Well, the leaders at Ubuntu have taken a hard-line stance on both the GPL and not doing anything that would get them or any of their users in any sort of legal trouble (including DMCA and patents).
And this is why Automatix was born. It works well and turns Ubuntu into something truly usable on a day-to-day basis.
I wish that Ubuntu was more pragmatic, and included the "Automatix" stuff on a 2nd optional CD. If you don't want the CD, then don't download it an burn it. But Automatix does essentially the same thing, and the worst problem is that all of the packages have to be downloaded (instad of being included on a single.iso), which can take over an hour for an install even on a fast cable connection.
See? You have just proven my point. Dedicatd PC gamers have barely even figured out how to spell. I am somewhere between a console gamer and a non-gamer. I can complete a coherent thought, use punctuation properly, and use complete sentances. Behold my amazing ability.
My next trick should blow away PC gamers: walking and chewing gum at the same time (ohhhhhhh, ahhhhhh).
To me, games are not much of a compelling reason to go with Windows. Some may disagree with me, but consoles are better for gaming. Yeah, I know - consoles do not have a keyboard/mouse which makes them unsuitable for FPS. But I am not really into FPS, so I don't care:P Besides, I can play Metroid just fine with a controller.
But, to me, the point is that if you are seriously into PC gaming, then you are dropping a few hundred dollars every year or two just to upgrade your graphics card - not to mention the upgrades to the mobo/processor. That is a lot of coin. Also, a lot of games are happily throwing crap on your system just to mess it up (Starforce anyone?). You have things like Steam which REQUIRE a high-speed internet connection to play (or, you can wait 60 hours for the new updates to download over dial-up).
Or, you can blow anywhere between $100 to $500 for a single console that will last for a good five years or so without having to upgrade. And you will have no worries about compatibility, DLL hell, having to re-install the OS, driver problems, etc. It is also possible to find used games at a bit of a discount.
Of course, there will also be the fact that it is possible to build a far more powerful PC, and that the graphics (and monitor) will be better. These are all valid points, but how much eye-candy do you really need? I find that my old Gamecube is realistic enough for me to enjoy plaing it. Sure, it is not perfect -- but it is more than good enough.
So, I guess that my point is that you can get a gaming fix easier and cheaper using a console than you can with a PC. But I do acknowledge that some games are just plain better with a mouse/keyboard. To each his own.
** But, back to the original question: must-have apps for the PC. **
The things that I would have a hard time living without is that my wife likes to use greeting-card programs on the PC (Print Master, etc.). The last time that I looked, there was NOTHING like this out for Linux. You could probably make something workable using things like Gimp or Open Office Writer, but these would be clumsy substitutes at best.
The other thing is the mapping sofware that goes with my GPS. If you own a mapping GPS that does not come with the maps pre-installed, the only way to get maps into these things is with a Windows PC (Garmin promises Mac sofware soon). For this reason alone I would need to keep windows around.
These should keep you safe and keep you from getting lost. Of course, you will have to manage to keep fresh batteries in the GPS, but if you turn it on occasionally, you should get several days out of one set. Also, a solar panel can help keep the phone topped off.
Of course, you also have the option of getting a higher-end cell phone with GPS built-in, and then subscribe to service which can provide directions. In that case, you may want to consider dropping the separate GPS.
Therein lies the problem -- roaches can't "count" in any normal sense of the word. The fact that (according to TFA) roaches split themselves into two populations of 25 is amazing.
Of course the article was rather lacking in details. Was it always 25, or was it sometimes a 27/23 split?
Which brings up an interesting point...and one that I have absolutely no idea about...
Is there such a thing as a "Christmas Holiday launch" in Japan? I would imagine that since Japan has no Christian heritage, that the holidays would not be a big deal.
A lot of the console has to do with the way it is designed and how games play on it, not exactly what they look like.
... and how much it costs.
Let's face facts here. There are a lot of gaming fans who work tech during the day and play games at night. They have money to burn. Or perhaps the children of such people.
But there is a LOT more people out there where the family is struggling to make ends meet. Christmas comes around, and junior wants a game system. What do the parents buy:
1) Game system which costs $400 or more and $60 games. 2) Game system which costs $200 and games are around $40.
In a case like this, specs don't matter. You buy what you can afford. For this reason and this reason alone, Revolution will sell well.
Huh? Tommy needs discounts from Sewing machine companies, not Microsoft. I must admit to ignorance about the fashion industry, but even if Microsoft GAVE Hillfigger free computers AND applications, how much would he save, $10,000? I doubt that he uses CAD software to design the next T-shirt.
