Years ago I watched a movie with Richard Thomas (John Boy Walton) as a scientist that discovered these "nanobots" as I recall that were injected into the body that would heal diseases. The problem was that they were so smart that they would also fix "deficiencies" in the human body like growing two eyes on the back of his head so he could see what was behind him. Freaky movie, but apparently way ahead of it's time.
This is all so silly. Those types of things are cute, but are time and performance wasters. Who cares if your windows gradually fade out? I turn all that crap off in every system I have that has anything like it because I don't need or want the bells and whistles in my operating systems to slow it down. Glitz and glamour is for people who don't like performance...:)
Not to mention that things like this should never be patented. Software and/or parts of software similar to things like this can be developed by anyone who knows how to code and has an imagination. There are no "discoveries" to be made in existing code that won't be "discovered" by multiple people. I don't understand why people can't figure this out. There's nothing in code that one person can do that lots of others can't. The only factor is who did it first. And don't try to tell me that not allowing patents would stifle creativity - that's bunk. Creative people will create no matter what. They don't do it for the money, they do it because they can.
Mod me down for being negative if you like, but you know I'm just stating the facts. If you don't agree, that's ok, but prove to me where I'm wrong, don't just flame me like an idiot.
Sorry, I'm in a pissy mood today after dealing with idiots all week.
While some may disagree with me, the basic layout for the current Windows "look and feel" was actually in OS/2 back in the early 90's when Windows 3.1 was out.
And exactly why do people play the stock market anyway? Greed. You want more than you have, so you gamble with the stock market in hopes that you make money. It's no different than buying a lottery ticket except that you're guaranteed not to make money with a lottery ticket unless you hit the numbers. You only make money if you're lucky. In any case, greed is the motivating factor in most financial decisions where it comes to financial gain. If you didn't want more, you wouldn't participate.
Greed isn't always bad, it's when you intentionally hurt someone or when it takes over your life that it's bad. By most accounts, the stock market is for greedy people who are only in it to make money by screwing someone else out of theirs. If you disagree, how else can you explain it? You make money by buying low and selling high. You're screwing someone else out of their money to put in your pocket. It's not their fault they're not smart enough to buy lower than you did and screw you instead.
I can't wait to see what sort of comments come from this one... lol
" Am I the only person who has no clear view over this story?"
Maybe. If you read the message it makes clear reference to Lindows and IPO, which should spur anyone at all interested in the Lindows.com organization (or at least the lawsuits) to click on the 'when they go
public' link to see what's up. The article clearly states the filing of Lindows.com paperwork to initiate an IPO to raise cash.
At first glance I get from the article that Lindows.com is going public to try to raise 50 million dollars. Did I miss something?
"[2] We wouldn't be able to use our existing ISP."
This is a scare tactic by most ISPs that is simply false. True, they won't "support" Linux, but what sort of support do you need? General program operation or your Internet/email connection?
I had a very frustrating two hour, four different technician call to Charter about a year ago. I sent an email at 5pm, then sent another at 9pm and the latter one got returned by Charter with a message that I had a virus. Since I was running Linux I knew that to be false. The first call ended with a frustrated tech hanging up on me because she said the don't support Linux and I kept repeating that I didn't want Linux support, I wanted email support. Since I was using Netscape I figured it didn't matter which OS I was using. The breaking point was my asking her if they support Mac OX/S. She said yes, and I said don't you realize that is Unix? Click.
The second call ended with a guy telling me he would not support Linux (again I didn't want Linux support) and hung up on me. The third call was to a manager who ended with he and I yelling at each other and hanging up. I know, childish, but I was very frustrated and angry by that point.
My fourth call was to yet another different tech after I had started my Windoze laptop and got the same results trying to send an email. He said "you're using Linux, right?". Right then I figured out that they use caller ID and interface their call logging with it. I said no, I'm on a Windoze laptop and I'm getting the same results. He said to check my SMTP settings and make sure it says this. It didn't, but it DID say what the tech told me to put in when I had set it up two years prior to this call. When I changed the setting it immediately started working. I changed my Linux machine setting while I had him on the phone and it also started working.
