samll picky point. No B-52's in WW2. Those are whopper huge jets. B- 17s or 24's maybe. B-52s came much later, cold war years, got used in Nam a lot, etc. They still use them actually even though most of them are pretty old, they turned out to be a decent over all strong and useful design.
I was thinking why try to shrink some x86 solution to fit inside some small space? Wouldn't it be easier to start with some decent PDA that had "good enough" features to it and then increase it in size to get close to this size form factor and add in an optical drive and some ports, then encase that in a nice enclosure? What would be a good (price+features) stock PDA to start from?
The big push now is for global "IP" protection. It's a major trade issue,and the largest players are all pushing for it. I'd say it will be pretty hard in the next few years to keep software patents out of the international scene, or get rid of them where they already are, especially the US where we are producing less and less tangibles. They just are not going to give up on them. worse than the Terminator. Even with the new shiny and allegedly improved "open source" heavyweights like IBM, you don't see them advocating getting rid of the entire concept of software patents. they certainly could, they issue press releases daily. that's all it would take on their part. I can't think of a single large corporate exception actually. It might exist, I just can't name any offhand. "They" all want them, and big money "They" runs global politics, we'll take that as a conversational gimmee, so, eventually they'll be *everywhere*. That's my SWAG on it.
It's because of "here and now" profits. These various pols and big business people and "investors" want money now,as much as they can get with as little effort as can be arranged, so they could care less about the far future or how much it will screw things up. They figure they'll be rich and retired by then,that's all they care about really.
Geeks could actually get software patents about ended completely within days-if they had a union or powerful org and *struck* over the issue. that's all it would take. Shut the sucker down. Shut business down for 24 hours, completely. It's quite possible too, they could so do it. Geeks run modern civilization, they are wicked smart in a lot of ways, yet they all still take orders, no matter how stupid, from the pol and business weasels. Makes ya wonder sometimes...
...it wasn't just a whine. Go re-read it again. I offered at least some idea of an alternative to the numerical karma system. Of course, I am also in favor of banning AC posts and having people use an ISP supplied email addy to get an account too, just to get rid of foul mouthed cowards and trolls like you. Not my call there but I would vote for that if it was an option somehow. I appreciate slashdot a lot, I think it serves a purpose and I like contributing what little I can, but it has obviously gotten hijacked by jerks.
well yes, it looks like you can install it, then a week of tweaking to understand it and get it to run or something. anaconda works, I am more wondering after that point. That's a lot of "if this do that" stuff in the release notes, at least that's the impression I got, that's why I asked a question for my personal parameters. I stuck at FC2 from that reason, 3 looked like I wouldn't be able to use it and this is my "on the net" machine, so no workee, no lookee up a fix easily. I'm not a programmer, once it gets beyond a few simple command line things I admit I fail it. I've tried, my brain just doesn't do a linear programming and rote memory command line thing, never has, that's why I abandoned DOS many moons ago in the late 80s the first time I tried a Mac with a GUI.. I just use a computer, it is not my primary #1 skill set or tech interest, it's actually quite far down the list although I really like the net, if that makes any sense.. I like hardware and mechanics and woodworking and whatnot like that way more, and various outdoorsy stuff. those are my main hobbies and skillsets and interests. If programming was my job or main hobby I would obviously feel differently about it, I wouldn't mind bleeding edge as much. Guess I am still distro shopping for slightly less bleeding edge and more just "works" out of the box. I've mostly always used with linux RH or Fedora too, but then I noticed (reading on the net) all the weird problems people had with FC3 and etc and this CentOS looks similar, but *I really don't know*. Frankly, with macs dropping in price down to more reasonable I have been thinking of switching back. Maybe anyway. I would rather stick with pure open source from a philosophical angle as I agree with it, but sheesh..this is getting old with the updating and having always to tweak this or fix that, I'm just tired of it. I fully admit I am GUI centric, and see not much wrong with that in year 2005. I just don't want to even fool with CLI anymore if I don't have to. I also just last week lost my two main desktops to some weird power surge or something, so this is my last junker I have to fool around with, can't take a chance on installing something that I can't make work or that the security issues are too hard to set or something. Live CDs, no probs, a full install, nope, I want to be assurred in advance (as much as possible within reason of course) it will work most likely with a default no brainer install and not need massive admining to get it secure and functional.
Thanks for the reply though. I might try it, but only after I have another working computer as a test/play around machine.
Man, that looks like it has to be tweaked for days or something, my eyes crossed already. Interesting project, but I dunno...how is it for a non command line guru just mashing a default install into place?
It's a valid concern and I hope it gets fixed somehow. This subthread needs a plus 5. That's like one of the things I clicked on this article for, to see what if anything important to the average linux user actually got fixed in the new kernel, or what the new features are. Cd burning is a valid issue. Instead, 7/8th useless banter.
I want slashcode to have keyword filtering, you could take a quick glance, choose the top 3-4 keywords the (what is to anyone "you", your choice) drivel subthreads are in, the stuff you really have no use for, then reload the thread and actually follow a tech discussion. We don't use a numerical karma system in meatspace for conversations, it's all based on keywords, people can tune out walk away from stuff they aren't interested in, here, you either let someoone else decide for you with karma, or have to spend a long time reading when you might only really want to read a few selected replies in the whole string. Keyword filter, stuff you want, and stuff you don't want would *fix* this.
The karma number system is beyond broken at this point, it doesn't work, even with metamoderation. It's a nice theory, but it just *does not* work.
Here is another alternative. Each article has an option, one or the other or both. You can read a page (with keyword filtering),AND/ OR, each article automatically spawns a chat channel with some IM or IRC channel, and the chit chatters can go over there in real time and do their chit chatting and "petrified grits in russia you ignorant jerkoff" drivel. Save the web pages for actual meat, use the chat channels for the little cutsey pie jokes and mini flame wars and whatnot. It has to be a channel for each article posted, not a generic "slashdot" channel. Channels stay up for 24 hours, then get automatically ended. Anyone who wants to then can log their own, some people like the chit chat banter, others don't. I am forced to rely on a karma system that is hideously broken and will not get fixed because it is a design flaw in general terms, or spend 10 times longer reading than is necessary at 0 or -1 even just to actually find anything important.
yes, had that happen to me before as well. The trick to me is more useful when I space out and change a drive and forget to remove the disk inside until a week later when I can't find the disk. heh.
use an unfolded paperclip wire "tool" in the appropriate hole in the front of the optical drive to remove a recalcitrant disc. AFAIK most optical drives still have that feature. Comes in handy once in awhile.