Wow. My comment was modded +5. I wish that I could give a couple of those points to you. I do disagree with you about a point or two, but you are mostly right-on.
I agree. And as far as partisanship goes, both are bad in different ways. Liberals tend to tear away at the 2nd amendment, and the current conservative administration has chipped away at the fourth and fifth. I happen to be quite fond of all ten of them. As an American, I should not have to pick-and-choose which amendments are the most important to me.
The concepts are not related. It is entirely possible to make a nice-looking web site that is just standard HTML/CSS.
With that being said, there are uses for Flash. Some information can be best presented using motion. But using flash just for the sake of using it is stupid.
Here is an example. I wanted to find out about Zippo lighters. Go to http://www.zippo.com/ . No flashy, no workee. And you don't just need flash, you need the latest version of flash. And the ENTIRE SITE if in flash. That is just plain stupid. To those people who don't have the latest version of flash and who don't want to install it, screw you. Somebody at Zippo needs to be fired over this.
Try doing that while riding on a train, or as a passenger in a car. That invention that you pointed to ONLY works if you have a table or other flat surface in fron of you. And if you type too long on a table, your hands would likely start hurting.
-- Now, on to other things -- I am the proud owner of an Alphagrip. I have only spend a couple of hours with it so far, but I have an important comment that was not mentioned on TFA...
I am a large guy. I am over six feet tall -- and I have large hands.
I find the Alphagrip to be uncomfortable because it was designed for use by smaller hands. When I am holding it to comfortably reach the back keys, my fingers are in the wrong position to easily use the front keys. Similarly, if I can use the front keys, I have difficulty with the back keys.
I am also not entirely sure how to hold this thing either. If it was bigger, I could press my palms against the side. However, as it is, I have to use my fingertips to hold it, which is awkward because those same fingertips are always over one button or another. If you press to hard then you get extra characters that you don't want.
The Alphagrip seems like it has the posibility to be rather nice if it can fit you. But if you have large hands, you might want to reconsider until they make the AG-6.
Really? Well, can you explain this for the rest of us. I have a pretty good understanding of quantum theory for a lay-person -- and smoke comes out of my ears reading the article.
Maybe, maybe not. The advantage of the alphagrip is that you are not tied to a desk. Mouse and keyboard in two hands, which you can use sitting or standing anywhere. It also looks more ergonomic.
You can certianly type faster than you can use a stylus on a Palm or PocketPC, but still PDAs seem to sell well. And IM is faster on a keyboard than on a phone, but people still IM using phones.
I first saw this over two years ago. They accepted pre-orders a year ago. I was sufficiently interested to get in on the deal. I finally got my unit last week (my wife called it a "valentine's present" so I can't get my hands on it for another two weeks, though).
The AlphaGrip is innovative, but not as technically challengin as the Optimus. But things like this do happen.
But the Optimus looks cool. I hope they don't wait a year to ship.
I thought driver support for linux from nvidia was far ahead of that coming from ATI?
The general opinion is that you are right. But since I purchase nVidia for that very reason and have no 1st hand experience, I cannot comment. The nVidia driver is very easy to install under Ubuntu, and it works well. But most people install these drivers for 3D applications (*cough* games *cough*). I am not entirely sure where an improved 2D driver could even be wedged. I am not a graphics expers, but 3D works well because games use a common API -- OpenGL. So, if you write a 3D driver that supports OpenGL, everything using OpenGL benefits.
Now X.org might be able to benefit from improved 2D drivers, which would make drawing windows sooo much faster. It might go from 5uS down to 3uS. But these drivers would not likely result in improved 2D image quality.
Now, for improved drivers to do anything to video quality, you have to let the drivers do some of the video decoding. I am not entirely certain if there is a standard place where nVidia or ATI could even stick their drivers for this. I believe that XMMS, VLC, and the like all do things in their own sofware, and just just the display as a place to dump the final result. If this is the case, then there is really nothing that video card manufacturers could even do, short of integrating their code into the various player applications. But, like I said, I could be wrong here.
What I want to know is if ATI still wins under Linux. It is really cool to say that ATI has the best video playback, but if you are building a MythTV box, a test under Windows does not really tell you much.
Re:For those of us who don't follow mozilla.org...
on
SeaMonkey 1.0 Released
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
So, is it Firefox and Thunderbird thrown together in one executable? Or is it something more or less. I guess what I want to know is:
1) Compatability with Thunder/Fire themes and extensions. 2) Does it share the same security holes, or will it have its own;) 3) Will it be udated as often as Thunder/Fire?
