friend: "who cares then?"
You: "Good point."
Having them use DOS is like telling microsoft to steal more. They would gladly do it, and would benifit from it. I say make them use System 3.3 on a Macintosh SE
Is to ban all forms of telephone solicitiation by any company, for profit of not. Instead of having a national DNC list, we should have an OICL nation wide. (DNC is DO Not Call, OICL is Opt-In Caller List) Anyone who is not on the OICL should not be called. I used to telemarket, so I know what they do, and the lies they tell. I will tell you this: No matter what they say, never buy a program called: Mainstreet Savings, Galleria, Premier Health Plus, Simple Escapes, or 24 Protect Plus. Even if it is only $9.95/Mo. They are scams. They are money traps. Let everyone know. Write your congressman, lets get this bill passed!
I work for a telemarketing company, and every day I call about 600 people per day. There is approximatly 100 people working in the same call center as me. Just going off of the volume of calls per day that I make, there are at least 60000 calls going out over the course of 16 hours. 10% of these calls end in sales, while 10% of the sales will end in an upsale als0. But this is beside the point.
Here are some ways that people try and avoid telemarketing calls, and the results of what happens:
1-one who is called states that they are not available (some are quite stupid also, "Im not here" is a common resopnce)
Result-we disposition as not available. Re-calls house in 2-3 hours.
2-one who is called says they are busy.
Result-dispositioned as not available. Recall house in 2-3 hours
3-one who is called cannot speak english, or not well.
Result-dispositioned as a lnguage problem. House recalled (maybe in 5 months) waiting for them to learn english
4-one who is called says they are not interested.
Result-give second effort, if refused, disposition as refusal. one who is called rmoved from that program's list. Continues to remain on other lists.
5-one who is called hangs up without stated reason.
Result-dispositioned as hung up, recalls house in 20 miniutes.
6-one who is called brings up threats of lawsuit / or is an irate customer.
Result- dispositioned as refusal. See results above.
7-one who is called requests to be placed on do not call list.
Result-Give DNC responce. Dispositioned as DNC. Federal law mandates that the called number be placed on company DNC list within 90 days.
8-disconnected tone.
Result- dispositioned as disconnect. Number is dropped from list.
9-number is fax machine.
Result- dispositioned as disconnect. Number dropped
10-awnserwing machine.
Result-dispositioned as awnsering machine, called back in 2-3 hours
11-one who is called is deaf/has difficult hearing on the fone.
Result- dispositiond as deaf, number dropped
12- Anonomys call blockage/privacy manager/phone butler.
Result- put a random sequence of numbers into the telephone box at the cublcle, to "fool" the caller ID system, and continue call.
General guidelines that work:
1. Request to be placed on DNC list (and say you have requested so before. Since it is a previous requset, we will red flag it, and it will have more importance being removed even faster.
2. Speak a forign language, and dont speak any english. You dont even have to know any of the language that you are speaking, but caller will not know that. Will be language barrier. (Maybe recalled in 5 months).
3. Give your credit card creditors a invalid number, a fax machine, or a modems number. You wont be getting the call, and number will be removed.
4. Refuse the offer. Will give second effort, maybe third also, but if you hold your ground, will be dispositioned as refusal. Removed from that call list, remain on others.
I hope this pointer list helps you stop those endless calls
And then what happens when the latest games require ever faster processors? "Oh no...I want to be able to play doom 12 but it requires a 4 gig processor to play it...hmmm...na, I won't bother upgrading coz then I'll have a palladium system"...don't see that scenario happening. To me, the difference between a 1.7Ghz and a 2.8Ghz is so miniscule that there is no difference to the human sitting behind the chair. I type this from a P1 166 with only 256MB SDRAM running Windows XP SP1. I may in the future upgrade to a PIII 800Mhz, but I do not run graphically intensive applications, or complile code, so there is no point in me going any faster. I have no desire to find the 12*E10 digit of Pi, compile any code, or do graphical intensive work. I use my system to design websites, crack softwares, very light gaming, office work, burning CD's for people and myself, hacking, and surfing the net. Granted, if I did upgrade, there would be a noticable speed increase. I have no need for that speed however, so this would be boondoggle for me to go beyond a pentium three. There would be no point in this for me. Old technology has been proven, and I will stay with it until it costs more to maintain my system than it does to buy a new one. If an application will not run on my system, I will not upgrade just so I can run that application. I can live without it. Renember, the flight to the moon was calculated on a computer that was the size of a small room with only 500k of memory. By the way, I got this computer for free, somebody just threw it on the trash heap. Yes, I did improve it from what it was, but it is now adequate for my needs. If only people would realize that there is nothing wrong with old computers just because a faster system came out. That would be a miricle
:start
;
Lack of consumer demand creates lack of money. Lack of money creates lack of development. Lack of development creates lack of production. Lack of production creates lack of product. Lack of product creates lack of intrest. Lack of intrest creates lack of consumer demand.
;
GOTO start
If you really want to fight it, the simplest way to go about it is to get it known on the net to Joe User. If enough people are aware of the scheme that MS, Intel, and AMD are planning, people will not want to purchase it, and will even make a concious effort to make sure that thier new computers do not come with this so-called "enhancement".
When the big three realize that there is no customer base for a product like this, production of Pallidium will cease.