WTF?!? An AC who makes a reasonable, understandable point with no flame?? There may be hope for/. after all;)
Yes, I could see how a unified default configuration would not take away choice, unless it is forced, and other options are not available. If each distro were to say on install "Do you want to install the default distro?", and then install just that, it might be okay; but if there were only that choice, and not the choice of custom install, with all the options currently available to pick and choose from, then it would be no different than Microsoft.
I have said it before and will continue to say it, Linux has been ready for a long time for the Desktop, the applications are ready and even a lot of users are ready to use it, but the main goal of Linux is also holding it back: choice.
Okay, this statement, coupled with the main link to the article, which states "freedom of choice, freedom of source, etc. etc. is not what the average user wants..." says to me that Linux is progressing just fine. If the average user does not want freedom of choice, then they should look elsewhere. If my freedom of choice is taken away, then Linux is no different than Microsofts offerings, because Microsoft targets the lowest common factor of computing. By "standardizng" on one desktop, one word processor, or what have you, how is that different than Microsoft? Before you say well download and install the GUI you want, or AbiWord instead of OpenOffice, or whatever, that is already an option for those running Microsoft offerings. At work I have OpenOffice running on Win2K, and not MS Office, but will the average joe do that? I think not. If the average joe wants an average OS, with no choices to make on how it acts, then stick with Microsoft, that is what they excel at. If, however you want freedom of choice, and you do care about how it acts, then by all means use Linux. Linux is NOT about displacing Microsoft from the number one spot for desktop OSes, it IS all about empowering the individual user! Linus says all the time he's out to make the best OS for his use, NOT for the average joe. If you or the average joe wants to use his stuff, fine, but it's no sweat off his brow if you or the average joe doesn't want to. Linus understands the fact that these machines should be our tools, not the other way around.
A gun, on the other hand, has no other purpose than violence.
Technically speaking, a gun's only purpose is to accelerate a small chunk of metal from it's chamber and through the barrel. Your purposewith a gun may be only violence, but my purposewith a gun is: 1: To easily enable me to provide food for my family. 2: To defend my family from whatever may threaten it. 3: To spend an enjoyable afternoon with my family, learning about morals, hand/eye coordination, safety, and self-defense by using a gun to poke high speed holes in tin cans.
Depending on a file extension to convey an accurate representation of it's contents is just asking for trouble. This, fact, combined with the fact that Microsoft wants to hide that information from the user was my (poorly conveyed) point.
As for educating your mom on Windows file extensions, I will gladly do that, as, if she is running Windows, she had better learn what extensions are, or she'll fall victim to the latest email virus, or she won't understand why the (zipped) pictures she downloaded don't just display, etc. etc. My going rate is $75.00 an hour, and my current customers gladly pay that for me fixing their systems after they've been hit by a virus, and they gladly pay that rate for me educating them on why and how they got infected in the first place. That includes a lesson on Windows file extensions. Face it, if you run Windows you must develop some understanding of how it works, and since it is dependent on file extensions, if you don't learn anything about those you are at the mercy of everyone. Of course, if you run any OS, you must develop some understanding of how it works, that's just the way computers are.
All it would take is to associate the *.virus extension to be opened with some other program by default, and *poof", it magically disappears on 99% of the Windows boxes, as Windows defaults to hiding known file extensions. That is completely criminal in my book. So, when you tell someone to NEVER click on ".pif or *.vbs, and they are sent a file called nasty.jpg.vbs all they see is nasty.jpg and figure it's safe to click. Why the HELL would ANYBODY hide part of a file name, especially the most important part??? That goes well beyond stupidity!!!
Actually, if you read all the articles, you'll notice that the Bond clips were provided by MGM (who owns the hotel SCO is at) for SCO's use.
Thus, no piracy.
Ahhhh, but the esteemed counsel that SCO has sought out stated previously, that copyright law allows for one and only one copy to be made, for backup purposes only, so MGM better make damn sure they were using the original footage, with their fingers on the fast forward/rewind buttons, or even they are not in compliance with the SCO version of law.
Don't forget, with the current copyright/patent laws, my great grandchildren may have a chance at something from this century going to public domain, but if someone were to live to be 300 years old, then add the 99 years or whatever after that, and holy shit, the human race would see an ant be President before anything passed to the pulic domain!!