Ya, soc sec and medicare. I'm right on the cutoff cusp age wise for the new proposed changes. If it had been years ago, heck ya I would have liked the option to invest it instead of having it get blackholed and spent and respent in advance. One of my very first political essays I wrote in junior high was on how social security was illogical and failed the basic simple math test.
My so called "nest egg" there in soc sec is a big fat IOU now, same as everyone elses really. My personal deal is, I don't "do" stocks, don't believe in them for a variety of personal reasons. Sorta stuck I guess. I'll see if I can put upcoming taken away loot into a gold fund trust or other tangibles based deal. No way am I going to buy poker chips in the wall street casino. I make "bears" look like drunken spendthrifts with my outlook.
Personally, I think the US economic S will HTF once the rush to the petro euro starts in earnest, probably with Venezuela soon. Then watch all those mortgages go bye bye as they get called in and people find out their friendly local bank sold the paper way way upstream to people who also hold tons of US paper IOUs and are desparate to salvage something. Make the go-go 90's look like a lemonade stand stickup.
...the people who dis it the most can never answer a simple question. Show us where they have a guaranteed price where they are right now in kw/hr for their homeowners electricity for the next ten or twenty years. Hard to do any projections and cost analysis without it. You can get that figure with any of the homeowner alternatives, because you can outright *purchase* it, with grid supplied you are leasing the delivery infrastructure in perpetutity, never to be paid off, with zero price guarantees on the supplied and delivered product. Kinda nutso when you look at it that way, but everyone is so used to it they don't seem to notice that aspect of it. Would people buy their home like that? Nope, they would think it's crazy, and it would be. But with something as vital to modern living as electricty they gleefully sign up for that sort of contract, content to wait for government or the grid suppliers to "solve the energy problem". Well duh on a stick, them boys ain't never gonna do anything that won't result in you sending them a fat check monthly forever and two days, no matter if it's allegedly green or not.
Anyway, glad to see more research being done in PV I thoroughly like it, clean, quiet and functional.
...look at that great soon to be a cult classic series called the "9-11 investigations commission". Some of the best sci fi out there! Pure government funded! And who can forget the classic CIA animated short called "The official explanation of how and why TWA 800 crashed"? Eh??? That's *good stuff* man!
You nailed it. It's the "devil you know" syndrome.
People will not try a new browser or even more a new OS because it's just too scary. For non IT oriented folks who just need to use a computer it's wicked hard to keep from screwing it up to the point of non functionality. It's *easy* to screw up, impossible to fix, so if they get something running for them even half way stable and half way useful they think this is the epitome of "computing". I mean even half way is plenty good enough because the alternative they have seen more often than not is "not working at all".
It's like someone's favorite old shirt, frayed, maybe a button missing, etc. Sure you can get a new shirt, but it won't be as "comfortable".
Most of the world *isn't* slashdot, they have different interests and a computer is an appliance at work to run a few boring but necessary for that paycheck tasks, or it's an exalted videogame machine at home that people more think of as a television with a few more features but not as many normal channels. and it pisses them off that after two years even though nothing is broken they are supposed to upgrade the whole thing. they go "HUH?". And with modern software of the bleeding edge, every few months. Say what? People in general just don't want to do that, it's a PITA.
People don't upgrade their toasters TVs microwaves blenders vacuunm cleaners stereos etc every other day or week, they think it's weird and stoopid you have to do that with computers, and I don't blame them, it IS weird AND stoopid.
It's just wrong to expect people to become nascar mechanics or have that level of tech interest just to drive a car. They just aren't going to be out everyday giving it a tuneup and changing the oil and doing bodywork and swapping engines and stuff like that, so it's nuts to think they are going to be doing the equivalent with computers. And to force them to do that because the stuff that was just pushed on them last month is now "horribly broken and obsolete and you need new and improved whizzbang v1.9.5x" etc is cuckoo really. They think "that geek idjit *just told me a couple months ago* this was the best thing since burgers in a bag, now I need to do it again? why???"
Why indeed!
Firefox and linux etc will only get huge market share and get "mature" when that is what's installed on new computers from all the major vendors and it's on the store shelves at the retail level,AND it's not obsolete weekly and the updates are beyond automagical.. And that won't happen without demand, and there's *very little demand to the vendors coming from the open source community because they do all that stuff themselves* and are more the equivalent of nascar mechancis and racing enthusiasts than they are 'daily drivers'. Linux and open source (browsers or whatever) NEEDS a "daily driver" dose of reality to make that breakthrough..
Nerds build their own boxes, try out new stuff, etc. It just will never get much beyond that level of mindshare and marketshare beyond what it has now without credible persistant demand at the retail store cash level, and sad to say it just isn't happening. Daily drivers aren't asking for it, and the nerds aren't either, so????? Why should the vendors or the developers deliver? The vendors still sell all they want to regardless, they still making the coin hand over fist, and the developers are off in nerd land, far far away from daily driver land.
And that's why it's slowing down, too. I've already heard from some windows users how "firefox just doesn't work" after they tried it at my recommendations. So I actually quit doing that. I have stopped recommending it. Waste of time almost. The farthest I go now is recommend people try a "live" cd, because it's easier for them to backout of the deal and I won't get any tech support cries. If they can't be bothered to download and burn a distro to try or send away 2 bucks to get a complete operating system, they for SURE won't be able to run it or tweak it even to a m
....if all the two thousand whatever debian based distros decided to combine forces and release a reasonably priced and quite functional product either. There's a variety of smaller ones that have at least a modicum of support, but they are all different and some work with this or that, others not. It's just too fragmented at that level., All of them just slightly different, but none of them that I have seen so far (no idea how many distros there are and make no claims to have tried them all of course) meets the joe non programer non guru consumer taste test. I know I have the "choice" in it, just I don't have a "choice" to get anything that isn't betaware for all practical purposes.
