The post responds to "what those tasks are that require command prompt in Windows? " from the parent. I make no representations as to what an "average user" even is, much less what they're running.
AFAIK, the System File Checker only runs in the CLI. (you know, the utility that will tell you whether an overlay install will even work in the first place? If there's nothing wrong with your system files, you'll waste your time reinstalling because you likely have a different problem)
Are they going to throw in a code patch, or even a bug report that goes beyond "Application X crashed and I don't know why" or "I want feature Z"? No. Best just to let 'em be on their way with a Vista or OSX box; when they're ready, they'll find us on their own. People with those types of complaints are generally classed end users, and they're exactly the ones who are determining what's ready for the desktop and what's not. When it's ready for the end users, it's ready for the desktop. When the desktop is ready, the users will find it on their own.
Seriously, who else is the the desktop GUI being written for, if not the end users? Whose opinion of desktop readiness would matter more, exactly?
They'd be condemned across the board for trying to "contaminate" Linux with their evil "non-free" software. Flash seems to work just fine, and it's not free. Oh, and Real Player. And isn't iTunes already available on a very easy-to-port-to-and-from platform?
It seems like it would be a snap for Apple to make iTunes available for Linux, open sourced or not, so it's just a shame they don't. I don't think they realize the importance of gaining support from users in the Linux-sphere compared to the ease with which they could do it.
Hrm... what sucks is when repair install mysteriously doesn't work...
But you can still boot to the Recovery Console (gee, a CLI) in order to manually change services, edit the registry, repair disks, or other tasks. Failing using that, you will more often needlessly reinstall Windows, unless you use additional (non-MS) repair tools. The CLI is therefore indispensable.
Extra props to anyone who points out where to find the system file checker (sfc) in any Windows GUI. I have no idea - I just use the command line.
The ISPs advertise unlimited access! If this isn't available, they need to stop advertising it! Last I checked, they weren't losing money giving away internet access too cheaply, and they're still overselling what they've got. Subprime *buyers* weren't responsible for the mess, silly, it was the *lenders* - the ones giving away more than they have, way too cheap. People are going to consume as much as you let them - it's a well known economic trend that hasn't failed yet. If $40/mo doesn't grant unlimited access, as advertised, then the least they could do is provide a disclosure of the restrictions to access, *before* the customer initiates service.
Given the reasons you listed, you're probably right about the stations having pure-digital signals, which I wouldn't have been able to tell from simply switching around on the radio.
Thanks for the input:)
You make it sound like the radio signal's broad spectral spread and interference are inherent and unavoidable. I used to believe the same thing... until I went to Germany, where radio stations are twice as close together on the dial as they are in the US, and they sound better, and go farther. Do you think they just have more efficient transmitters? Better filters on the recievers? Other ideas?
So, the next thing that's going to happen is that AOL will offer tiered email subscription to their customers: for a few extra $$/mo, you can avoid even the certified spam. Then for a few more $$$, companies can send certified spam to the people with premium email... an endless cycle of spam.
Maybe this will finally alert AOL-users to just what a crock of $#!+ their service really is.
...nanotechnology, the emerging science of harnessing sub-microscopic organisms (no, long chains of molecules in interesting shapes) for everyday uses...
At this size, which is near (at) the molecular scale, materials have different physical properties than they normally do (than they do at the macroscopic scale)
By filling these tubes with nano-particles (molecules) of copper, the company can create a medium to suspend the signal-blocking (conductive) metal...
From my understanding here, basically they've found a way to create an instant Faraday cage. Since this is just shielding that absorbs radio signals, it isn't illegal, or even within the scope of the FCC to regulate. (AFAIK they don't regulate aluminum-foil hats either) However, depending on the alignment of the nanotubes in the paint (I would assume they're randomly aligned, but maybe not), perhaps it could turn a whole wall into an antenna if you just hook your phone/etc up to the wall;)
Currently a lot of the wages of science practitioners is earned by way of method "c". Scientists are usually poor at convincing people to give them money, so they usually prefer to indirectly impose their will.
You're right, but for the wrong reasons. This isn't an issue of scientists wanting more money than they're worth, it's an issue of the people (and corporations, etc) being largely unable to realize the long-term benefits of fundamental scientific research. For example, things like all modern electronics ultimately owe their development to discoveries in particle physics that happened almost 100 years before they were invented. Fundamental science doesn't often bring quick results (but it can if it's paid enough and combined with engineering - see "Manhattan Project"), and unlike the RIAA or unions or software marketers, scientific institutions aren't hoarding their revenue as profit - they're giving the products they create (knowledge) immediately back to the public, for free, with no restriction on its widespread general use. The small remainder of the funding, after using up most of it in equipment for research itself, is used to pay scientists just enough to live, which means they all spend quite a large percentage of their pay, which is arguably good for the economy (unlike the unchecked profit hoarding). These important distinctions between science and business are lost on the general public, who just wants "stuff, now!" (according to the market, anyway), and thus it is the job of the government, in looking out for the greater long-term good of the people, to know that we can't continue to advance without basic fundamental research, that the payoffs of the investment are unforseeable, and that when they come they will be in immeasurable amounts.
