This is admittedly OT, but... Can someone explain to me what the trolls mean by saying "You fail it"? I've noticed a bunch of trolls referring to FP posts with "you fail it" when the poster doesn't actually make an FP. But, do they mean that the poster failed to make FP, or is it a larger insult in that the person fails at everything? Any idea when it originated? I kind of like to follow troll history.
That's the problem with you "Nu Conservatives", you never accept the idea that some people just do what they do because they like to. A perfect example is my dentist. He has extremely reasonable prices and does a good job. When I go to him, I don't feel like I'm being ripped off. He's always said that the reason he's a dentist is because he loves the job. He's done some work at the local free clinic for the underpriveleged as well. When my insurance company decided to screw me and leave me without dental coverage because I wasn't in the "right" position at a former job, heis prices were reasonable enough that I could pay them out of pocket. Are you saying that there aren't lawyers out there who would do the same? Although lawyers get a bad rap, the truth is that it's just like any other profession, there are bad eggs and there are good eggs. There are bound to be some who would see this as a chance to exhibit their legal talents in a public forum and gain some fame. After all, money might be one thing to strive for, but what about fame? The only reason I work with computers is because I like to help the underpriveleged people in my community (public library users) get "connected". Any beyond that, there is the small degree of celebrity that I get for being a part of that program. So, screw off if you think that the only motivation to do something is just to make money. You are very likely leading a hollow existence if you believe that.
Actually, the original question may have been phrased a little incorrectly. He probably should have given a more explicit set of requirements for his application. If I was going to ask the question, I would require the following specifics:
1. Must use a connection type that is likely to still be in use 25 years from now. My vote would be ethernet, second choice 802.11b devices. 2. Requires random access for immediate retrieval of data. In today's world, no one has the time to wait for a stupid tape machine and/or it's accompanying software to locate a file to restore. It should be easily navigable with your chosen OS's file management system. 3. Storage units start at 500 Gigs to 1 T. 4. Inexpensive ($1200 for say a 500 Gig system)
Now... does that exist anywhere? No. Maybe in 15-20 years, but not now.
And this brings me to one other issue. Someone was telling me the other day to make sure that when I take my big trip to Australia this year that I take regular photos as well as my digital ones. This suggestion is based on the belief that the data from the digital camera has no permanence. That SHOULD be one more requirement for any archival storage system: an infinite shelf life. As it is, today's (and yesterday's) backup mediums all require a certain amount of expertise to deal with. If the systems aren't changed to make permanent, reliable and simple archives, then any data of ours that needs to be alive in 50, 100, or even 500 years will simply not be there. I think a large part of the problem is that "computer types" tend not to think to far into the future beyond their own lifespans. Hell... most of them don't even think beyond the next release of code!
That is exactly the reason I created this account. I love to put up insightful/informative posts that are laced with tons of profanity. I just get a kick out of watching people get pissed off that there IS useful information, but that there is also a lot of profanity. Just goes to show you that language means nothing. It's my way of getting back at the grammar nazis and the people who feel that informative/insightful mods should only go to people who don't use profanity. It's like they have some kind of weird disease that makes them think that just because some swears a whole FUCKING lot, mans that they don't have anything useful to say. This isn't true. Some of us just swear because it has style...
It sounds ilke guns are more of a recreational activity for you, which is fine as long as you use common sense. It sounds like you do. But the point that a gun is a more effective weapon still sounds like a fearful response to me:
1. Fear that someone will threaten your life in some way. While it does happen, it's not a certainty. 2. Fear that if you don't have a gun, that the criminal will AND that he/she will use it. 3. Fear that if you attempt to retaliate (which is the dumbest thing you can do) that anything but a gun won't suffice.
Personally, I'd prefer a "panic room" to a gun, take my chances with a baseball bat, or at worst, let the thief make off with my money or belongings. Most robberies are not violent crimes. In the rare event that someone actually breaks into my house with intent to kill, a gun won't do me a whole lot of good if I am still asleep or tied up. I, personally, prefer not to worry about it. There are more pressing dangers in my life than that. Keep in mind that I live in a "bad neighborhood" on the outskirts of Cleveland. Maybe I'm just jaded because I see and hear all sorts of things happening around me, or maybe I'm just not that scared.