Slashdot Mirror
Well, the leaders at Ubuntu have taken a hard-line stance on both the GPL and not doing anything that would get them or any of their users in any sort of legal trouble (including DMCA and patents).
.iso), which can take over an hour for an install even on a fast cable connection.
And this is why Automatix was born. It works well and turns Ubuntu into something truly usable on a day-to-day basis.
I wish that Ubuntu was more pragmatic, and included the "Automatix" stuff on a 2nd optional CD. If you don't want the CD, then don't download it an burn it. But Automatix does essentially the same thing, and the worst problem is that all of the packages have to be downloaded (instad of being included on a single
See? You have just proven my point. Dedicatd PC gamers have barely even figured out how to spell. I am somewhere between a console gamer and a non-gamer. I can complete a coherent thought, use punctuation properly, and use complete sentances. Behold my amazing ability.
;)
My next trick should blow away PC gamers: walking and chewing gum at the same time (ohhhhhhh, ahhhhhh).
I kid.
To me, games are not much of a compelling reason to go with Windows. Some may disagree with me, but consoles are better for gaming. Yeah, I know - consoles do not have a keyboard/mouse which makes them unsuitable for FPS. But I am not really into FPS, so I don't care :P Besides, I can play Metroid just fine with a controller.
But, to me, the point is that if you are seriously into PC gaming, then you are dropping a few hundred dollars every year or two just to upgrade your graphics card - not to mention the upgrades to the mobo/processor. That is a lot of coin. Also, a lot of games are happily throwing crap on your system just to mess it up (Starforce anyone?). You have things like Steam which REQUIRE a high-speed internet connection to play (or, you can wait 60 hours for the new updates to download over dial-up).
Or, you can blow anywhere between $100 to $500 for a single console that will last for a good five years or so without having to upgrade. And you will have no worries about compatibility, DLL hell, having to re-install the OS, driver problems, etc. It is also possible to find used games at a bit of a discount.
Of course, there will also be the fact that it is possible to build a far more powerful PC, and that the graphics (and monitor) will be better. These are all valid points, but how much eye-candy do you really need? I find that my old Gamecube is realistic enough for me to enjoy plaing it. Sure, it is not perfect -- but it is more than good enough.
So, I guess that my point is that you can get a gaming fix easier and cheaper using a console than you can with a PC. But I do acknowledge that some games are just plain better with a mouse/keyboard. To each his own.
** But, back to the original question: must-have apps for the PC. **
The things that I would have a hard time living without is that my wife likes to use greeting-card programs on the PC (Print Master, etc.). The last time that I looked, there was NOTHING like this out for Linux. You could probably make something workable using things like Gimp or Open Office Writer, but these would be clumsy substitutes at best.
The other thing is the mapping sofware that goes with my GPS. If you own a mapping GPS that does not come with the maps pre-installed, the only way to get maps into these things is with a Windows PC (Garmin promises Mac sofware soon). For this reason alone I would need to keep windows around.
http://www.springfield-armory.com/images/xd-pistol /XD9810Large.jpg
and
http://www.garmin.com/products/etrexVenturecx/#
and
Cell phone of your choice.
These should keep you safe and keep you from getting lost. Of course, you will have to manage to keep fresh batteries in the GPS, but if you turn it on occasionally, you should get several days out of one set. Also, a solar panel can help keep the phone topped off.
Of course, you also have the option of getting a higher-end cell phone with GPS built-in, and then subscribe to service which can provide directions. In that case, you may want to consider dropping the separate GPS.
Of course the article was rather lacking in details. Was it always 25, or was it sometimes a 27/23 split?
Which brings up an interesting point...and one that I have absolutely no idea about...
Is there such a thing as a "Christmas Holiday launch" in Japan? I would imagine that since Japan has no Christian heritage, that the holidays would not be a big deal.
Anybody from Japan want to comment?
Riiight. And just where is Voyager 1 going to get stamps?
Let's face facts here. There are a lot of gaming fans who work tech during the day and play games at night. They have money to burn. Or perhaps the children of such people.
But there is a LOT more people out there where the family is struggling to make ends meet. Christmas comes around, and junior wants a game system. What do the parents buy:
1) Game system which costs $400 or more and $60 games.
2) Game system which costs $200 and games are around $40.
In a case like this, specs don't matter. You buy what you can afford. For this reason and this reason alone, Revolution will sell well.
Huh? Tommy needs discounts from Sewing machine companies, not Microsoft. I must admit to ignorance about the fashion industry, but even if Microsoft GAVE Hillfigger free computers AND applications, how much would he save, $10,000? I doubt that he uses CAD software to design the next T-shirt.