And I don't think this will get any better until a few of the larger vendors put some kind/brand linux on those machines they sell and are as common as xp is on the shelf, or at least *visible* on the shelf. That's when we will start to see a useability "standard" of sorts. It's really up to the box vendors.
You got a laptop with enough ram and a cd drive so you can run some of the mini (50-100 megs or so)live distros like feather, puppy, damnsmall, austrumi, etc. Try some of those out, because after they load into RAM they are *really fast*. I personally like the austrumi distro but that's just taste. Go to a truly non bloatware distro.
You pretty much got it. And the US still has huge areas that are offered zero broadband, nor are they going to be offered broadband from the private concerns anytime soon. It seems it's OK to have government run and regulated roads, so that the stuff we get from the non broadband served areas can get into the cities, but the stuff from the cities out, run over much cheaper wires, seems to be "controversial" and "it wouldn't pay" and is "too expensive". We can have "broadband" government run water pipes into the cities, but not broadband data pipes out. Hmm, isn't that special. Perhaps the people not served with broadband in the rural areas should shut their water that they have been getting ripped off for for generations down to a trickle (analogous to dialup) going into the cities and see how everyone there liked that. And when they complained direct them to the data pipe monopolists for a solution. A pipe is a pipe, they both serve a purpose and having "enough" beyond a marginal intermittent trickle is sure a good thing. And privatise it and really make a huge profit on it, no local government involved. Oh, joe big city wants more water and have it cheap because it's useful? Well, no problem, build your own pipelines then, or pay the fee like it should be. Without tax money. Purchase each individual right of way from each rural land owner that the pipeline crosses. Let's do it with natural gas as well. See what it costs the end user in the cities for water and heating gas then. Oh, they like electricity? Swell, let them start their own coalmines inside the cities, and build their own genplants, all private run, but inside the cities only. Any coal from outside has to pay each individual landowner a fee for crossing his property on his stretch of private road, or his stretch of private train tracks. Let's let the rural folks who's lands the powerlines cost all individually negotiate the fee for allowing those electrons to slide on by on their property. Would make for some interesting cost increases then. The rural folks would have enough money to pay for their own fat data pipes then, but now? Nope, they get ripped off for critical products, forced by law to "share" what they own so that the huge dense population areas can have cheap and plentiful. Food? No problem, they got all them big buildings downtown, maybe Verizon and Bellsouth HQ rooftops can have gardens on them to supply their "profitable" broadband customers with food too.
The FCC "allows" 50,000 watt commercial stations, and industry cookie-cutter "content" monopolisation, yet joe schmoo little local guy out in the sticks can hardly get "permission" to run a 10 watt community station without the licensing fees costing more than the hardware, and don't even think about it being a commercial venture. Now they want to disallow any attempt at all to even have a chance at broadband when it has become obvious that the big guys just will *not* move it to places it's not at already? And the only bone they can throw is 802.11x with that pitiful range, and even that wouldn't be "allowed" for a community to run itself?
Nuts. Large corporate run government, gotta love it.
....if you car detected something trivial like a non OEM starter and refused to crank. The car comapnies lost that one bigtime in court, at least you have the option now of an aftermarket starter or alternator, etc that will still function in your car. They are trying to rebooger it back up with the "magical computer" noise, but there's some bills in congress now to get them to stop doing that as well, to open up all the code and specs to independent mechanics, the owner and to the after market manufacturers.
yes, I have seen that, part of my overall conclusions that lead me to the original premises. I think a good place to look at for US foreign policy as regards these issues is to look at what they literally forced onto the Iraqis,think of it as a testbed, everything from IP protected seeds being mandatory for the farmers (mandatory!) to the software and entertainment media IP issues. Also note that over there you need a "license to be legitimately working" from a private corporation, Haliburton.
I am not sure how FOSS is going to deal with this, even with the support of industry heavyweights like Novell and IBM. I can see we are at a critical juncture now with these patenting issues, and frankly, I think we are going to see "patented" software, especially for machines connected to the net, become the only "approved" software, via some legislative act. They need a bit more major net security screwups first, but they can arrange that I would guess. They'll use the excuse of "terrorism" and "hackers cost the economy billions and billions" and "we have to protect the children" "we need to be able to police the internet" and so on and so forth, just do it all at once in a big way. I could easily see some government agency establishing "standards" for software to make sure it is "legitimate" and "not pirated" and "safe to use on the net" and "we have to stop piracy" so on. Might not happen this year or next year, but I can see it happening sometime. The internet is just too juicy a target for government interference and for corporate monopolisation,(same thing really) they simply won't keep ignoring it like they have half way like now. They keep trying in smaller ways and I think they can see that isn't working fast enough, so that's why I expect a "shock and awe" campaign sometime via the laws, and patents will definetly be in the mix.
I can even come up with a scenario where they can kill off stuff too, via front conmpanies or a forced co operation with legit companies who also would like to see their stuff be "officialised" so they can profit from it. Example: They could back write code into closed source propietary patented software that they modify on purpose for this reason, then "discover" that open source equivalents are "running patented pirated code". KIll that software off, lather rinse repeat. Think of it as a SCOesque gambit on steroids, with the exception that it would actually *look* like they had a beef that would fly, and who would be able to tell different? Create a semi plausible development paper trail with the "patented" stuff, and that's all you need, that and the code, which is just swiped character by character. Literally create a reverse counterfeit that makes the legit open source stuff *look* like it has violated a patent. Would be easy to do, too.
...of the 5$ a month dialup subscriptions and just rotate them. Actually tell the company that's why you are doing it, maybe they'll cut you some slack then on the "always on" part. 10$, still cheap.
.......to the worlds economy. It hasn't happened completely yet but that is what all the indicators say are coming soon to a reality near you. Here me out on this, this IP patent nonsense is tied to global power play economics in a big way..
We no longer are the premier manufacturer, and soon we won't be the largest customer/consumer base either. Within this decade this is happening, all the think tank analysts have said more or less the same thing, because the raw data is just raw data and it's just not that hard to see it.