The problem with all of the responses in favor of guns in the home so far is that they come from such deep and irrational fear. Sorry folks, but I'll take my chances with a baseball bat, before I would ever use a gun. So far, none of your "scenarios" have convinced me that I need a gun to feel safe. It sounds to me like you all have some fear issues that need to be worked out with good counselling.
Yes. Taking someone else's life (even in self-defense) is not something to take lightly. I'd much rather injure myself and someone else while preserving both lives. Even if that person WAS trying to kill me. Taking a life for any reason is never a triumph unless you have no internal code of law.
Gun ownership requires that the user be rational and controlled. Based on some of the posts here (my eralier ones included), I would say that this is nearly impossible for most Americans. The ideal way that a gun should be used (only as a last resort after ALL other options for self-defense have been exhausted.) is well-nigh impossible for any human being to do. The very fact that most gun owners consider themselves well trained, is just as frightening as the idiots on the road in SUV's who think everyone else is a bad driver.
You are correct sir. I was speaking of the session manager. However, It does appear that DEC Windows still doesn't allow modern clients to connect. I tried to get a Gnome 1.x session going, and both sides complained. However, xeyes worked. Disappointing to say the least. However, my reason for bringing it up earlier was that I have always thought it would be cool to have Open VMS running behind a desktop OS. A lot of people think that this was what NT was supposed to be because it, like VMS, was designed by Dave Cutler. While it shares some ideas, the original implementation was very different. And with MS's latest versions of "NT", they are all but lost.
I second that. Open VMS is a great OS. Although, HP claims that they are porting it to Itanium, I doubt we'll be seeing it much longer for newly installed bases. I just wish that Compaq or HP would really update Open VMS so it was a little more "modern". DEC Windows is pretty archaic at this point. It would be really great to get XFree86 and Gnome 2 or KDE running over top of Open VMS.:) Then maybe Open VMS could join the desktop wars.:0
I don't know how deep you plan to go in terms of building this: Just install a typical distro (RedHat, Mandrake, SuSE) or install something light and build X, KDE, Gnome, etc... But here's what I did:
I installed a VERY spare RedHat installation (No GUI or servers other than ssh and sendmail). I downloaded a tarball for the latest kernel at the time, 2.4.18, and compiled it with frame buffer support (so my ATI Radeon All-In-Wonder card would output to TV properly). Then I compiled my own XFree86, configured it to use the fbdev driver and installed Ximian and KDE 3.0 overtop of that. Finally, I installed a ton of libs for various media formats and finally compiled and installed mplayer. I have to say, it is THE best media player for Linux I've seen. Yes, I've gotten the error messages saying my system is too slow (P III with 768 Megs of RAM), but the program actually works fine. Combined with the gtk based GUI, MPlayer rocks! It's themable, has a nice OSD and the keyboard acts as a great controller for whatever meadia you are viewing/listening to. This all got built into a custom case and is sitting with the rest of my stereo equipment. Now, if only I could get ffmpeg to work, I could make it my PVR too!:) MPlayer rocks. I've tried Xine and vlc. While they work well, they don't have all the functionality that MPlayer does.
The fact that he can put together anyone...
on
eGovOS Running Again
·
· Score: 1
...is a little frightening. However, I suppose it could be useful if he were instructed to say "put together": Elizabeth Hurley, Jenna Jameison or Asia Carerra. Hopefully I will find a copy of one of them under my christmas tree.
What? Oh...
Put together "ANOTHER ONE"!
And I thought this was some kind of homegrown cloning system developed using OSS.
ALL MOTHER FUCKERS MUST DIE A FIREY DEATH TODAY!!!!!
Now that I've gotten that out of the way; My serious part of the post. The reasons that people use Linux instead of Windows have less to do with TCO than they do with security and open-ness. While Microsoft has improved to a certain extent by releasing patches more often, they still are not likely to be very open about potential exploits, and bugs. There is a quality and value in the free *NIXes that you will never get from Microsoft even with their "Shared Source" initiative.