Countless times I've been attacked for not using Linux for a task Linux cannot perform.
I can understand that; lots of people who need a hammer, but only have a wrench, will use the wrench as a (rather poor) hammer. I must only have need of the proverbial wrench, while you have need of the wrench, hammer, and screwdriver!
so if you want us to switch, start coding reasonable alternatives (in cost, ease, production, and output).
I'm working on that, I just don't have a whole lot of free time between working full-time, and going to school full-time. No, Autocad isn't willing to pay me to develop for anything but Windows, and I don't work for them any way, so, just be patient. Stuff that is in the areas you mentioned is being worked on, with most projects still BETA, or v.1 or v.2, and Autocad is like v.Methusela (been around a long time.) Just wait though, Linux programs are coming like a far off freight train, and when they get here, nothing's gonna measure up to 'em.
I think you mean a very poor choice for Kenja. When will you understand that? Windows is a very poor choice for bninja_penguin (who spends ten hours a day fixing other people's Windows machines) and his wife (who is a very typical user, i.e., the internet, solitare, and papers for school).
So, for a summary: Kenja==Windows user bninja_penguin==Linux user
And I say, so what?? Some people like riding a bus everywhere they have to go, others of us like to cruise around in Ferraris.
Blah blah, don't use MS, blah blah. That's just not an option for 90% of the world.
WTF??? Is 90% of the world running Autocad? As far as I know, thats about the only thing that's really stuck to running on Windows (of software available to the general public.) Even MS Office can run fine on an alternative platform (Macintosh.) Also, 90% means nine out of ten. So, what you are saying, when you say That's just not an option for 90% of the world, is that nine out of ten aboriginals or rain forest indians have no option but to use MS? Good God, man, I'm not even sure that nine out of ten people in the world have electriciy or running water. So, before you start spouting off about "options for 90% of the world", how about you tone that down to what you really mean, and say, "Blah blah, don't use MS, blah blah. That's just not an option for 90% of the anonymous cowards who post to/."!!!
I know software crashes occasionally, no matter who wrote it, but man, you ought to get your power checked or something, I mean holy shit man, My TV crash? NEVER! All three of my cell phones? NEVER! I don't have a DVD player, but my cable box? NEVER! My router? NEVER! I do turn it off when i leave for overnight or longer trips. WAP? I don't have one, but my cordless phone (landline?) NEVER! I don't have a Satellite Receiver either, but my microwave? NEVER! My automatic sprinkler system controller? NEVER! My coffee pot? NEVER! My VCR? NEVER! I could go on, but what's the point?
Yeah, he should check out his hardware/driver setup on his 2003 box, but you also need to remember 2003 has just been released, and is, for all intents and purposes,still BETA. Until it's been run in the field for a year or so, and the bug reports have been submitted back to Microsoft and fixed, it is BETA. Just try getting Exchange Server up and running properly, and with all the functionality of it running on 2000 server. It's a bitch, and even Microsoft admits that.
What's next, a clause that says you can't ever remove Windows?
Basically, yes. There have been versions of the EULA that tie the OS to the hardware. Also, new systems do NOT come with XP discs, just a bootable cd that pulls files from the hidden restore partition. I've had several customers with HP and Dell systems come to me with dead HDDs, and their restore cds actually don't. I have to call hp, and get the discs sent to me, or I have to send the system to them to reimage the drive. It is 7 cds they send, and they have a "nominal" fee for them.
SCO is going after the US Government for merely using Linux. When are they going to attempt to go after CHINA, who actually produces, distributes, and modifies their own Distro?? That's what I want to see... The US government has to stop and think of some sort of plausible explaination for their actions (no matter how cracked it may sound), whereas China, with the entire world watching, would just run them over with a tank!!
Go on, SCO, I dare you! Just hop on over there, and try to get your "license" fee from all the Red Flag users and contributors! Otherwise, shut up, fuck off, and kill yourselves now. Either you go after EVERYONE right now, or just suck farts from corpses. Either way, you've lost everything.