Apparently between the hours of 5 & 9pm that day Charter had changed their local email SMTP setting and neglected to tell anyone including their tech support people. Since then if my email doesn't work I try various SMTP settings until it does.
Granted, most people wouldn't have a clue, but the bottom line is that it was never a Linux issue, but rather an SMTP setting. I continued to use Linux for several months successfully. I have since gone back to Windoze because my new laptop has a wireless NIC and video card that are not supported by any version of Linux as of this moment. Once this is remedied, I will go back.
-- Registration should be mandatory for posting --
If I recall, the Telecommunications Act of 1996? states that television stations that you pick up on an antenna have to relinguish their licenses for broadcasting on open airwaves in 2006. This means all TV stations will be broadcasting through either satellite or cable. No more free TV with a coat hanger...
Why is it that the people who are into name calling, nasty language etc. always post as AC? Don't you guys have the guts to post with your real handles?:)
Hopefully someday/. will require all posters to be registered.
"especially his 3rd world health initiatives and his minority scholarship awards."
What's wrong with helping our own people? I mean there are hundreds of thousands of poor kids in our own country that would benefit from that money as well. And why just minorities? There are tens of thousands of poor whites in poverty areas that don't have a chance at getting a lift out of there because they're not a minority. The color of your skin should not matter. It doesn't in the beginning or the end, it shouldn't in the middle either. Helping people should be a color blind matter.
" You are on the whole correct, but you err in saying that Microsoft killed off Virtual PC after buying it from Connectix."
As I said in a previous post, I was really tired when I wrote that this morning after a sleep study last night and it didn't come out right. What I meant to say was that since MS bought Connectix there's no affordable alternative in the open source world or with another company. The one choice that's left is based on an expensive subscription license and I'm not going to do that either. I don't mind paying a fair amount for something, but I will not be ripped off unless I have no other choice (checked gas prices lately?).
I do appreciate being corrected without needing a flame proof suit.:)
I can't help but wonder why so many people think that Microsoft has been the driving force in computer innovation? Do you naysayers really think that Mirosoft has the only people in the world that can think up new things or advance technology? How bizzare. I would argue that people have always been the innovators, not companies. Since people make up the design teams it would make sense that no matter what company is in charge, innovators are everywhere. It's just a matter of whether or not Microsoft will let you bring your product to the market. If you have enough power to tell OEMs such as Dell, Compaq, etc. that they *will* only sell MS Windows on their systems you have the power to do just about anything including controlling the market, something Bill Gates excels at. I know that some companies like HP and IBM are now pushing Linux, but where have they been for the past 15 years?
For those of you who are too young to remember, Microsoft's marketing people destroyed the market for GeoWindows (a far better GUI), DRDOS, WordPerfect Suite, OS/2 and many other far superior packages by either buying them or forcing them out of business with whatever tactics they chose to use. My gut feeling is that threats were part of that equation but alas, I have no proof other than what people inside a couple of companies have told me.
There are resources on the 'net for a list of companies that Gates has purchase or "acquired" over the last 20 years and if you look at it closely, it's scary. I can't find the link, maybe someone else can.
Yes, I hate Microsoft and everything it stands for. For the past 15+ years I've watched them devour everyone around them save a few early pioneers. If IBM hadn't failed so miserably at marketing OS/2 I think we'd be using that instead. But I have to use Windows for my job, much as I hate to. I can't even use a Mac because the software I have to use won't run on it. Virtual PC used to be an option but M$ bought that too. Linux isn't ready yet. It's close, but not quite there. I actually prefer that but again, not enough software.
So until there are lots more packages that run on a web server that are easy to use, fast and reliable (and don't forget inexpensive) we're stuck.
Bill Gates has accomplished something no one else ever has, and most likely never will again. He controls (or is close to controlling) most of the world's technology from computers to broadband to automotive to cel phones and is only getting bigger and stronger. Until our government does something to stop Microsoft from some of its illegal activities and other companies are able to stand up to them with legitimate, cost effective programs and hardware it will continue. As long as Washington is run by corporations, that will not happen.