The problem with the people who claim lower TCO is that they are leaving out some important factors in their projections. From the Microsoft point of view, a server (network or internet) should be a "set it and forget it" proposition. I think since Code Red and Nimda, they've had to accept that this isn't the case. To further the problem. The typical Windows admin wants a server to be a "set it and forget it" proposition. They are usually too busy doing other less technical things since they are usually employed to manage machines AND less skilled people. In the *NIX world, you might pay a lot more for one or two really good admins, but that's pretty much all you'll need for a small to midsized organization. The same is not true of Windows since everything seems to be less centralized. (The MS position: It's the desktop stupid!) Windows Terminal Server and Citrix could change this, but there aren't a lot of Windows admins that even grasp the concept of centralized applications and administration. What little they do grasp is hobbled by the "Easy to use" admin tools. When something REALLY breaks and they can't fix it from the GUI... it's time to call MS. However, a UNIX admin is much more likely to be able to solve the deeper problems that they may encounter in their chosen flavor. Additionally, many of the UNIX admins I know are extremely well equipped to handle Windows admin tasks (including the deeper level fixes) than their MCSE toting counterparts (I can speak since I am an MCSE AND a Sun, Tru64, Linux admin). More than likely the IDC results are weighted in favor of Microsoft and pay no regard to the different way of thinking that Linux and other open source projects encourage.
Semi off-topic: Let's talk about "Shared Source" for a minute while we're at this... While Microsoft is claiming that they want to build a "community" around Windows to keep up with the Open source movement, it's still restrictive. Look at it another way: You can choose to live in a REAL neighborhood or a "Gated Community". In the REAL neighborhood, not all of the houses match in terms of style. The landscaping varies. Some houses look better than others, and the residents can come from a variety of backgrounds. This type of neighborhood (with it's problems) allows more freedom in terms of what YOU as an individual can do with your house. In an ideal "Gated Community", there is no variance in the style of home (many are mirrors of each other). The landscaping is typically identical (and sparse). About the only thing you ARE free to do is change the internal look of your home, but you must conform to the style that everyone else has on the outside. Most people who live in gated communities don't have widely varying incomes and backgrounds. Most of them are professionals that make $50,000 and up. This kind of environment is really, truly limiting. This is identical to the "Shared Source" initiative. You can look at the source code, but you can't touch it. So you have to make your code conform to what Microsoft dictates. Even if Microsoft is wrong. Sorry, but that is just a model that gives lip service to "community". Microsoft will never be ab;e to compete in that arena. There is something to be said for open-ness.
By the standard of common sense of a non-partisan human being. There are different forms of work and accompanying difficulty. There is VERY little that a CEO does that could actually be considered mentally or physically challenging in their day-to-day when compared to real physical or mental labor. About the most strenuous thing they have to deal with occasionaly is public appearances and meetings with boards. The way I see it, the janitor should be paid at least what UNIX admin makes because both jobs are pretty much in the business of cleaning up the shit that their users input into the systems. -1 Troll +1 Funny
It has less to do with how much money the "higher ups" make, than it has to do with the amount of REAL work they do. I'd gladly demand that the janitors get paid more than I do, since they do the harder work. Would you want to clean the toilets that constipated, bloated geeks use and get paid less than them? Use your brain man.
We have Compaq iPaqs with 802.11b networking where I work. I got a chance to try one out last week. Using the command line is a pain with the on screen keyboard. There is no way I can really write scripts or code very easily or quickly with it. In fact, I've had more luck writing code/scripts on my alphnumberic pager. Since real techies have little or no need for PIM functionality, PDAs are essentially cool toys, but not real useful to a hardcore techie. I haven't seen many other people posting about thing. Most people seem to rave about being able to keep schedules and contacts. Maybe if you're a marketroid or management, that makes sense, but if you are a hardcore coder, it's useless. The only other way I think a PDA would be useful to a tech is as a portable storage device to transfer data. I think it would be cool to be able to carry source that you copied from a machine at home to work and vice versa. Of course it would be even better if you could edit the code on the bus to work.
Yeah. Sure. That's why M$ has RDP built into Windows XP for remote support. And it can be used by MS, or even by a relative that is knowledgable enough to help grandma or big sister/brother when they can't fix something. Sorry, remote support is one of the best things that Linux could have to offer if X was fully taken advantage of. Go elsewhere with your anti-X troll. Just because you don't know how to use X, doesn't mean it's the problem. YOU are the problem. Put forth a little effort and you will see how much X has to offer.
... that Windows XP Pro is going to outlive Windows XP home? Way to go M$! Screw the average consumer out of their hard earned money by forcing them to upgrade more frequently than the corporates. Simply more proof that big business loves big business and cares nothing about the average person.