I work on/with computers for a living. My personal experience with GUI interfaces is, the very worst I've ever had to use was the classic Mac interfaces (9.x and earlier) the next most confusing and hard for me to work with is XP without a doubt. Since the vast majority of what I work on is running Windows 98, I'd say that is just about the easiest I've ever worked with, but maybe that's just because I'm very very used to it. KDE is what I use at home, on Macs, AMD boxes, and an Alpha box. (of course, all running Linux.) I can find what I want to do, or configure at least four times faster on KDE than on XP. The very biggest kicker though, is when XP chokes, or has something go wrong, you get a very UNhelpfull message. All it wants to do is send the information to Microsoft without telling me anything except for a string of crap. With Windows 9x, and even Windows 2000, I get error messages that are interpretable, and know exactly where to start diagnosing by the information given. Same with KDE. The error message and Google can get me everything I need to know to fix the problem.
On a perfectly functioning machine, XP may be usable, but anyone whose worked on PCs for any length of time knows XP is probably one step forward from the 9x line, and three steps back. No bench tech I've ever worked with or talked to has an improving view of XP. It is nasty in the extreme to actually work with, or to make it do exactly what you want it to do.
I would rather stab the splintered end of a broken two by four through my own head repeatedly than have to run XP on my machines. My personal "eXPerience" with it is that rotten. On the very same machine, XP actually runs slower than Linux or Windows98 (Athlon1800+, 512MB DDR RAM.) Sure, you can show me all the benchmarks in the world, or studies by thousands of researchers that show XP to be all the shiznit, but I know what I see and feel when actually using a machine for any extended period of time, and XP can't hold a candle to even Windows98.
So, in conclusion, sure, for the common Joe, Xp may be all that, but there's no way anyone who has REAL work to get done would think it to be so great.
Windows XP is nothing but an evil bitch in a pretty dress and a smile.
Exactly what my experience has been. XP is a bitch in pretty clothes and a smile. Most of my customers have just barely grasped basic functionality of Win9x, and when confronted with XP, just about panic. It is that much different from what they just spent three years trying to figure out.
I'm in that same minority. I mean, sure, the EULAs are probably not leagally enforceable, but what if they are? Where will the person be who just agrees to any EULA, thinking it doesn't matter, if they are enforceable? I'm sure you are aware of the stunt SCO is trying to pull. What if Microsoft decided one day to put their rescources into enforcing the EULA, and claiming every system running XP as their own? Besides, if I DON'T agree, why would I click the button that says" "I agree"?? That would be stupid.
Linux fails on the desktop for four reasons:
1. Usability - 99% of the computer users are not geeky or technical enough to deal with the geek/tech slant of major linux distros. Consider how many linux setup/configure exercises force you to edit config files (not an option for most users).
Maybe three years ago. That was the last time I ever had to open a config file to setup or configure anything. I use Linux as my desktop operating system, so no, I've not setup Apache or things like that, but niether is anyone else who's using a desktop system.
2. Consistency - Very few, if any, linux applications have a consistent look and feel which makes them much harder to use since each and every application has a different UI method. Gimp is a great example of this.
One program does not make a great example. The gimp for Windows doesn't look like a Windows app either. Photoshop on Windows doesn't have the same consistency of look and feel as Notepad, and Media Player, espcially when skinned, doesn't look or feel like Excel.
3. Documentation - The overall quality of open source software is best shown through its poor or unusable documentation.
Linux has more documentation for anything you'ld like to do with it than damn near anything else in the world. Of course it's poor, as it can't have a bank account. And, if it's unusable to you, that may be because you don't have a good grasp of computer verbage. Some one who knows nothing about construction could pickup a manual on how to reroof a house, but if they don't understand the verbage, they would think it unusable also (what's the difference between a soffet and facia? If you don't know, you may have trouble understanding roofs properly.)
4. Overdoing the installed number of applications...
So what you are saying here is when car shopping, a novice would rather have one choice? I mean, they just want a vehicle that does what they want right? so why can't the car dealer just give it to them? Same thing with applications.
And, on your suggestions for Linux, you said:
4. Adopt a modern windowing system instead of X
Why would someone want one of these modern windowing systems (I'm thinking you're thinking of XP style) that can't run remote displays, can't provide a separate layer from the GUI, are not portable across platforms, and don't have decades of refinement behind them? X may be old, but it, to me, is more modern than any other I've worked with.