Software can be written anywhere, it is no longer the arcane and exclusive province of a few thousand people in high level corporate or governmental/academic circles. It's a cheap commoditised "product" that x-millions create daily and x-tens of millions will be doing shortly within a few years. And most of the rest of the world is going to a FOSS model a lot quicker than we are, because of the benefits they see in it. That's not my call, just what you can see happening and read about.
Manufacturing of tangibles goes to those who care to do it, see Asia,the west made a decision via their "leaders" to minimise that because it was "too hard" or something, so there ya go. And despite people thinking software is all that important, tangibles still rule economically and in geopolitical importance, people eat real food, not virtual food, they drive real cars, not video game cars,they live in real homes not some ridiculous sim city environment. And etc, etc, etc.
Software is important,no one will deny that, but it's still the tool, not the product. Software more exists (outside of "entertainments") to facilitate production of Tangible Stuff mostly, of and by itself it's not as important except for that task, and the freer the better the faster the gooder it is,and patenting really balls up that process, s-o-o-o-o, software is coming from the FOSS world now, and it will only get better. and the two just don't mix, patents and FOSS. It's a bad idea really to even try.
Raw materials and energy come from where they come from, the US uses a lot more than we produce, so we fail it there as well economically. Just this year we even switched to a net ag products importer from exporter, the last thing we were the world leader in.
In short, all we have are weapons and hollywood and music as exports of note,all the other traditional exports are in decline,they are not going to recover, and patents on dubious software advances are a phony way to say we are still producing ultra valuable commodities, and are a last ditch paper work shuffling effort to make that fantasy come true, but the rest of the world ain't buying that. It's like calling all the stock market numbers the same as real money, it just ain't so. Patented "IP" is beyond a "tech bubble" phenomenon, it actually serves as a form of economic strangulatory suicide, except for a few people for a relatively short period of time. It's a smokescreen to feed to the US public to keep them faked out we still produce much.
Really, the only thing keeping the US afloat and uberimportant economically right this second is we have a force projection expansionist based military, a doofus at the top who is more than willing to use it, for all practical purposes a mercenary military dedicated to a small handful of transnationals and their controllers (I am sorry for that but it's true and I wish it weren't so...sorry), and the amount of our global debt we have accumulated. And we are in no position to actually pay this debt with anything real or intrinsically valuable, so they came up with this whopper fantasy game of "patenting" IP so that we could demand real stuff-money,goods and services for it, from "everyone else", that guy, and coincidently help to assuage the day of reckoning with this debt and no-tangible-work fiasco they got us into.
And it won't work, because the rest of the planet just ain't that dumb no mo' no mo'
"There is no point comparing security of win2k and linux based on that cert... "
Here's the obvious point: If you are trying to SELL it it matters. Discussing it on slashdot and what it really means or does is one thing, getting some org or agency or corporation to drop x-millions of dollars in your lap for your product is another. One of the main complaints about Linux that you read over and over is "how do you make money with open source software"? Well, here's one way to make that a reality. Jump through the hoops they set up for consideration. No jumping, no consideration. Emphasizing skins and themes and whether or not you can play some video game and such like noise is cute,and seemingly a major part of most distros out there, but if you want to be taken seriously where the big dogs play with their checkbooks, you got to toe some of the lines they have drawn in the sand.
is somehow strange, idiotic or wrong? Say what? It's why they have a store in the first place.
Actually, it works quite well once enough people do it.some examples here: I was one of those people who consistently refused to answer personal questions to buy something at Radio Shack, when it was their corporate policy. Did it for a couple of years and I know quite a few other people did it too,and this has been covered on slashdot before, eventually they stopped with the 50 questions. I have asked the local grocery store where I shop to carry this and that items they didn't stock,in the produce and in the meat section, now they stock those items and the department managers thanked me, said their sales went up. In fact I was directly responsible for the large grocery here always carrying fresh cooking herbs, first I asked if they would like to try some to sell, they said sure, I sold them a few bags of extra from our gardens. they sold well, now they carry them all the time and the guy is looking forward to my cheaper fresher stuff again this upcoming season. so he'll have two "brands" for people to choose from when before they had not much of any herbs there.
Back when we second amendment guys got a wild hair about rosie o donnel being kmart tv spokesmodel, I went to my local kmart manager and said I would boycott until she got removed, thousands of other people did the same thing, and we wrote letters to kmart and to their tv advertisers, etc, and eventually they fired her. Customer feedback works once it hits some magical critical mass level, always a variable, but it's there.
As to getting cars or trucks with or without this or that, you can do it, most dealers will arrange it if you got cash in hand. You won't get the same warranty,if any, but it's possible. I know for example just on the truck side of things you can order a truck with zero bed, just the frame, and put your own bed on it. It's not common, but it's not all that uncommon either, and to get to computers, please, installing an OS is just a tad easier than putting a new engine in a car, easier, cheaper, computers are designed to accept disks and keyboard and mouse commands, it's just not that strange of a request, and there are some chains that do this now, just not all of them, but eventually I think you'll see it be pretty much universal.
There's no harm in asking your retailer to provide you with something you want to buy, this is called customer feedback and can work if *enough* people do it. They are in business to sell you stuff and make money, that's their bottom line. Sure, a dozen people doing it won't result in much, but say if some place like office depot got 10,000 requests over a one week period or a month, and the requests were to actual main store managers? That info would filter upstream and at least get seriously considered. If people want no OS or x-Linux OS preinstalled, then I say they should ask for it at the retail level. It's no different than asking for anything else.
...I make it a point that every time I go into some big chain that sells PCs, like lately at an office depot, I ask them where their "no OS" machines are. When all they have is XP preinstalled. I say "sorry, in the market for a cheap new desktop, but want my own OS and not paying you extra for it when I am not going to use it" and then don't buy the machine there. Costs nothing to do that other than a minute of your time and talking to some manager there. Get enough thousands of people to consistently do that, who knows, eventually the idea might float upstream to bigstore galactic headquarters. Most people just don't bother though, I just think it's something everyone who cares about that issue can do cheaply and easily.
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samll picky point. No B-52's in WW2. Those are whopper huge jets. B- 17s or 24's maybe. B-52s came much later, cold war years, got used in Nam a lot, etc. They still use them actually even though most of them are pretty old, they turned out to be a decent over all strong and useful design.