Slashdot Mirror
This is admittedly OT, but... Can someone explain to me what the trolls mean by saying "You fail it"? I've noticed a bunch of trolls referring to FP posts with "you fail it" when the poster doesn't actually make an FP. But, do they mean that the poster failed to make FP, or is it a larger insult in that the person fails at everything? Any idea when it originated? I kind of like to follow troll history.
That's the problem with you "Nu Conservatives", you never accept the idea that some people just do what they do because they like to. A perfect example is my dentist. He has extremely reasonable prices and does a good job. When I go to him, I don't feel like I'm being ripped off. He's always said that the reason he's a dentist is because he loves the job. He's done some work at the local free clinic for the underpriveleged as well. When my insurance company decided to screw me and leave me without dental coverage because I wasn't in the "right" position at a former job, heis prices were reasonable enough that I could pay them out of pocket. Are you saying that there aren't lawyers out there who would do the same? Although lawyers get a bad rap, the truth is that it's just like any other profession, there are bad eggs and there are good eggs. There are bound to be some who would see this as a chance to exhibit their legal talents in a public forum and gain some fame. After all, money might be one thing to strive for, but what about fame? The only reason I work with computers is because I like to help the underpriveleged people in my community (public library users) get "connected". Any beyond that, there is the small degree of celebrity that I get for being a part of that program. So, screw off if you think that the only motivation to do something is just to make money. You are very likely leading a hollow existence if you believe that.
Homer sez: Mmmmmmm... tripe.
Actually, the original question may have been phrased a little incorrectly. He probably should have given a more explicit set of requirements for his application. If I was going to ask the question, I would require the following specifics:
1. Must use a connection type that is likely to still be in use 25 years from now. My vote would be ethernet, second choice 802.11b devices.
2. Requires random access for immediate retrieval of data. In today's world, no one has the time to wait for a stupid tape machine and/or it's accompanying software to locate a file to restore. It should be easily navigable with your chosen OS's file management system.
3. Storage units start at 500 Gigs to 1 T.
4. Inexpensive ($1200 for say a 500 Gig system)
Now... does that exist anywhere? No. Maybe in 15-20 years, but not now.
And this brings me to one other issue. Someone was telling me the other day to make sure that when I take my big trip to Australia this year that I take regular photos as well as my digital ones. This suggestion is based on the belief that the data from the digital camera has no permanence. That SHOULD be one more requirement for any archival storage system: an infinite shelf life. As it is, today's (and yesterday's) backup mediums all require a certain amount of expertise to deal with. If the systems aren't changed to make permanent, reliable and simple archives, then any data of ours that needs to be alive in 50, 100, or even 500 years will simply not be there. I think a large part of the problem is that "computer types" tend not to think to far into the future beyond their own lifespans. Hell... most of them don't even think beyond the next release of code!
That is exactly the reason I created this account. I love to put up insightful/informative posts that are laced with tons of profanity. I just get a kick out of watching people get pissed off that there IS useful information, but that there is also a lot of profanity. Just goes to show you that language means nothing. It's my way of getting back at the grammar nazis and the people who feel that informative/insightful mods should only go to people who don't use profanity. It's like they have some kind of weird disease that makes them think that just because some swears a whole FUCKING lot, mans that they don't have anything useful to say. This isn't true. Some of us just swear because it has style...
It sounds ilke guns are more of a recreational activity for you, which is fine as long as you use common sense. It sounds like you do. But the point that a gun is a more effective weapon still sounds like a fearful response to me:
1. Fear that someone will threaten your life in some way. While it does happen, it's not a certainty.
2. Fear that if you don't have a gun, that the criminal will AND that he/she will use it.
3. Fear that if you attempt to retaliate (which is the dumbest thing you can do) that anything but a gun won't suffice.
Personally, I'd prefer a "panic room" to a gun, take my chances with a baseball bat, or at worst, let the thief make off with my money or belongings. Most robberies are not violent crimes. In the rare event that someone actually breaks into my house with intent to kill, a gun won't do me a whole lot of good if I am still asleep or tied up. I, personally, prefer not to worry about it. There are more pressing dangers in my life than that. Keep in mind that I live in a "bad neighborhood" on the outskirts of Cleveland. Maybe I'm just jaded because I see and hear all sorts of things happening around me, or maybe I'm just not that scared.
