I'm waiting for the day someone will come along and say: wait a minute, maybe this SHOULDN'T be provided by central government. Maybe we should give people back the money we'd tax to pay for it and let them do it for themselves.
which would mean an end to OLPC.
what you are describing is a world in which education in the sciences is the privilege of the economic elite.
what you are describing is a parochial eductation in which kids are never exposed to opposing points of view, never introduced to subjects or skills which are inherently difficult or expensive to teach.
Then tell management you can cut that by 90% by contributing code back
wildly improbable claims of massive cost savings screams "Bullshit!" to management. you want to get this thing done, keep your promises anchored in reality.
All we need is one major desktop vendor to make a stripped down custom distro and sell it installed on their computers. A distinct line of desktops (no OS option, just Linux), no mention of the words Linux or Windows, and a small set of applications - Firefox, OpenOffice, etc.... Locked down so no applications can be installed,
Congratulations. You have just re-invented the network appliance. The fast track to Chapter 11.
The Geek hasn't a clue about what sells in the home market.
HD Cameras for less than $1000??? Where are these guys shopping?
The Cannon HV10 is available for $999 from Tiger Direct and other outlets. Described as the world's smallest HD camcorder. 1920x1080 CMOS sensor. 10x optical zoom, image stabilization, etc.
The Sanyo HD1A records 720p MPEG-4 video on SD cards. Sells for around $600-$700. Froogle is your friend.
So you're suggesting that the under-developed world should similarly spawn generations of clueless lusers who "know" the interface (to the degree any interface today is substantively different from another) and measure their knowledge in terms of how fast they can can click and point, or memorising what, by default, is listed on the menus?
Well, yes.
The "clueless luser" as you call them will always outnumber the Geek by a million to one.
The 19th century technology of the telephone and the 20th century technology of radio evolved to meet the needs and desires of their users --- not the other way around.
Which is why the OLPC --- a laptop for kids --- has a camera, a microphone, e-mail, chat, and a media player. It enters a market where Microsoft can be competitive if it chooses.
Third world governments aren't buying into OLPC to raise a generation of uber-Geek programmers. They are buying into OLPC to reduce the costs of basic education in the elementary grades.
I would argue that there are no financial damages due to unauthorized break ins. If someone tells them how to infiltrate their systems without actually doing it. They would have to assume it's already been done and take exactly the same steps.
Why on earth did two worthless blog posts from TechBlorge get to the front page of Slashdot? There was this one, and then the " Corporate America Not Ready For Vista" article, both today. Slow News day?
It happens for the same reason we'll be seeing equally worthless "Year of Linux" posts come January:
Home users will migrate to Vista as they upgrade or replace aging systems. Small business and the enterprise markets will move at a much slower pace. But they will move. Deep down no one here really doubts that Vista will be successful.
I don't care if my OS has 3D icons or fancy clear windows... I want it to be out of the way, and just RUN THE PROGRAMS I WANT! That's the whole point of the OS. Not to take up 4 gig of hard drive space because Grandma wants to print pictures of her grandchildren.
Microsoft's market in the home is Grandma, not the Geek. The Geek gets the crumbs which fall off the table. "The whole point of the OS" is to be of service to its users. That means different things to different people.
It wasn't that many years ago people were saying the same thing about XP as compared to Win98. Every new version of Windows is considered bloated compared to the previous one.
which is another way of saying that Vista will run well on hardware that will be mid-line at the time of its release.
works out just fine for Microsoft's core middle class market:
pay OEM prices for the big hardware and software upgrades to be had in a box-new system.
no one will give a damn about "bloat." no one but a Geek ever does.
Its still not clear that it was an assassination.
We still don't know just how much of this polonium is around our normal lives to be worried about the scaremongering.
Good lord.
When was the last time you heard of an accidental death traced to ingested Polonium?
When was the last time you heard of any death caused by radioactive poisoning that couldn't be immediately traced to an industrial accident or something of that sort?