I just checked yesterday, and according to my monitoring, Kazaa Lite was actually running about 1 million more users than it was a month ago! Sharing was running only slightly higher though.
Personally I would rather learn something new than something old.
Yeah, you're anonymous, so it's silly to reply, but did you stop to maybe consider that learning something new rather than something old needs several qualifications. I mean, I don't know how to brew my own beer, so if I learned how, then I will have learned something new, even though the art of brewing beer is something old.
As for your comment: People still use swords, bows and arrows as well. It's doesn't mean they're used by any modern army. The same applies to the IIgs. Hence "nobody uses it anymore" is perfectly valid. Well, people still play with steam engines, but they're not used by modern trains. However, you can't say "nobody uses it any more", Simply because, while no one really uses steam directly, there are probably millions of people around the world who get electricity from steam power.
Well, it's not like I am a manager or anything, and I already run Linux on my PCs, but my Linux plans DID change when SCO started their campaign. I now tell everybody they should consider switching TO Linux, and I tracked down some old versions of it that run on Macintosh 680x0s with hardly any RAM. (I have 32 Macs, most are like LCIIIs, or the like, not many Power PCs) so I can get every single system of mine to run nothing but Linux. I have an Alpha box w/ a dead power supply, but I have a distro of Linux ready to go on it. I've got some Amigas, an AS/400, and enough PC parts to build probably 20 more systems, which, before SCOs thingy, were just sitting in the garage, but now are being assembled, just so I can put Linux on them. I got four systems at work dual booting, and three running nothing but Linux.
Before SCO brought up their little vendetta against Linux, I had two PCs at home running Linux, and one at work dual booting. So, yeah, it did change my plans. I was content to use my lowly three systems of Linux, but by the years end, I'll have at least 55 running Linux, all but 4 will be NOTHING but Linux! What do you think about that, Daryl??
Well, the point of business maybe merely to make money, and Jesus knows it's hard to live without at least a little money, but hey, when you die, and you know you have to, what then? Are you gonna take that money with you?
Anyway, you may care about the major corporations of the world, and "buy" into their view that money is the point of everything, but I guarantee you, the corporations don't give a shit about you, or anything you want, they only care, as your post suggests, about the money they can squeeze from their consumers. This is the beauty of Open Source. It is about what the programmers want. Open Source is NOT a cash cow. It is a path to personal control over a machine. It is like my ability to take the head off a hammer I own, and attach it to a jack handle. Why, you may ask? Well, it doesn't matter to me whether you like my idea, or would use or buy it. It makes me happy to use a hammerhead attached to a jack handle. Sure, it may look rough, and it doesn't have the neon green fiberglass handle of a store bought hammer, but it suits MY needs or wants perfectly, and I get one Hell of a buildup of momentum when I swing the damn thing!
Is it just me, or do other people notice the growing trend of Intel really sucking hind tit? Sure, they are over 3Ghz, but AMD and now even Apple are sporting processors that are more than one thousand mhz slower, yet, over all, perform the same or better. I figure by the time Intel hits 4 or 5 Ghz, Via's Cyrix processor will be just about 1.8Ghz, but will have been worked to where it's performance will be on par with the Intel offering. Ol' Intel had better double their advertising budget, or even Dell will have to start offering non-intel systems.
By the way, no, I don't benchmark systems I use, as that, in my mind is like putting a car on a dynometer. I mean, who realy cares how much horsepower a machine has, if it's gearing is completely mis-calculated? Based upon actually using systems, I find that G3s seem very slow to use, G4s not bad, P4s a little better, and AMD Athlons wicked quick. Yes, all systems were slightly different clock speeds, but all had 256MB of RAM, except the P4, it has 512MB of RAM. In just normal usage, nothing I've come across can touch the Athlons for performance. However, I also do NOT do video editing, sound editing, etc. I just play a few games, do programming for school, the internet, and such. So no, I do NOT care about how fast something can open Photoshop, or if these systems can do real time video editing. I didn't build/purchase them for that.
There's my two cents, could I use that for a down payment on a new dual G5?