C'mon guys. Gateway is a good company. We've been using their machines since 1995 and have had really good luck with them, but more importantly their tech support. When we've needed it, it's been rock solid and fast. Right now we've got almost 400 desktops and laptops in service from the lowly P5-166 (only a few left) to the brand new E series desktops and the 400 and 450 series laptops. All of them are virtually trouble free including the new 900 series servers I bought last summer.
On the other hand, we've got about 85 Dell desktops and laptops and I'll never buy another Dell. Their tech support has been horrid at best.
You know, something really bothers me about this whole stealing code thing. You can only write how to do a certain thing just so many ways. This is true in any programming language.
So having said that, why does it surprise anyone that two identical lines (or whole procedures) of code end up in two different programs or operating systems? The code to control the hardware can only be written so many ways.
Besides, if the way all MS code acts is any indication of how it's written, the only place I can see it being of use is with virus/worm/trojan writers and geek comedy clubs.
"6 of the 7 characters in the lindows name were written by MS"
Really? From the University of Notre Dame Latin to English translation dictionary:
window
fenestra -ae f. [a window; a breach , loophole].
(sort of like a breach in security, i.e. any version of MS Windows)
luminare -aris n. [a window-shutter , window].
specularis -e [like a mirror; transparent]; n. pl. specularia -orum , [window panes].
Since the Latin language was created a long time before English, I'd suspect that Microsoft didn't really "write" the word window. Unless of course you are one of those that believe Al Gore "invented" the Internet as he so foolishly stated...
I just tried it with Mozilla 1.5 and it worked fine. I tried all sorts of links and didn't have any problems. Screens looked good. It's a pretty simple site design.
This reminds me of the recent article on/. concerning misspelling words and how our brains read the words correctly anyway. If you don't spend too much time on the spelling or grammar you can understand what he's saying pretty easily.
...educated id 10 t?
I looked into taking the Mensa test once. Then I realized that I really don't want to think that hard so I found the nearest comic book, grabbed a Pringle's can and a Mt. Dew and all of a sudden an incredible feeling of comfort rushed over me!
"Report from the NEA: public school officials are elated! One administrator says: 'since we eliminated tests there is no more prayer in school!'. "
Wait a minute though - if I read the report right, the machines they're comparing are not equal machines. There's no way I'd compare a mainframe to a dual Xeon server. The hardware costs alone have got to be staggering on the IBM equipment vs the Intel box. Even as a server, the Intel box has to be a lot cheaper. I have Novell 6 running on two dual Xeon Gateway servers so I'm pretty sure Linux would run on them.
Personally, I'd like to see the same tests run with both opsystems on the same Intel box to see what the results would be. My guess is that in most cases Linux would walk all over MS.
But I could be wrong.
Nah... I don't think so.:)
I think everyone should have to register in order to post. I think it's silly to hide behind the anonymous title. Although it is named appropriately.:)
You don't actually believe the BestBuy (Circuit City, Office Depot, Staples, ABC Warehouse, etc.) salesman, do you?
I used a knoppix cd at best buy when looking for a new laptop. The salesman told me that I would not be able to run a linux distro on the toshiba Satelite p25-s607. I was happy to find out upon inserting the cd that I could indeed run linux. This was approx 3 months ago and the salesman said they wouldn't have drivers out for the video card for 6 months, of course he was wrong.
An hour on a printer driver? What's it for, a Star thermal printer? Four hours installing a motherboard driver for XP? Geez, it only took my machine about 5 minutes to do that including the download. What wastes more of my time is reading./ and stopping to growl at the extreme misuse of grammar and numerous spelling errors.
their = pertaining to something someone has there = pertaining to a direction or location they're = they are
*big cheesy grin*
There are many many other examples but I won't waste precious tech time listing them that I could be spending on supporting and updating Windoze. Despite the fact that XP seems to be running far better than 98 & 2000 it's still far less reliable than my Linux installs.
Slashdot Mirror
Not to mention that things like this should never be patented. Software and/or parts of software similar to things like this can be developed by anyone who knows how to code and has an imagination. There are no "discoveries" to be made in existing code that won't be "discovered" by multiple people. I don't understand why people can't figure this out. There's nothing in code that one person can do that lots of others can't. The only factor is who did it first. And don't try to tell me that not allowing patents would stifle creativity - that's bunk. Creative people will create no matter what. They don't do it for the money, they do it because they can.