It's pure coincidence of course when Russian made Polonium kills a Russian dissident living in exile in Britain.
The PC began selling in the tens and hundreds of millions of units when the OEM Windows install became the standard. People wanted the package deal. Core functionality out-of-the-box.
Windows wasn't shoved down anyone's throats. Shoppers were kicking down the doors to buy these new machines. Windows drove PC sales to heights no one had even imagined before.
people get viruses and spyware shoved down their throats.
people get viruses shoved down their throats because of the mischief and malice of those who create them.
What's sad is the Wikipedia page that compares Vista to XP conveniently studiously avoids the fact that Microsoft and the media corporations now control essential parts of your computer.
and this has meaning in the market Vista shares with cable TV, the PVR, HDTV, the video game console and DVD player because...?
free-as-in-beer and free-as-in-freedom do not have the same meaning to Microsoft's target audience as they do the Geek. to the middle class, the computer is an office machine and a household appliance. nothing more.
they buy Windows, OSX and Linux as an OEM system install with licensed media players and drives that work out of the box.
How sad that one of the most reviled of businessmen is actually attractive compared to so much of the other options when it comes to President.
reviled by the Geek, perhaps. but not by TIME magazine. and not by the population generally. which has never shared the Geek's hatred of Microsoft.
a poster the other day had the right idea when he wrote that the Borg icon for Gates was a desperately lame and tired old joke that has no resonance beyond Slashdot.
I think the biggest factors behind this rather meaningless stat are that there are a LOT of boomers out there who are computer literate
Mac users upgrade within the Mac family, Windows users within the Windows family.
I suspect you'll find that if the Mac demographic skews older and more affluent now, it is because Mac users skewed older and more affluent then.
That the Intel Macs can dual boot windows is also a significant factor.
Not in the least. Vitalization is for the young. No one in the boomer generation is looking forward to the agony and expense of maintaining two operating systems, software libraries and skill sets.
Microsoft with its Vista madness and other idiocies seems to be determined to self-destruct.
Microsoft isn't marketing Vista to the Geek and the concerns about Vista that obsess the Geek have gone virtually unnoticed everywhere else.
For example, multi-region DVD players. If the content makers had their way, multi-region players wouldn't exist. They do exist because consumers realise that multi-region is better than single-region, creating a demand. That in turn produced an incentive for manufacturers to make them.
sales of region-free players in north america is microscopic. there is no demand.
eventually someone would bring out an FSF-friendly Tivo clone without the tivolisation problems, and everyone will buy that instead
what they will rent is the set-top box bundled with their cable or satellite service.
no one will know and no one will care which OS it runs.
Copyright law has become so ridiculously restrictive that it has become nearly impossible not to infringe.
Nonsense.
The uploader gets sued because he is feeding screeners of "Casino Royale" to the P2P nets. It is supplying the current high-risk "marketable" titles that stokes his ego.
The downloader gets sued because he is too cheap to pay 99 cents a track to iTunes or subscribe to the million track rental libraries and radio services of Rhapsody or Y! Unlimited.
And I have nothing to lose. I have few assets and little disposable income. If they beat me, hello Chapter 7
say hello to ten years of living with the bankruptcy on public record. don't forget that you get only one bite of the apple every eight years. try for liquidation again and the courts won't be so forgiving.
If I did have money to lose then I'd run up huge legal bills defending myself. My lawyers get priority in any bankruptcy proceeding [pretty sure about that, aren't you?] and I'd rather give them all the money then RIAA.
a lawyer of even modest integrity will walk away from a client who insists on paupering himself and his family to no intelligible purpose.
you are and will remain just another file in the tens of thousands of cases that the rights agencies pursue each year.
you won't make law. you won't change anything.
you will in all probability never rate a mention even on Slashdot.