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WTF?!? An AC who makes a reasonable, understandable point with no flame?? There may be hope for /. after all;)
Yes, I could see how a unified default configuration would not take away choice, unless it is forced, and other options are not available. If each distro were to say on install "Do you want to install the default distro?", and then install just that, it might be okay; but if there were only that choice, and not the choice of custom install, with all the options currently available to pick and choose from, then it would be no different than Microsoft.
I have said it before and will continue to say it, Linux has been ready for a long time for the Desktop, the applications are ready and even a lot of users are ready to use it, but the main goal of Linux is also holding it back: choice.
Okay, this statement, coupled with the main link to the article, which states "freedom of choice, freedom of source, etc. etc. is not what the average user wants..." says to me that Linux is progressing just fine. If the average user does not want freedom of choice, then they should look elsewhere. If my freedom of choice is taken away, then Linux is no different than Microsofts offerings, because Microsoft targets the lowest common factor of computing. By "standardizng" on one desktop, one word processor, or what have you, how is that different than Microsoft? Before you say well download and install the GUI you want, or AbiWord instead of OpenOffice, or whatever, that is already an option for those running Microsoft offerings. At work I have OpenOffice running on Win2K, and not MS Office, but will the average joe do that? I think not. If the average joe wants an average OS, with no choices to make on how it acts, then stick with Microsoft, that is what they excel at. If, however you want freedom of choice, and you do care about how it acts, then by all means use Linux. Linux is NOT about displacing Microsoft from the number one spot for desktop OSes, it IS all about empowering the individual user!
Linus says all the time he's out to make the best OS for his use, NOT for the average joe. If you or the average joe wants to use his stuff, fine, but it's no sweat off his brow if you or the average joe doesn't want to. Linus understands the fact that these machines should be our tools, not the other way around.
A gun, on the other hand, has no other purpose than violence.
Technically speaking, a gun's only purpose is to accelerate a small chunk of metal from it's chamber and through the barrel. Your purpose with a gun may be only violence, but my purpose with a gun is:
1: To easily enable me to provide food for my family.
2: To defend my family from whatever may threaten it.
3: To spend an enjoyable afternoon with my family, learning about morals, hand/eye coordination, safety, and self-defense by using a gun to poke high speed holes in tin cans.
Depending on a file extension to convey an accurate representation of it's contents is just asking for trouble.
This, fact, combined with the fact that Microsoft wants to hide that information from the user was my (poorly conveyed) point.
As for educating your mom on Windows file extensions, I will gladly do that, as, if she is running Windows, she had better learn what extensions are, or she'll fall victim to the latest email virus, or she won't understand why the (zipped) pictures she downloaded don't just display, etc. etc. My going rate is $75.00 an hour, and my current customers gladly pay that for me fixing their systems after they've been hit by a virus, and they gladly pay that rate for me educating them on why and how they got infected in the first place. That includes a lesson on Windows file extensions.
Face it, if you run Windows you must develop some understanding of how it works, and since it is dependent on file extensions, if you don't learn anything about those you are at the mercy of everyone.
Of course, if you run any OS, you must develop some understanding of how it works, that's just the way computers are.
All it would take is to associate the *.virus extension to be opened with some other program by default, and *poof", it magically disappears on 99% of the Windows boxes, as Windows defaults to hiding known file extensions. That is completely criminal in my book. So, when you tell someone to NEVER click on ".pif or *.vbs, and they are sent a file called nasty.jpg.vbs all they see is nasty.jpg and figure it's safe to click. Why the HELL would ANYBODY hide part of a file name, especially the most important part??? That goes well beyond stupidity!!!
Actually, if you read all the articles, you'll notice that the Bond clips were provided by MGM (who owns the hotel SCO is at) for SCO's use. Thus, no piracy.
Ahhhh, but the esteemed counsel that SCO has sought out stated previously, that copyright law allows for one and only one copy to be made, for backup purposes only, so MGM better make damn sure they were using the original footage, with their fingers on the fast forward/rewind buttons, or even they are not in compliance with the SCO version of law.
Don't forget, with the current copyright/patent laws, my great grandchildren may have a chance at something from this century going to public domain, but if someone were to live to be 300 years old, then add the 99 years or whatever after that, and holy shit, the human race would see an ant be President before anything passed to the pulic domain!!