I was thinking why try to shrink some x86 solution to fit inside some small space? Wouldn't it be easier to start with some decent PDA that had "good enough" features to it and then increase it in size to get close to this size form factor and add in an optical drive and some ports, then encase that in a nice enclosure? What would be a good (price+features) stock PDA to start from?
The big push now is for global "IP" protection. It's a major trade issue,and the largest players are all pushing for it. I'd say it will be pretty hard in the next few years to keep software patents out of the international scene, or get rid of them where they already are, especially the US where we are producing less and less tangibles. They just are not going to give up on them. worse than the Terminator. Even with the new shiny and allegedly improved "open source" heavyweights like IBM, you don't see them advocating getting rid of the entire concept of software patents. they certainly could, they issue press releases daily. that's all it would take on their part. I can't think of a single large corporate exception actually. It might exist, I just can't name any offhand. "They" all want them, and big money "They" runs global politics, we'll take that as a conversational gimmee, so, eventually they'll be *everywhere*. That's my SWAG on it.
It's because of "here and now" profits. These various pols and big business people and "investors" want money now,as much as they can get with as little effort as can be arranged, so they could care less about the far future or how much it will screw things up. They figure they'll be rich and retired by then,that's all they care about really.
Geeks could actually get software patents about ended completely within days-if they had a union or powerful org and *struck* over the issue. that's all it would take. Shut the sucker down. Shut business down for 24 hours, completely. It's quite possible too, they could so do it. Geeks run modern civilization, they are wicked smart in a lot of ways, yet they all still take orders, no matter how stupid, from the pol and business weasels. Makes ya wonder sometimes...
...it wasn't just a whine. Go re-read it again. I offered at least some idea of an alternative to the numerical karma system. Of course, I am also in favor of banning AC posts and having people use an ISP supplied email addy to get an account too, just to get rid of foul mouthed cowards and trolls like you. Not my call there but I would vote for that if it was an option somehow. I appreciate slashdot a lot, I think it serves a purpose and I like contributing what little I can, but it has obviously gotten hijacked by jerks.
well yes, it looks like you can install it, then a week of tweaking to understand it and get it to run or something. anaconda works, I am more wondering after that point. That's a lot of "if this do that" stuff in the release notes, at least that's the impression I got, that's why I asked a question for my personal parameters. I stuck at FC2 from that reason, 3 looked like I wouldn't be able to use it and this is my "on the net" machine, so no workee, no lookee up a fix easily. I'm not a programmer, once it gets beyond a few simple command line things I admit I fail it. I've tried, my brain just doesn't do a linear programming and rote memory command line thing, never has, that's why I abandoned DOS many moons ago in the late 80s the first time I tried a Mac with a GUI.. I just use a computer, it is not my primary #1 skill set or tech interest, it's actually quite far down the list although I really like the net, if that makes any sense.. I like hardware and mechanics and woodworking and whatnot like that way more, and various outdoorsy stuff. those are my main hobbies and skillsets and interests. If programming was my job or main hobby I would obviously feel differently about it, I wouldn't mind bleeding edge as much. Guess I am still distro shopping for slightly less bleeding edge and more just "works" out of the box. I've mostly always used with linux RH or Fedora too, but then I noticed (reading on the net) all the weird problems people had with FC3 and etc and this CentOS looks similar, but *I really don't know*. Frankly, with macs dropping in price down to more reasonable I have been thinking of switching back. Maybe anyway. I would rather stick with pure open source from a philosophical angle as I agree with it, but sheesh..this is getting old with the updating and having always to tweak this or fix that, I'm just tired of it. I fully admit I am GUI centric, and see not much wrong with that in year 2005. I just don't want to even fool with CLI anymore if I don't have to. I also just last week lost my two main desktops to some weird power surge or something, so this is my last junker I have to fool around with, can't take a chance on installing something that I can't make work or that the security issues are too hard to set or something. Live CDs, no probs, a full install, nope, I want to be assurred in advance (as much as possible within reason of course) it will work most likely with a default no brainer install and not need massive admining to get it secure and functional.
Thanks for the reply though. I might try it, but only after I have another working computer as a test/play around machine.
Man, that looks like it has to be tweaked for days or something, my eyes crossed already. Interesting project, but I dunno...how is it for a non command line guru just mashing a default install into place?
It's a valid concern and I hope it gets fixed somehow. This subthread needs a plus 5. That's like one of the things I clicked on this article for, to see what if anything important to the average linux user actually got fixed in the new kernel, or what the new features are. Cd burning is a valid issue. Instead, 7/8th useless banter.
I want slashcode to have keyword filtering, you could take a quick glance, choose the top 3-4 keywords the (what is to anyone "you", your choice) drivel subthreads are in, the stuff you really have no use for, then reload the thread and actually follow a tech discussion. We don't use a numerical karma system in meatspace for conversations, it's all based on keywords, people can tune out walk away from stuff they aren't interested in, here, you either let someoone else decide for you with karma, or have to spend a long time reading when you might only really want to read a few selected replies in the whole string. Keyword filter, stuff you want, and stuff you don't want would *fix* this.
The karma number system is beyond broken at this point, it doesn't work, even with metamoderation. It's a nice theory, but it just *does not* work.
Here is another alternative. Each article has an option, one or the other or both. You can read a page (with keyword filtering),AND/ OR, each article automatically spawns a chat channel with some IM or IRC channel, and the chit chatters can go over there in real time and do their chit chatting and "petrified grits in russia you ignorant jerkoff" drivel. Save the web pages for actual meat, use the chat channels for the little cutsey pie jokes and mini flame wars and whatnot. It has to be a channel for each article posted, not a generic "slashdot" channel. Channels stay up for 24 hours, then get automatically ended. Anyone who wants to then can log their own, some people like the chit chat banter, others don't. I am forced to rely on a karma system that is hideously broken and will not get fixed because it is a design flaw in general terms, or spend 10 times longer reading than is necessary at 0 or -1 even just to actually find anything important.
yes, had that happen to me before as well. The trick to me is more useful when I space out and change a drive and forget to remove the disk inside until a week later when I can't find the disk. heh.
use an unfolded paperclip wire "tool" in the appropriate hole in the front of the optical drive to remove a recalcitrant disc. AFAIK most optical drives still have that feature. Comes in handy once in awhile.