Want quantum computers? New ultra-efficient energy sources? It's not gonna happen if the smartest, most ethical, and most creative scientists are leaving the field in the interest of supporting their families.
Yeah, further, being forced to watch (or mute) a commercial doesn't make it interactive, just annoying. Maybe they mean "interactive" like, in that you have to go to extra lengths to remove the commercial from the video before you archive it.;)
Reminds me (most closely) of the archives employed in Heinlein's For Us, The Living. I don't think I'll ever get enough of innovation following suggestion by science fiction.:)
Indeed, the only thing that makes a person worth something (in terms of power, respect, and money) in American society today is their ability to directly generate or protect revenue. For this reason, pure science and fundamental research have especially suffered, and graduate students entering such programs can be assured of $7.50/hr and 12-hour workdays (no overtime paid) for the full 10 years it takes to get a PhD.
I just finished a BS in Physics. I was originally planning to push through to a PhD, but now that I've found an SO and eventually want a family, there's no way in hell I'm going to risk it. Instead, I'll be developing some patentable ideas in my garage while working as a waitress for an average of $20/hr.
Seriously, why do waitresses get paid more than particle physicists?
As long as that sound comes out of analog speakers, I can take two microphones, one mixer board, and a tape deck
As far as video goes, I don't know what to do about that.
The same basic solution works for both audio and video... one output device and one input device. So, for audio, plug you line out or headphone out into the line in of another soundcard, then record. For video, plug the output into the video-in of a capture card.
That's how I got stuff from 8-track to mp3, or Betamax to mpeg, and DRM isn't likely to alter my ability to do that anytime soon.
Hmm... ok, on much closer inspection, it's admittedly ludicrous. The "Notable dinette set" example makes it pretty clear.;-)
I guess it's just such a believable story (on the surface), and so trival that few actually care whether it's really true, that people don't bother to check it out before sticking it in a book (or a Slashdot post for that matter, sorry!).
Man, and I've heard about that since I was a kid... even from Mexicans!
Ok, when I was a kid I read about legal aliases... and convinced my mom to let me get "Noodles" as a registered alias. I'm really glad we didn't follow through with that. Seriously, this would be something like letting an 8- or 10-year-old pick a tattoo. =P
Slashdot Mirror
The post responds to "what those tasks are that require command prompt in Windows? " from the parent. I make no representations as to what an "average user" even is, much less what they're running.
AFAIK, the System File Checker only runs in the CLI. (you know, the utility that will tell you whether an overlay install will even work in the first place? If there's nothing wrong with your system files, you'll waste your time reinstalling because you likely have a different problem)
Seriously, who else is the the desktop GUI being written for, if not the end users? Whose opinion of desktop readiness would matter more, exactly?
It seems like it would be a snap for Apple to make iTunes available for Linux, open sourced or not, so it's just a shame they don't. I don't think they realize the importance of gaining support from users in the Linux-sphere compared to the ease with which they could do it.
Linux runs WinE and VMWare
WinE and VMWare let you run Windows Apps*
Therefore, Linux can run Windows Apps.
QED.
What was the problem, again?
*obviously, not ALL of them, but the typical ones you mentioned are supported.
Hrm ... what sucks is when repair install mysteriously doesn't work ...
But you can still boot to the Recovery Console (gee, a CLI) in order to manually change services, edit the registry, repair disks, or other tasks. Failing using that, you will more often needlessly reinstall Windows, unless you use additional (non-MS) repair tools. The CLI is therefore indispensable.
Extra props to anyone who points out where to find the system file checker (sfc) in any Windows GUI. I have no idea - I just use the command line.
The ISPs advertise unlimited access! If this isn't available, they need to stop advertising it! Last I checked, they weren't losing money giving away internet access too cheaply, and they're still overselling what they've got. Subprime *buyers* weren't responsible for the mess, silly, it was the *lenders* - the ones giving away more than they have, way too cheap. People are going to consume as much as you let them - it's a well known economic trend that hasn't failed yet. If $40/mo doesn't grant unlimited access, as advertised, then the least they could do is provide a disclosure of the restrictions to access, *before* the customer initiates service.
Given the reasons you listed, you're probably right about the stations having pure-digital signals, which I wouldn't have been able to tell from simply switching around on the radio. Thanks for the input :)
You make it sound like the radio signal's broad spectral spread and interference are inherent and unavoidable. I used to believe the same thing... until I went to Germany, where radio stations are twice as close together on the dial as they are in the US, and they sound better, and go farther. Do you think they just have more efficient transmitters? Better filters on the recievers? Other ideas?
So, the next thing that's going to happen is that AOL will offer tiered email subscription to their customers: for a few extra $$/mo, you can avoid even the certified spam. Then for a few more $$$, companies can send certified spam to the people with premium email... an endless cycle of spam.
Maybe this will finally alert AOL-users to just what a crock of $#!+ their service really is.
Run outside the classroom or concert hall.