Countless times I've been attacked for not using Linux for a task Linux cannot perform.
I can understand that; lots of people who need a hammer, but only have a wrench, will use the wrench as a (rather poor) hammer. I must only have need of the proverbial wrench, while you have need of the wrench, hammer, and screwdriver!
so if you want us to switch, start coding reasonable alternatives (in cost, ease, production, and output).
I'm working on that, I just don't have a whole lot of free time between working full-time, and going to school full-time. No, Autocad isn't willing to pay me to develop for anything but Windows, and I don't work for them any way, so, just be patient. Stuff that is in the areas you mentioned is being worked on, with most projects still BETA, or v.1 or v.2, and Autocad is like v.Methusela (been around a long time.) Just wait though, Linux programs are coming like a far off freight train, and when they get here, nothing's gonna measure up to 'em.
I think you mean a very poor choice for Kenja. When will you understand that?
Windows is a very poor choice for bninja_penguin (who spends ten hours a day fixing other people's Windows machines) and his wife (who is a very typical user, i.e., the internet, solitare, and papers for school).
So, for a summary:
Kenja==Windows user
bninja_penguin==Linux user
And I say, so what?? Some people like riding a bus everywhere they have to go, others of us like to cruise around in Ferraris.
Blah blah, don't use MS, blah blah. That's just not an option for 90% of the world.
/."!!!
WTF??? Is 90% of the world running Autocad? As far as I know, thats about the only thing that's really stuck to running on Windows (of software available to the general public.) Even MS Office can run fine on an alternative platform (Macintosh.)
Also, 90% means nine out of ten. So, what you are saying, when you say That's just not an option for 90% of the world , is that nine out of ten aboriginals or rain forest indians have no option but to use MS? Good God, man, I'm not even sure that nine out of ten people in the world have electriciy or running water. So, before you start spouting off about "options for 90% of the world", how about you tone that down to what you really mean, and say,
"Blah blah, don't use MS, blah blah. That's just not an option for 90% of the anonymous cowards who post to
I know software crashes occasionally, no matter who wrote it, but man, you ought to get your power checked or something, I mean holy shit man, My TV crash? NEVER! All three of my cell phones? NEVER! I don't have a DVD player, but my cable box? NEVER! My router? NEVER! I do turn it off when i leave for overnight or longer trips. WAP? I don't have one, but my cordless phone (landline?) NEVER! I don't have a Satellite Receiver either, but my microwave? NEVER! My automatic sprinkler system controller? NEVER! My coffee pot? NEVER! My VCR? NEVER! I could go on, but what's the point?
Yeah, he should check out his hardware/driver setup on his 2003 box, but you also need to remember 2003 has just been released, and is, for all intents and purposes,still BETA. Until it's been run in the field for a year or so, and the bug reports have been submitted back to Microsoft and fixed, it is BETA. Just try getting Exchange Server up and running properly, and with all the functionality of it running on 2000 server. It's a bitch, and even Microsoft admits that.
What's next, a clause that says you can't ever remove Windows?
Basically, yes. There have been versions of the EULA that tie the OS to the hardware. Also, new systems do NOT come with XP discs, just a bootable cd that pulls files from the hidden restore partition. I've had several customers with HP and Dell systems come to me with dead HDDs, and their restore cds actually don't. I have to call hp, and get the discs sent to me, or I have to send the system to them to reimage the drive. It is 7 cds they send, and they have a "nominal" fee for them.
SCO is going after the US Government for merely using Linux. When are they going to attempt to go after CHINA, who actually produces, distributes, and modifies their own Distro?? That's what I want to see... The US government has to stop and think of some sort of plausible explaination for their actions (no matter how cracked it may sound), whereas China, with the entire world watching, would just run them over with a tank!!
Go on, SCO, I dare you! Just hop on over there, and try to get your "license" fee from all the Red Flag users and contributors! Otherwise, shut up, fuck off, and kill yourselves now. Either you go after EVERYONE right now, or just suck farts from corpses.
Either way, you've lost everything.