Man, ARMs are teh devil. Pretty nutso really.
Ya, soc sec and medicare. I'm right on the cutoff cusp age wise for the new proposed changes. If it had been years ago, heck ya I would have liked the option to invest it instead of having it get blackholed and spent and respent in advance. One of my very first political essays I wrote in junior high was on how social security was illogical and failed the basic simple math test.
My so called "nest egg" there in soc sec is a big fat IOU now, same as everyone elses really. My personal deal is, I don't "do" stocks, don't believe in them for a variety of personal reasons. Sorta stuck I guess. I'll see if I can put upcoming taken away loot into a gold fund trust or other tangibles based deal. No way am I going to buy poker chips in the wall street casino. I make "bears" look like drunken spendthrifts with my outlook.
Personally, I think the US economic S will HTF once the rush to the petro euro starts in earnest, probably with Venezuela soon. Then watch all those mortgages go bye bye as they get called in and people find out their friendly local bank sold the paper way way upstream to people who also hold tons of US paper IOUs and are desparate to salvage something. Make the go-go 90's look like a lemonade stand stickup.
Glad I live on a food producing farm.
...the people who dis it the most can never answer a simple question. Show us where they have a guaranteed price where they are right now in kw/hr for their homeowners electricity for the next ten or twenty years. Hard to do any projections and cost analysis without it. You can get that figure with any of the homeowner alternatives, because you can outright *purchase* it, with grid supplied you are leasing the delivery infrastructure in perpetutity, never to be paid off, with zero price guarantees on the supplied and delivered product. Kinda nutso when you look at it that way, but everyone is so used to it they don't seem to notice that aspect of it. Would people buy their home like that? Nope, they would think it's crazy, and it would be. But with something as vital to modern living as electricty they gleefully sign up for that sort of contract, content to wait for government or the grid suppliers to "solve the energy problem". Well duh on a stick, them boys ain't never gonna do anything that won't result in you sending them a fat check monthly forever and two days, no matter if it's allegedly green or not.
Anyway, glad to see more research being done in PV I thoroughly like it, clean, quiet and functional.
...look at that great soon to be a cult classic series called the "9-11 investigations commission". Some of the best sci fi out there! Pure government funded! And who can forget the classic CIA animated short called "The official explanation of how and why TWA 800 crashed"? Eh??? That's *good stuff* man!
You nailed it. It's the "devil you know" syndrome.
People will not try a new browser or even more a new OS because it's just too scary. For non IT oriented folks who just need to use a computer it's wicked hard to keep from screwing it up to the point of non functionality. It's *easy* to screw up, impossible to fix, so if they get something running for them even half way stable and half way useful they think this is the epitome of "computing". I mean even half way is plenty good enough because the alternative they have seen more often than not is "not working at all".
It's like someone's favorite old shirt, frayed, maybe a button missing, etc. Sure you can get a new shirt, but it won't be as "comfortable".
Most of the world *isn't* slashdot, they have different interests and a computer is an appliance at work to run a few boring but necessary for that paycheck tasks, or it's an exalted videogame machine at home that people more think of as a television with a few more features but not as many normal channels. and it pisses them off that after two years even though nothing is broken they are supposed to upgrade the whole thing. they go "HUH?". And with modern software of the bleeding edge, every few months. Say what? People in general just don't want to do that, it's a PITA.
People don't upgrade their toasters TVs microwaves blenders vacuunm cleaners stereos etc every other day or week, they think it's weird and stoopid you have to do that with computers, and I don't blame them, it IS weird AND stoopid.
It's just wrong to expect people to become nascar mechanics or have that level of tech interest just to drive a car. They just aren't going to be out everyday giving it a tuneup and changing the oil and doing bodywork and swapping engines and stuff like that, so it's nuts to think they are going to be doing the equivalent with computers. And to force them to do that because the stuff that was just pushed on them last month is now "horribly broken and obsolete and you need new and improved whizzbang v1.9.5x" etc is cuckoo really. They think "that geek idjit *just told me a couple months ago* this was the best thing since burgers in a bag, now I need to do it again? why???"
Why indeed!
Firefox and linux etc will only get huge market share and get "mature" when that is what's installed on new computers from all the major vendors and it's on the store shelves at the retail level,AND it's not obsolete weekly and the updates are beyond automagical.. And that won't happen without demand, and there's *very little demand to the vendors coming from the open source community because they do all that stuff themselves* and are more the equivalent of nascar mechancis and racing enthusiasts than they are 'daily drivers'. Linux and open source (browsers or whatever) NEEDS a "daily driver" dose of reality to make that breakthrough..
Nerds build their own boxes, try out new stuff, etc. It just will never get much beyond that level of mindshare and marketshare beyond what it has now without credible persistant demand at the retail store cash level, and sad to say it just isn't happening. Daily drivers aren't asking for it, and the nerds aren't either, so????? Why should the vendors or the developers deliver? The vendors still sell all they want to regardless, they still making the coin hand over fist, and the developers are off in nerd land, far far away from daily driver land.
And that's why it's slowing down, too. I've already heard from some windows users how "firefox just doesn't work" after they tried it at my recommendations. So I actually quit doing that. I have stopped recommending it. Waste of time almost. The farthest I go now is recommend people try a "live" cd, because it's easier for them to backout of the deal and I won't get any tech support cries. If they can't be bothered to download and burn a distro to try or send away 2 bucks to get a complete operating system, they for SURE won't be able to run it or tweak it even to a m
..."Nostradamos" as a name. The first psychic CPU that predicts what tasks you will be doing.
Unfortunately, all the apps and any kernel for it have to be programmed in quatrains...
....if all the two thousand whatever debian based distros decided to combine forces and release a reasonably priced and quite functional product either. There's a variety of smaller ones that have at least a modicum of support, but they are all different and some work with this or that, others not. It's just too fragmented at that level., All of them just slightly different, but none of them that I have seen so far (no idea how many distros there are and make no claims to have tried them all of course) meets the joe non programer non guru consumer taste test. I know I have the "choice" in it, just I don't have a "choice" to get anything that isn't betaware for all practical purposes.