...nanotechnology, the emerging science of harnessing sub-microscopic organisms (no, long chains of molecules in interesting shapes) for everyday uses...
;)
At this size, which is near (at) the molecular scale, materials have different physical properties than they normally do (than they do at the macroscopic scale)
By filling these tubes with nano-particles (molecules) of copper, the company can create a medium to suspend the signal-blocking (conductive) metal...
From my understanding here, basically they've found a way to create an instant Faraday cage. Since this is just shielding that absorbs radio signals, it isn't illegal, or even within the scope of the FCC to regulate. (AFAIK they don't regulate aluminum-foil hats either) However, depending on the alignment of the nanotubes in the paint (I would assume they're randomly aligned, but maybe not), perhaps it could turn a whole wall into an antenna if you just hook your phone/etc up to the wall
Quick! We must distribute a vast number of copper-filled-nanotube-painted hats to the public to shield their delicate brains from the evil conspiracy!
Or maybe that's exactly what they want us to do...
Currently a lot of the wages of science practitioners is earned by way of method "c". Scientists are usually poor at convincing people to give them money, so they usually prefer to indirectly impose their will. You're right, but for the wrong reasons. This isn't an issue of scientists wanting more money than they're worth, it's an issue of the people (and corporations, etc) being largely unable to realize the long-term benefits of fundamental scientific research. For example, things like all modern electronics ultimately owe their development to discoveries in particle physics that happened almost 100 years before they were invented. Fundamental science doesn't often bring quick results (but it can if it's paid enough and combined with engineering - see "Manhattan Project"), and unlike the RIAA or unions or software marketers, scientific institutions aren't hoarding their revenue as profit - they're giving the products they create (knowledge) immediately back to the public, for free, with no restriction on its widespread general use. The small remainder of the funding, after using up most of it in equipment for research itself, is used to pay scientists just enough to live, which means they all spend quite a large percentage of their pay, which is arguably good for the economy (unlike the unchecked profit hoarding). These important distinctions between science and business are lost on the general public, who just wants "stuff, now!" (according to the market, anyway), and thus it is the job of the government, in looking out for the greater long-term good of the people, to know that we can't continue to advance without basic fundamental research, that the payoffs of the investment are unforseeable, and that when they come they will be in immeasurable amounts.
Want quantum computers? New ultra-efficient energy sources? It's not gonna happen if the smartest, most ethical, and most creative scientists are leaving the field in the interest of supporting their families.
Yeah, further, being forced to watch (or mute) a commercial doesn't make it interactive, just annoying. Maybe they mean "interactive" like, in that you have to go to extra lengths to remove the commercial from the video before you archive it. ;)
Reminds me (most closely) of the archives employed in Heinlein's For Us, The Living. I don't think I'll ever get enough of innovation following suggestion by science fiction. :)
Maybe it will lead Google to build an A/V codec archive as well. Now that would rock my socks off.
Patience, young padewan.
Indeed, the only thing that makes a person worth something (in terms of power, respect, and money) in American society today is their ability to directly generate or protect revenue. For this reason, pure science and fundamental research have especially suffered, and graduate students entering such programs can be assured of $7.50/hr and 12-hour workdays (no overtime paid) for the full 10 years it takes to get a PhD.
I just finished a BS in Physics. I was originally planning to push through to a PhD, but now that I've found an SO and eventually want a family, there's no way in hell I'm going to risk it. Instead, I'll be developing some patentable ideas in my garage while working as a waitress for an average of $20/hr.
Seriously, why do waitresses get paid more than particle physicists?
And less precise, AFAIK.
As long as that sound comes out of analog speakers, I can take two microphones, one mixer board, and a tape deck
... one output device and one input device. So, for audio, plug you line out or headphone out into the line in of another soundcard, then record. For video, plug the output into the video-in of a capture card.
As far as video goes, I don't know what to do about that.
The same basic solution works for both audio and video
That's how I got stuff from 8-track to mp3, or Betamax to mpeg, and DRM isn't likely to alter my ability to do that anytime soon.
...programs used this way will finish last with girls.
Actually, since girls aren't generally all that nice, they'll finish well before the program in question.
Hmm ... ok, on much closer inspection, it's admittedly ludicrous. The "Notable dinette set" example makes it pretty clear. ;-)
... even from Mexicans!
I guess it's just such a believable story (on the surface), and so trival that few actually care whether it's really true, that people don't bother to check it out before sticking it in a book (or a Slashdot post for that matter, sorry!).
Man, and I've heard about that since I was a kid
this has been standard practice with product naming for large companies for at least 20 years now
:)
The Chevy Nova (no-go in Spanish) taught them all
Sure, just like "Siphyllis" and "Gonhorrea", and their little sister "Latrina" right? Si-FYE-liss and Gon-OR-ee-ah... my what pretty names ...
Ok, when I was a kid I read about legal aliases... and convinced my mom to let me get "Noodles" as a registered alias. I'm really glad we didn't follow through with that. Seriously, this would be something like letting an 8- or 10-year-old pick a tattoo. =P