I work on/with computers for a living. My personal experience with GUI interfaces is, the very worst I've ever had to use was the classic Mac interfaces (9.x and earlier) the next most confusing and hard for me to work with is XP without a doubt. Since the vast majority of what I work on is running Windows 98, I'd say that is just about the easiest I've ever worked with, but maybe that's just because I'm very very used to it. KDE is what I use at home, on Macs, AMD boxes, and an Alpha box. (of course, all running Linux.) I can find what I want to do, or configure at least four times faster on KDE than on XP. The very biggest kicker though, is when XP chokes, or has something go wrong, you get a very UNhelpfull message. All it wants to do is send the information to Microsoft without telling me anything except for a string of crap. With Windows 9x, and even Windows 2000, I get error messages that are interpretable, and know exactly where to start diagnosing by the information given. Same with KDE. The error message and Google can get me everything I need to know to fix the problem.
On a perfectly functioning machine, XP may be usable, but anyone whose worked on PCs for any length of time knows XP is probably one step forward from the 9x line, and three steps back.
No bench tech I've ever worked with or talked to has an improving view of XP. It is nasty in the extreme to actually work with, or to make it do exactly what you want it to do.
I would rather stab the splintered end of a broken two by four through my own head repeatedly than have to run XP on my machines. My personal "eXPerience" with it is that rotten. On the very same machine, XP actually runs slower than Linux or Windows98 (Athlon1800+, 512MB DDR RAM.) Sure, you can show me all the benchmarks in the world, or studies by thousands of researchers that show XP to be all the shiznit, but I know what I see and feel when actually using a machine for any extended period of time, and XP can't hold a candle to even Windows98.
So, in conclusion, sure, for the common Joe, Xp may be all that, but there's no way anyone who has REAL work to get done would think it to be so great.
Windows XP is nothing but an evil bitch in a pretty dress and a smile.
Exactly what my experience has been. XP is a bitch in pretty clothes and a smile. Most of my customers have just barely grasped basic functionality of Win9x, and when confronted with XP, just about panic. It is that much different from what they just spent three years trying to figure out.
Spot on!!!
I'm in that same minority. I mean, sure, the EULAs are probably not leagally enforceable, but what if they are? Where will the person be who just agrees to any EULA, thinking it doesn't matter, if they are enforceable? I'm sure you are aware of the stunt SCO is trying to pull. What if Microsoft decided one day to put their rescources into enforcing the EULA, and claiming every system running XP as their own? Besides, if I DON'T agree, why would I click the button that says" "I agree"?? That would be stupid.
you said:
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Linux fails on the desktop for four reasons: 1. Usability - 99% of the computer users are not geeky or technical enough to deal with the geek/tech slant of major linux distros. Consider how many linux setup/configure exercises force you to edit config files (not an option for most users).
Maybe three years ago. That was the last time I ever had to open a config file to setup or configure anything. I use Linux as my desktop operating system, so no, I've not setup Apache or things like that, but niether is anyone else who's using a desktop system.
2. Consistency - Very few, if any, linux applications have a consistent look and feel which makes them much harder to use since each and every application has a different UI method. Gimp is a great example of this.
One program does not make a great example. The gimp for Windows doesn't look like a Windows app either. Photoshop on Windows doesn't have the same consistency of look and feel as Notepad, and Media Player, espcially when skinned, doesn't look or feel like Excel.
3. Documentation - The overall quality of open source software is best shown through its poor or unusable documentation.
Linux has more documentation for anything you'ld like to do with it than damn near anything else in the world. Of course it's poor, as it can't have a bank account. And, if it's unusable to you, that may be because you don't have a good grasp of computer verbage. Some one who knows nothing about construction could pickup a manual on how to reroof a house, but if they don't understand the verbage, they would think it unusable also (what's the difference between a soffet and facia? If you don't know, you may have trouble understanding roofs properly.)
4. Overdoing the installed number of applications
So what you are saying here is when car shopping, a novice would rather have one choice? I mean, they just want a vehicle that does what they want right? so why can't the car dealer just give it to them? Same thing with applications.
And, on your suggestions for Linux, you said:
4. Adopt a modern windowing system instead of X
Why would someone want one of these modern windowing systems (I'm thinking you're thinking of XP style) that can't run remote displays, can't provide a separate layer from the GUI, are not portable across platforms, and don't have decades of refinement behind them? X may be old, but it, to me, is more modern than any other I've worked with.