And I don't think this will get any better until a few of the larger vendors put some kind/brand linux on those machines they sell and are as common as xp is on the shelf, or at least *visible* on the shelf. That's when we will start to see a useability "standard" of sorts. It's really up to the box vendors.
You got a laptop with enough ram and a cd drive so you can run some of the mini (50-100 megs or so)live distros like feather, puppy, damnsmall, austrumi, etc. Try some of those out, because after they load into RAM they are *really fast*. I personally like the austrumi distro but that's just taste. Go to a truly non bloatware distro.
You pretty much got it. And the US still has huge areas that are offered zero broadband, nor are they going to be offered broadband from the private concerns anytime soon. It seems it's OK to have government run and regulated roads, so that the stuff we get from the non broadband served areas can get into the cities, but the stuff from the cities out, run over much cheaper wires, seems to be "controversial" and "it wouldn't pay" and is "too expensive". We can have "broadband" government run water pipes into the cities, but not broadband data pipes out. Hmm, isn't that special. Perhaps the people not served with broadband in the rural areas should shut their water that they have been getting ripped off for for generations down to a trickle (analogous to dialup) going into the cities and see how everyone there liked that. And when they complained direct them to the data pipe monopolists for a solution. A pipe is a pipe, they both serve a purpose and having "enough" beyond a marginal intermittent trickle is sure a good thing. And privatise it and really make a huge profit on it, no local government involved. Oh, joe big city wants more water and have it cheap because it's useful? Well, no problem, build your own pipelines then, or pay the fee like it should be. Without tax money. Purchase each individual right of way from each rural land owner that the pipeline crosses. Let's do it with natural gas as well. See what it costs the end user in the cities for water and heating gas then. Oh, they like electricity? Swell, let them start their own coalmines inside the cities, and build their own genplants, all private run, but inside the cities only. Any coal from outside has to pay each individual landowner a fee for crossing his property on his stretch of private road, or his stretch of private train tracks. Let's let the rural folks who's lands the powerlines cost all individually negotiate the fee for allowing those electrons to slide on by on their property. Would make for some interesting cost increases then. The rural folks would have enough money to pay for their own fat data pipes then, but now? Nope, they get ripped off for critical products, forced by law to "share" what they own so that the huge dense population areas can have cheap and plentiful. Food? No problem, they got all them big buildings downtown, maybe Verizon and Bellsouth HQ rooftops can have gardens on them to supply their "profitable" broadband customers with food too.
The FCC "allows" 50,000 watt commercial stations, and industry cookie-cutter "content" monopolisation, yet joe schmoo little local guy out in the sticks can hardly get "permission" to run a 10 watt community station without the licensing fees costing more than the hardware, and don't even think about it being a commercial venture. Now they want to disallow any attempt at all to even have a chance at broadband when it has become obvious that the big guys just will *not* move it to places it's not at already? And the only bone they can throw is 802.11x with that pitiful range, and even that wouldn't be "allowed" for a community to run itself?
Nuts. Large corporate run government, gotta love it.
....if you car detected something trivial like a non OEM starter and refused to crank. The car comapnies lost that one bigtime in court, at least you have the option now of an aftermarket starter or alternator, etc that will still function in your car. They are trying to rebooger it back up with the "magical computer" noise, but there's some bills in congress now to get them to stop doing that as well, to open up all the code and specs to independent mechanics, the owner and to the after market manufacturers.
yes, I have seen that, part of my overall conclusions that lead me to the original premises. I think a good place to look at for US foreign policy as regards these issues is to look at what they literally forced onto the Iraqis,think of it as a testbed, everything from IP protected seeds being mandatory for the farmers (mandatory!) to the software and entertainment media IP issues. Also note that over there you need a "license to be legitimately working" from a private corporation, Haliburton.
I am not sure how FOSS is going to deal with this, even with the support of industry heavyweights like Novell and IBM. I can see we are at a critical juncture now with these patenting issues, and frankly, I think we are going to see "patented" software, especially for machines connected to the net, become the only "approved" software, via some legislative act. They need a bit more major net security screwups first, but they can arrange that I would guess. They'll use the excuse of "terrorism" and "hackers cost the economy billions and billions" and "we have to protect the children" "we need to be able to police the internet" and so on and so forth, just do it all at once in a big way. I could easily see some government agency establishing "standards" for software to make sure it is "legitimate" and "not pirated" and "safe to use on the net" and "we have to stop piracy" so on. Might not happen this year or next year, but I can see it happening sometime. The internet is just too juicy a target for government interference and for corporate monopolisation,(same thing really) they simply won't keep ignoring it like they have half way like now. They keep trying in smaller ways and I think they can see that isn't working fast enough, so that's why I expect a "shock and awe" campaign sometime via the laws, and patents will definetly be in the mix.
I can even come up with a scenario where they can kill off stuff too, via front conmpanies or a forced co operation with legit companies who also would like to see their stuff be "officialised" so they can profit from it. Example: They could back write code into closed source propietary patented software that they modify on purpose for this reason, then "discover" that open source equivalents are "running patented pirated code". KIll that software off, lather rinse repeat. Think of it as a SCOesque gambit on steroids, with the exception that it would actually *look* like they had a beef that would fly, and who would be able to tell different? Create a semi plausible development paper trail with the "patented" stuff, and that's all you need, that and the code, which is just swiped character by character. Literally create a reverse counterfeit that makes the legit open source stuff *look* like it has violated a patent. Would be easy to do, too.
...of the 5$ a month dialup subscriptions and just rotate them. Actually tell the company that's why you are doing it, maybe they'll cut you some slack then on the "always on" part. 10$, still cheap.
BTW, who has 5 clams a month for dialup?
.......to the worlds economy. It hasn't happened completely yet but that is what all the indicators say are coming soon to a reality near you. Here me out on this, this IP patent nonsense is tied to global power play economics in a big way..
We no longer are the premier manufacturer, and soon we won't be the largest customer/consumer base either. Within this decade this is happening, all the think tank analysts have said more or less the same thing, because the raw data is just raw data and it's just not that hard to see it.