The problem with all of the responses in favor of guns in the home so far is that they come from such deep and irrational fear. Sorry folks, but I'll take my chances with a baseball bat, before I would ever use a gun. So far, none of your "scenarios" have convinced me that I need a gun to feel safe. It sounds to me like you all have some fear issues that need to be worked out with good counselling.
Yes. Taking someone else's life (even in self-defense) is not something to take lightly. I'd much rather injure myself and someone else while preserving both lives. Even if that person WAS trying to kill me. Taking a life for any reason is never a triumph unless you have no internal code of law.
Shouldn't that be "excrete"?
Gun ownership requires that the user be rational and controlled. Based on some of the posts here (my eralier ones included), I would say that this is nearly impossible for most Americans. The ideal way that a gun should be used (only as a last resort after ALL other options for self-defense have been exhausted.) is well-nigh impossible for any human being to do. The very fact that most gun owners consider themselves well trained, is just as frightening as the idiots on the road in SUV's who think everyone else is a bad driver.
Have you ever heard of the "Complaint Generator"? I suspect this is a derivative work.
You are correct sir. I was speaking of the session manager. However, It does appear that DEC Windows still doesn't allow modern clients to connect. I tried to get a Gnome 1.x session going, and both sides complained. However, xeyes worked. Disappointing to say the least. However, my reason for bringing it up earlier was that I have always thought it would be cool to have Open VMS running behind a desktop OS. A lot of people think that this was what NT was supposed to be because it, like VMS, was designed by Dave Cutler. While it shares some ideas, the original implementation was very different. And with MS's latest versions of "NT", they are all but lost.
I second that. Open VMS is a great OS. Although, HP claims that they are porting it to Itanium, I doubt we'll be seeing it much longer for newly installed bases. I just wish that Compaq or HP would really update Open VMS so it was a little more "modern". DEC Windows is pretty archaic at this point. It would be really great to get XFree86 and Gnome 2 or KDE running over top of Open VMS. :) Then maybe Open VMS could join the desktop wars. :0
I don't know how deep you plan to go in terms of building this: Just install a typical distro (RedHat, Mandrake, SuSE) or install something light and build X, KDE, Gnome, etc... But here's what I did:
:) MPlayer rocks. I've tried Xine and vlc. While they work well, they don't have all the functionality that MPlayer does.
I installed a VERY spare RedHat installation (No GUI or servers other than ssh and sendmail).
I downloaded a tarball for the latest kernel at the time, 2.4.18, and compiled it with frame buffer support (so my ATI Radeon All-In-Wonder card would output to TV properly).
Then I compiled my own XFree86, configured it to use the fbdev driver and installed Ximian and KDE 3.0 overtop of that. Finally, I installed a ton of libs for various media formats and finally compiled and installed mplayer. I have to say, it is THE best media player for Linux I've seen. Yes, I've gotten the error messages saying my system is too slow (P III with 768 Megs of RAM), but the program actually works fine. Combined with the gtk based GUI, MPlayer rocks! It's themable, has a nice OSD and the keyboard acts as a great controller for whatever meadia you are viewing/listening to. This all got built into a custom case and is sitting with the rest of my stereo equipment. Now, if only I could get ffmpeg to work, I could make it my PVR too!
...is a little frightening. However, I suppose it could be useful if he were instructed to say "put together": Elizabeth Hurley, Jenna Jameison or Asia Carerra. Hopefully I will find a copy of one of them under my christmas tree.
What? Oh...
Put together "ANOTHER ONE"!
And I thought this was some kind of homegrown cloning system developed using OSS.
Woohoo!!! I have a fan! :P
So.. what is your opinion on the whole thing? Do you feel that the IDC stats are a sham, or does IDC speak the truth? Please try to remain on topic.
"Powered by Linux" indeed... I'm probably more powered by Linux than you'll ever be.
DIE DIE DIE BITCH DIE!!!!!!
ALL FUQERZ MUST DIE SLOW PAINFUL DEATHS NOW!!!!! KILL KILL!!!!!!
ALL MOTHER FUCKERS MUST DIE A FIREY DEATH TODAY!!!!!