I just checked yesterday, and according to my monitoring, Kazaa Lite was actually running about 1 million more users than it was a month ago!
Sharing was running only slightly higher though.
Personally I would rather learn something new than something old.
Yeah, you're anonymous, so it's silly to reply, but did you stop to maybe consider that learning something new rather than something old needs several qualifications. I mean, I don't know how to brew my own beer, so if I learned how, then I will have learned something new, even though the art of brewing beer is something old.
As for your comment:
People still use swords, bows and arrows as well. It's doesn't mean they're used by any modern army. The same applies to the IIgs. Hence "nobody uses it anymore" is perfectly valid.
Well, people still play with steam engines, but they're not used by modern trains. However, you can't say "nobody uses it any more", Simply because, while no one really uses steam directly, there are probably millions of people around the world who get electricity from steam power.
Well, it's not like I am a manager or anything, and I already run Linux on my PCs, but my Linux plans DID change when SCO started their campaign. I now tell everybody they should consider switching TO Linux, and I tracked down some old versions of it that run on Macintosh 680x0s with hardly any RAM. (I have 32 Macs, most are like LCIIIs, or the like, not many Power PCs) so I can get every single system of mine to run nothing but Linux. I have an Alpha box w/ a dead power supply, but I have a distro of Linux ready to go on it. I've got some Amigas, an AS/400, and enough PC parts to build probably 20 more systems, which, before SCOs thingy, were just sitting in the garage, but now are being assembled, just so I can put Linux on them. I got four systems at work dual booting, and three running nothing but Linux.
Before SCO brought up their little vendetta against Linux, I had two PCs at home running Linux, and one at work dual booting.
So, yeah, it did change my plans. I was content to use my lowly three systems of Linux, but by the years end, I'll have at least 55 running Linux, all but 4 will be NOTHING but Linux!
What do you think about that, Daryl??
Well, the point of business maybe merely to make money, and Jesus knows it's hard to live without at least a little money, but hey, when you die, and you know you have to, what then? Are you gonna take that money with you?
Anyway, you may care about the major corporations of the world, and "buy" into their view that money is the point of everything, but I guarantee you, the corporations don't give a shit about you, or anything you want, they only care, as your post suggests, about the money they can squeeze from their consumers.
This is the beauty of Open Source. It is about what the programmers want. Open Source is NOT a cash cow. It is a path to personal control over a machine. It is like my ability to take the head off a hammer I own, and attach it to a jack handle. Why, you may ask? Well, it doesn't matter to me whether you like my idea, or would use or buy it. It makes me happy to use a hammerhead attached to a jack handle. Sure, it may look rough, and it doesn't have the neon green fiberglass handle of a store bought hammer, but it suits MY needs or wants perfectly, and I get one Hell of a buildup of momentum when I swing the damn thing!
Funny sig man!!
Is it just me, or do other people notice the growing trend of Intel really sucking hind tit? Sure, they are over 3Ghz, but AMD and now even Apple are sporting processors that are more than one thousand mhz slower, yet, over all, perform the same or better. I figure by the time Intel hits 4 or 5 Ghz, Via's Cyrix processor will be just about 1.8Ghz, but will have been worked to where it's performance will be on par with the Intel offering. Ol' Intel had better double their advertising budget, or even Dell will have to start offering non-intel systems.
By the way, no, I don't benchmark systems I use, as that, in my mind is like putting a car on a dynometer. I mean, who realy cares how much horsepower a machine has, if it's gearing is completely mis-calculated? Based upon actually using systems, I find that G3s seem very slow to use, G4s not bad, P4s a little better, and AMD Athlons wicked quick. Yes, all systems were slightly different clock speeds, but all had 256MB of RAM, except the P4, it has 512MB of RAM. In just normal usage, nothing I've come across can touch the Athlons for performance. However, I also do NOT do video editing, sound editing, etc. I just play a few games, do programming for school, the internet, and such. So no, I do NOT care about how fast something can open Photoshop, or if these systems can do real time video editing. I didn't build/purchase them for that.
There's my two cents, could I use that for a down payment on a new dual G5?