The expert says "there are some good ideas behind this really shitty writing", and the non-expert says "wow, this is some really shitty writing." So the expert comes away with a higher opinion.
We have a winner.
In reading through old sets of the Britannica, (people really do save such things,) the first thing you notice is the quality of the writing: T.E. Lawrence on Guerrilla Warfare, H.L. Mencken on the American language.
I have tube amplifiers that are over 50 years old and still operate because the parts are easily servicable.
and I have a stack of Popular Science magazines from the 40's and 50's.
vacuum tube tech was easy to service because vacuum tube tech needed service often.
even the smallest of towns could support a repair shop.
in fifteen years I have replaced one ethernet card and a drive belt on a VCR. up next will be a DIY replacement for an aging hard drive. total labor cost $50.
A cynic might suggest that this guy is trading away the technological future of his country's children at the behest of a well heeled international corporation.
A realist would argue that it is easier to shout "Corruption!" than to look honestly at the flaws in your own program. A realist would remind you that any administration grows weary of the zealot who cannot believe he has lost his case on the merits.
Slashdot Mirror
which would mean an end to OLPC.
what you are describing is a world in which education in the sciences is the privilege of the economic elite.
what you are describing is a parochial eductation in which kids are never exposed to opposing points of view, never introduced to subjects or skills which are inherently difficult or expensive to teach.
usable and enjoyable for whom? the Geek? or the non-technical end user?
wildly improbable claims of massive cost savings screams "Bullshit!" to management. you want to get this thing done, keep your promises anchored in reality.
Congratulations. You have just re-invented the network appliance. The fast track to Chapter 11.
The Geek hasn't a clue about what sells in the home market.
The Cannon HV10 is available for $999 from Tiger Direct and other outlets. Described as the world's smallest HD camcorder. 1920x1080 CMOS sensor. 10x optical zoom, image stabilization, etc.
The Sanyo HD1A records 720p MPEG-4 video on SD cards. Sells for around $600-$700. Froogle is your friend.
Well, yes.
The "clueless luser" as you call them will always outnumber the Geek by a million to one.
The 19th century technology of the telephone and the 20th century technology of radio evolved to meet the needs and desires of their users --- not the other way around.
Which is why the OLPC --- a laptop for kids --- has a camera, a microphone, e-mail, chat, and a media player. It enters a market where Microsoft can be competitive if it chooses.
Third world governments aren't buying into OLPC to raise a generation of uber-Geek programmers. They are buying into OLPC to reduce the costs of basic education in the elementary grades.
The Law for Geeks 101: You break it, you buy it.
It happens for the same reason we'll be seeing equally worthless "Year of Linux" posts come January:
Home users will migrate to Vista as they upgrade or replace aging systems. Small business and the enterprise markets will move at a much slower pace. But they will move. Deep down no one here really doubts that Vista will be successful.
Microsoft's market in the home is Grandma, not the Geek. The Geek gets the crumbs which fall off the table. "The whole point of the OS" is to be of service to its users. That means different things to different people.
Installing a motherboard is for the service tech or hobbyist. If you can manage that, activation should be child's play:
Click. Click. Click. Done.
which is another way of saying that Vista will run well on hardware that will be mid-line at the time of its release.
works out just fine for Microsoft's core middle class market:
pay OEM prices for the big hardware and software upgrades to be had in a box-new system.
no one will give a damn about "bloat." no one but a Geek ever does.
We still don't know just how much of this polonium is around our normal lives to be worried about the scaremongering.
Good lord.
When was the last time you heard of an accidental death traced to ingested Polonium?
When was the last time you heard of any death caused by radioactive poisoning that couldn't be immediately traced to an industrial accident or something of that sort?
It's pure coincidence of course when Russian made Polonium kills a Russian dissident living in exile in Britain.
I'll make this even simpler.
The PC began selling in the tens and hundreds of millions of units when the OEM Windows install became the standard. People wanted the package deal. Core functionality out-of-the-box.