There has got to me more to it than that.
Wow. My comment was modded +5. I wish that I could give a couple of those points to you. I do disagree with you about a point or two, but you are mostly right-on.
I agree. And as far as partisanship goes, both are bad in different ways. Liberals tend to tear away at the 2nd amendment, and the current conservative administration has chipped away at the fourth and fifth. I happen to be quite fond of all ten of them. As an American, I should not have to pick-and-choose which amendments are the most important to me.
The concepts are not related. It is entirely possible to make a nice-looking web site that is just standard HTML/CSS.
With that being said, there are uses for Flash. Some information can be best presented using motion. But using flash just for the sake of using it is stupid.
Here is an example. I wanted to find out about Zippo lighters. Go to http://www.zippo.com/ . No flashy, no workee. And you don't just need flash, you need the latest version of flash. And the ENTIRE SITE if in flash. That is just plain stupid. To those people who don't have the latest version of flash and who don't want to install it, screw you. Somebody at Zippo needs to be fired over this.
Try doing that while riding on a train, or as a passenger in a car. That invention that you pointed to ONLY works if you have a table or other flat surface in fron of you. And if you type too long on a table, your hands would likely start hurting.
-- Now, on to other things --
I am the proud owner of an Alphagrip. I have only spend a couple of hours with it so far, but I have an important comment that was not mentioned on TFA...
I am a large guy. I am over six feet tall -- and I have large hands.
I find the Alphagrip to be uncomfortable because it was designed for use by smaller hands. When I am holding it to comfortably reach the back keys, my fingers are in the wrong position to easily use the front keys. Similarly, if I can use the front keys, I have difficulty with the back keys.
I am also not entirely sure how to hold this thing either. If it was bigger, I could press my palms against the side. However, as it is, I have to use my fingertips to hold it, which is awkward because those same fingertips are always over one button or another. If you press to hard then you get extra characters that you don't want.
The Alphagrip seems like it has the posibility to be rather nice if it can fit you. But if you have large hands, you might want to reconsider until they make the AG-6.
WRONG!!! The great red spot is a giant hurricane ... and now there is a new one.
This proves that Bush don't like red planets.
I do not know of anything like what you ask. AFAIK, gEAD is the best thing out there.
Unfortunately, this is a bit of a niche application.
Simple -- by modifying it, distributing it, and NOT giving away the source code.
People have gotten in trouble for doing exactly this.
Really? Well, can you explain this for the rest of us. I have a pretty good understanding of quantum theory for a lay-person -- and smoke comes out of my ears reading the article.
The funny thing is that I have an alphagrip at home -- #9 on the list. It did take a while, but it is here now.
Maybe, maybe not. The advantage of the alphagrip is that you are not tied to a desk. Mouse and keyboard in two hands, which you can use sitting or standing anywhere. It also looks more ergonomic.
You can certianly type faster than you can use a stylus on a Palm or PocketPC, but still PDAs seem to sell well. And IM is faster on a keyboard than on a phone, but people still IM using phones.
Things like this do happen! Look at this site: http://www.alphagrip.com/
I first saw this over two years ago. They accepted pre-orders a year ago. I was sufficiently interested to get in on the deal. I finally got my unit last week (my wife called it a "valentine's present" so I can't get my hands on it for another two weeks, though).
The AlphaGrip is innovative, but not as technically challengin as the Optimus. But things like this do happen.
But the Optimus looks cool. I hope they don't wait a year to ship.
Now X.org might be able to benefit from improved 2D drivers, which would make drawing windows sooo much faster. It might go from 5uS down to 3uS. But these drivers would not likely result in improved 2D image quality.
Now, for improved drivers to do anything to video quality, you have to let the drivers do some of the video decoding. I am not entirely certain if there is a standard place where nVidia or ATI could even stick their drivers for this. I believe that XMMS, VLC, and the like all do things in their own sofware, and just just the display as a place to dump the final result. If this is the case, then there is really nothing that video card manufacturers could even do, short of integrating their code into the various player applications. But, like I said, I could be wrong here.
What I want to know is if ATI still wins under Linux. It is really cool to say that ATI has the best video playback, but if you are building a MythTV box, a test under Windows does not really tell you much.
So, is it Firefox and Thunderbird thrown together in one executable? Or is it something more or less. I guess what I want to know is:
;)
1) Compatability with Thunder/Fire themes and extensions.
2) Does it share the same security holes, or will it have its own
3) Will it be udated as often as Thunder/Fire?
Now, if Google starts making bloated, insecure, and consumer-hostile products, then they could take Microsoft on head-to-head.