Mod me down for being negative if you like, but you know I'm just stating the facts. If you don't agree, that's ok, but prove to me where I'm wrong, don't just flame me like an idiot.
Sorry, I'm in a pissy mood today after dealing with idiots all week.
Greed isn't always bad, it's when you intentionally hurt someone or when it takes over your life that it's bad. By most accounts, the stock market is for greedy people who are only in it to make money by screwing someone else out of theirs. If you disagree, how else can you explain it? You make money by buying low and selling high. You're screwing someone else out of their money to put in your pocket. It's not their fault they're not smart enough to buy lower than you did and screw you instead.
I can't wait to see what sort of comments come from this one... lol
Maybe. If you read the message it makes clear reference to Lindows and IPO, which should spur anyone at all interested in the Lindows.com organization (or at least the lawsuits) to click on the 'when they go public' link to see what's up. The article clearly states the filing of Lindows.com paperwork to initiate an IPO to raise cash.
At first glance I get from the article that Lindows.com is going public to try to raise 50 million dollars. Did I miss something?
Unless of course you apply at Microsoft's security department...
However, it would explain a lot about the lack of common sense in our population in recent years...
This is a scare tactic by most ISPs that is simply false. True, they won't "support" Linux, but what sort of support do you need? General program operation or your Internet/email connection?
I had a very frustrating two hour, four different technician call to Charter about a year ago. I sent an email at 5pm, then sent another at 9pm and the latter one got returned by Charter with a message that I had a virus. Since I was running Linux I knew that to be false. The first call ended with a frustrated tech hanging up on me because she said the don't support Linux and I kept repeating that I didn't want Linux support, I wanted email support. Since I was using Netscape I figured it didn't matter which OS I was using. The breaking point was my asking her if they support Mac OX/S. She said yes, and I said don't you realize that is Unix? Click.
The second call ended with a guy telling me he would not support Linux (again I didn't want Linux support) and hung up on me. The third call was to a manager who ended with he and I yelling at each other and hanging up. I know, childish, but I was very frustrated and angry by that point.
My fourth call was to yet another different tech after I had started my Windoze laptop and got the same results trying to send an email. He said "you're using Linux, right?". Right then I figured out that they use caller ID and interface their call logging with it. I said no, I'm on a Windoze laptop and I'm getting the same results. He said to check my SMTP settings and make sure it says this. It didn't, but it DID say what the tech told me to put in when I had set it up two years prior to this call. When I changed the setting it immediately started working. I changed my Linux machine setting while I had him on the phone and it also started working.
Apparently between the hours of 5 & 9pm that day Charter had changed their local email SMTP setting and neglected to tell anyone including their tech support people. Since then if my email doesn't work I try various SMTP settings until it does.
Granted, most people wouldn't have a clue, but the bottom line is that it was never a Linux issue, but rather an SMTP setting. I continued to use Linux for several months successfully. I have since gone back to Windoze because my new laptop has a wireless NIC and video card that are not supported by any version of Linux as of this moment. Once this is remedied, I will go back.
-- Registration should be mandatory for posting --
If I recall, the Telecommunications Act of 1996? states that television stations that you pick up on an antenna have to relinguish their licenses for broadcasting on open airwaves in 2006. This means all TV stations will be broadcasting through either satellite or cable. No more free TV with a coat hanger...
Why is it that the people who are into name calling, nasty language etc. always post as AC? Don't you guys have the guts to post with your real handles? :)
Hopefully someday /. will require all posters to be registered.
What's wrong with helping our own people? I mean there are hundreds of thousands of poor kids in our own country that would benefit from that money as well. And why just minorities? There are tens of thousands of poor whites in poverty areas that don't have a chance at getting a lift out of there because they're not a minority. The color of your skin should not matter. It doesn't in the beginning or the end, it shouldn't in the middle either. Helping people should be a color blind matter.