Windows wasn't shoved down anyone's throats. Shoppers were kicking down the doors to buy these new machines. Windows drove PC sales to heights no one had even imagined before.
people get viruses and spyware shoved down their throats.
people get viruses shoved down their throats because of the mischief and malice of those who create them.
could the artificial limestone simply have been used as a decorative facing?
and this has meaning in the market Vista shares with cable TV, the PVR, HDTV, the video game console and DVD player because...?
free-as-in-beer and free-as-in-freedom do not have the same meaning to Microsoft's target audience as they do the Geek. to the middle class, the computer is an office machine and a household appliance. nothing more.
they buy Windows, OSX and Linux as an OEM system install with licensed media players and drives that work out of the box.
No you can't.
Character animation -- the illusion of life -- personality --- distinctive movement --- is what separates the men from the boys.
Low resolution makes the problem all the more difficult.
reviled by the Geek, perhaps. but not by TIME magazine. and not by the population generally. which has never shared the Geek's hatred of Microsoft.
a poster the other day had the right idea when he wrote that the Borg icon for Gates was a desperately lame and tired old joke that has no resonance beyond Slashdot.
Mac users upgrade within the Mac family, Windows users within the Windows family.
I suspect you'll find that if the Mac demographic skews older and more affluent now, it is because Mac users skewed older and more affluent then.
That the Intel Macs can dual boot windows is also a significant factor.
Not in the least. Vitalization is for the young. No one in the boomer generation is looking forward to the agony and expense of maintaining two operating systems, software libraries and skill sets.
Microsoft with its Vista madness and other idiocies seems to be determined to self-destruct.
Microsoft isn't marketing Vista to the Geek and the concerns about Vista that obsess the Geek have gone virtually unnoticed everywhere else.
sales of region-free players in north america is microscopic. there is no demand.
eventually someone would bring out an FSF-friendly Tivo clone without the tivolisation problems, and everyone will buy that instead
what they will rent is the set-top box bundled with their cable or satellite service.
no one will know and no one will care which OS it runs.
Given that the OEM system install is standard in the U.S. home market and OEM Linux is all but invisible in direct sales and big box retail---
I'd say even these numbers were wildly optimistic.
Nonsense.
The uploader gets sued because he is feeding screeners of "Casino Royale" to the P2P nets. It is supplying the current high-risk "marketable" titles that stokes his ego.
The downloader gets sued because he is too cheap to pay 99 cents a track to iTunes or subscribe to the million track rental libraries and radio services of Rhapsody or Y! Unlimited.
say hello to ten years of living with the bankruptcy on public record. don't forget that you get only one bite of the apple every eight years. try for liquidation again and the courts won't be so forgiving.
If I did have money to lose then I'd run up huge legal bills defending myself. My lawyers get priority in any bankruptcy proceeding [pretty sure about that, aren't you?] and I'd rather give them all the money then RIAA.
a lawyer of even modest integrity will walk away from a client who insists on paupering himself and his family to no intelligible purpose.
you are and will remain just another file in the tens of thousands of cases that the rights agencies pursue each year.
you won't make law. you won't change anything.
you will in all probability never rate a mention even on Slashdot.
We have a winner.
In reading through old sets of the Britannica, (people really do save such things,) the first thing you notice is the quality of the writing: T.E. Lawrence on Guerrilla Warfare, H.L. Mencken on the American language.
and I have a stack of Popular Science magazines from the 40's and 50's.
vacuum tube tech was easy to service because vacuum tube tech needed service often.
even the smallest of towns could support a repair shop.
in fifteen years I have replaced one ethernet card and a drive belt on a VCR. up next will be a DIY replacement for an aging hard drive. total labor cost $50.
A realist would argue that it is easier to shout "Corruption!" than to look honestly at the flaws in your own program. A realist would remind you that any administration grows weary of the zealot who cannot believe he has lost his case on the merits.