Software can be written anywhere, it is no longer the arcane and exclusive province of a few thousand people in high level corporate or governmental/academic circles. It's a cheap commoditised "product" that x-millions create daily and x-tens of millions will be doing shortly within a few years. And most of the rest of the world is going to a FOSS model a lot quicker than we are, because of the benefits they see in it. That's not my call, just what you can see happening and read about.
Manufacturing of tangibles goes to those who care to do it, see Asia,the west made a decision via their "leaders" to minimise that because it was "too hard" or something, so there ya go. And despite people thinking software is all that important, tangibles still rule economically and in geopolitical importance, people eat real food, not virtual food, they drive real cars, not video game cars,they live in real homes not some ridiculous sim city environment. And etc, etc, etc.
Software is important,no one will deny that, but it's still the tool, not the product. Software more exists (outside of "entertainments") to facilitate production of Tangible Stuff mostly, of and by itself it's not as important except for that task, and the freer the better the faster the gooder it is,and patenting really balls up that process, s-o-o-o-o, software is coming from the FOSS world now, and it will only get better. and the two just don't mix, patents and FOSS. It's a bad idea really to even try.
Raw materials and energy come from where they come from, the US uses a lot more than we produce, so we fail it there as well economically. Just this year we even switched to a net ag products importer from exporter, the last thing we were the world leader in.
In short, all we have are weapons and hollywood and music as exports of note,all the other traditional exports are in decline,they are not going to recover, and patents on dubious software advances are a phony way to say we are still producing ultra valuable commodities, and are a last ditch paper work shuffling effort to make that fantasy come true, but the rest of the world ain't buying that. It's like calling all the stock market numbers the same as real money, it just ain't so. Patented "IP" is beyond a "tech bubble" phenomenon, it actually serves as a form of economic strangulatory suicide, except for a few people for a relatively short period of time. It's a smokescreen to feed to the US public to keep them faked out we still produce much.
Really, the only thing keeping the US afloat and uberimportant economically right this second is we have a force projection expansionist based military, a doofus at the top who is more than willing to use it, for all practical purposes a mercenary military dedicated to a small handful of transnationals and their controllers (I am sorry for that but it's true and I wish it weren't so...sorry), and the amount of our global debt we have accumulated. And we are in no position to actually pay this debt with anything real or intrinsically valuable, so they came up with this whopper fantasy game of "patenting" IP so that we could demand real stuff-money,goods and services for it, from "everyone else", that guy, and coincidently help to assuage the day of reckoning with this debt and no-tangible-work fiasco they got us into.
And it won't work, because the rest of the planet just ain't that dumb no mo' no mo'
"There is no point comparing security of win2k and linux based on that cert... "
Here's the obvious point: If you are trying to SELL it it matters. Discussing it on slashdot and what it really means or does is one thing, getting some org or agency or corporation to drop x-millions of dollars in your lap for your product is another. One of the main complaints about Linux that you read over and over is "how do you make money with open source software"? Well, here's one way to make that a reality. Jump through the hoops they set up for consideration. No jumping, no consideration. Emphasizing skins and themes and whether or not you can play some video game and such like noise is cute,and seemingly a major part of most distros out there, but if you want to be taken seriously where the big dogs play with their checkbooks, you got to toe some of the lines they have drawn in the sand.
is somehow strange, idiotic or wrong? Say what? It's why they have a store in the first place.
Actually, it works quite well once enough people do it.some examples here: I was one of those people who consistently refused to answer personal questions to buy something at Radio Shack, when it was their corporate policy. Did it for a couple of years and I know quite a few other people did it too,and this has been covered on slashdot before, eventually they stopped with the 50 questions. I have asked the local grocery store where I shop to carry this and that items they didn't stock,in the produce and in the meat section, now they stock those items and the department managers thanked me, said their sales went up. In fact I was directly responsible for the large grocery here always carrying fresh cooking herbs, first I asked if they would like to try some to sell, they said sure, I sold them a few bags of extra from our gardens. they sold well, now they carry them all the time and the guy is looking forward to my cheaper fresher stuff again this upcoming season. so he'll have two "brands" for people to choose from when before they had not much of any herbs there.
Back when we second amendment guys got a wild hair about rosie o donnel being kmart tv spokesmodel, I went to my local kmart manager and said I would boycott until she got removed, thousands of other people did the same thing, and we wrote letters to kmart and to their tv advertisers, etc, and eventually they fired her. Customer feedback works once it hits some magical critical mass level, always a variable, but it's there.
As to getting cars or trucks with or without this or that, you can do it, most dealers will arrange it if you got cash in hand. You won't get the same warranty,if any, but it's possible. I know for example just on the truck side of things you can order a truck with zero bed, just the frame, and put your own bed on it. It's not common, but it's not all that uncommon either, and to get to computers, please, installing an OS is just a tad easier than putting a new engine in a car, easier, cheaper, computers are designed to accept disks and keyboard and mouse commands, it's just not that strange of a request, and there are some chains that do this now, just not all of them, but eventually I think you'll see it be pretty much universal.
There's no harm in asking your retailer to provide you with something you want to buy, this is called customer feedback and can work if *enough* people do it. They are in business to sell you stuff and make money, that's their bottom line. Sure, a dozen people doing it won't result in much, but say if some place like office depot got 10,000 requests over a one week period or a month, and the requests were to actual main store managers? That info would filter upstream and at least get seriously considered. If people want no OS or x-Linux OS preinstalled, then I say they should ask for it at the retail level. It's no different than asking for anything else.
...I make it a point that every time I go into some big chain that sells PCs, like lately at an office depot, I ask them where their "no OS" machines are. When all they have is XP preinstalled. I say "sorry, in the market for a cheap new desktop, but want my own OS and not paying you extra for it when I am not going to use it" and then don't buy the machine there. Costs nothing to do that other than a minute of your time and talking to some manager there. Get enough thousands of people to consistently do that, who knows, eventually the idea might float upstream to bigstore galactic headquarters. Most people just don't bother though, I just think it's something everyone who cares about that issue can do cheaply and easily.
...to building team sports stadiums in Texas with public money?