I do appreciate being corrected without needing a flame proof suit. :)
"I don't want to be a jerk or anything, but I think you mean to refer to Geoworks Ensemble"
For those of you who are too young to remember, Microsoft's marketing people destroyed the market for GeoWindows (a far better GUI), DRDOS, WordPerfect Suite, OS/2 and many other far superior packages by either buying them or forcing them out of business with whatever tactics they chose to use. My gut feeling is that threats were part of that equation but alas, I have no proof other than what people inside a couple of companies have told me.
There are resources on the 'net for a list of companies that Gates has purchase or "acquired" over the last 20 years and if you look at it closely, it's scary. I can't find the link, maybe someone else can.
Yes, I hate Microsoft and everything it stands for. For the past 15+ years I've watched them devour everyone around them save a few early pioneers. If IBM hadn't failed so miserably at marketing OS/2 I think we'd be using that instead. But I have to use Windows for my job, much as I hate to. I can't even use a Mac because the software I have to use won't run on it. Virtual PC used to be an option but M$ bought that too. Linux isn't ready yet. It's close, but not quite there. I actually prefer that but again, not enough software.
So until there are lots more packages that run on a web server that are easy to use, fast and reliable (and don't forget inexpensive) we're stuck.
Bill Gates has accomplished something no one else ever has, and most likely never will again. He controls (or is close to controlling) most of the world's technology from computers to broadband to automotive to cel phones and is only getting bigger and stronger. Until our government does something to stop Microsoft from some of its illegal activities and other companies are able to stand up to them with legitimate, cost effective programs and hardware it will continue. As long as Washington is run by corporations, that will not happen.
On the other hand, we've got about 85 Dell desktops and laptops and I'll never buy another Dell. Their tech support has been horrid at best.
So having said that, why does it surprise anyone that two identical lines (or whole procedures) of code end up in two different programs or operating systems? The code to control the hardware can only be written so many ways.
Besides, if the way all MS code acts is any indication of how it's written, the only place I can see it being of use is with virus/worm/trojan writers and geek comedy clubs.
Really? From the University of Notre Dame Latin to English translation dictionary:
window fenestra -ae f. [a window; a breach , loophole]. (sort of like a breach in security, i.e. any version of MS Windows)
luminare -aris n. [a window-shutter , window].
specularis -e [like a mirror; transparent]; n. pl. specularia -orum , [window panes].
Since the Latin language was created a long time before English, I'd suspect that Microsoft didn't really "write" the word window. Unless of course you are one of those that believe Al Gore "invented" the Internet as he so foolishly stated...
They keep spamming and we keep deleting... OH THE HUMANITY!
"Report from the NEA: public school officials are elated! One administrator says: 'since we eliminated tests there is no more prayer in school!'. "
Toshiba might not but here are sources where you can get replacement parts.
Wait a minute though - if I read the report right, the machines they're comparing are not equal machines. There's no way I'd compare a mainframe to a dual Xeon server. The hardware costs alone have got to be staggering on the IBM equipment vs the Intel box. Even as a server, the Intel box has to be a lot cheaper. I have Novell 6 running on two dual Xeon Gateway servers so I'm pretty sure Linux would run on them.
:)
:)
Personally, I'd like to see the same tests run with both opsystems on the same Intel box to see what the results would be. My guess is that in most cases Linux would walk all over MS.
But I could be wrong.
Nah... I don't think so.
I think everyone should have to register in order to post. I think it's silly to hide behind the anonymous title. Although it is named appropriately.
I used a knoppix cd at best buy when looking for a new laptop. The salesman told me that I would not be able to run a linux distro on the toshiba Satelite p25-s607. I was happy to find out upon inserting the cd that I could indeed run linux. This was approx 3 months ago and the salesman said they wouldn't have drivers out for the video card for 6 months, of course he was wrong.
An hour on a printer driver? What's it for, a Star thermal printer? Four hours installing a motherboard driver for XP? Geez, it only took my machine about 5 minutes to do that including the download. What wastes more of my time is reading ./ and stopping to growl at the extreme misuse of grammar and numerous spelling errors.
their = pertaining to something someone has
there = pertaining to a direction or location
they're = they are
*big cheesy grin*
There are many many other examples but I won't waste precious tech time listing them that I could be spending on supporting and updating Windoze. Despite the fact that XP seems to be running far better than 98 & 2000 it's still far less reliable than my Linux installs.