Now that I've gotten that out of the way; My serious part of the post. The reasons that people use Linux instead of Windows have less to do with TCO than they do with security and open-ness. While Microsoft has improved to a certain extent by releasing patches more often, they still are not likely to be very open about potential exploits, and bugs. There is a quality and value in the free *NIXes that you will never get from Microsoft even with their "Shared Source" initiative.
The problem with the people who claim lower TCO is that they are leaving out some important factors in their projections. From the Microsoft point of view, a server (network or internet) should be a "set it and forget it" proposition. I think since Code Red and Nimda, they've had to accept that this isn't the case. To further the problem. The typical Windows admin wants a server to be a "set it and forget it" proposition. They are usually too busy doing other less technical things since they are usually employed to manage machines AND less skilled people. In the *NIX world, you might pay a lot more for one or two really good admins, but that's pretty much all you'll need for a small to midsized organization. The same is not true of Windows since everything seems to be less centralized. (The MS position: It's the desktop stupid!) Windows Terminal Server and Citrix could change this, but there aren't a lot of Windows admins that even grasp the concept of centralized applications and administration. What little they do grasp is hobbled by the "Easy to use" admin tools. When something REALLY breaks and they can't fix it from the GUI... it's time to call MS. However, a UNIX admin is much more likely to be able to solve the deeper problems that they may encounter in their chosen flavor. Additionally, many of the UNIX admins I know are extremely well equipped to handle Windows admin tasks (including the deeper level fixes) than their MCSE toting counterparts (I can speak since I am an MCSE AND a Sun, Tru64, Linux admin). More than likely the IDC results are weighted in favor of Microsoft and pay no regard to the different way of thinking that Linux and other open source projects encourage.
Semi off-topic:
Let's talk about "Shared Source" for a minute while we're at this... While Microsoft is claiming that they want to build a "community" around Windows to keep up with the Open source movement, it's still restrictive. Look at it another way:
You can choose to live in a REAL neighborhood or a "Gated Community". In the REAL neighborhood, not all of the houses match in terms of style. The landscaping varies. Some houses look better than others, and the residents can come from a variety of backgrounds. This type of neighborhood (with it's problems) allows more freedom in terms of what YOU as an individual can do with your house. In an ideal "Gated Community", there is no variance in the style of home (many are mirrors of each other). The landscaping is typically identical (and sparse). About the only thing you ARE free to do is change the internal look of your home, but you must conform to the style that everyone else has on the outside. Most people who live in gated communities don't have widely varying incomes and backgrounds. Most of them are professionals that make $50,000 and up. This kind of environment is really, truly limiting. This is identical to the "Shared Source" initiative. You can look at the source code, but you can't touch it. So you have to make your code conform to what Microsoft dictates. Even if Microsoft is wrong. Sorry, but that is just a model that gives lip service to "community". Microsoft will never be ab;e to compete in that arena. There is something to be said for open-ness.
OK? So DIE BITCHEZ, DIE!!!!!!
By the standard of common sense of a non-partisan human being. There are different forms of work and accompanying difficulty. There is VERY little that a CEO does that could actually be considered mentally or physically challenging in their day-to-day when compared to real physical or mental labor. About the most strenuous thing they have to deal with occasionaly is public appearances and meetings with boards. The way I see it, the janitor should be paid at least what UNIX admin makes because both jobs are pretty much in the business of cleaning up the shit that their users input into the systems. -1 Troll +1 Funny
Yes. Yes I am. Look at my earlier post.
It has less to do with how much money the "higher ups" make, than it has to do with the amount of REAL work they do. I'd gladly demand that the janitors get paid more than I do, since they do the harder work. Would you want to clean the toilets that constipated, bloated geeks use and get paid less than them? Use your brain man.
They might if they use Cygwin's X server, like I do.
You know... this is damn funny. Mod it up please!
We have Compaq iPaqs with 802.11b networking where I work. I got a chance to try one out last week. Using the command line is a pain with the on screen keyboard. There is no way I can really write scripts or code very easily or quickly with it. In fact, I've had more luck writing code/scripts on my alphnumberic pager. Since real techies have little or no need for PIM functionality, PDAs are essentially cool toys, but not real useful to a hardcore techie. I haven't seen many other people posting about thing. Most people seem to rave about being able to keep schedules and contacts. Maybe if you're a marketroid or management, that makes sense, but if you are a hardcore coder, it's useless. The only other way I think a PDA would be useful to a tech is as a portable storage device to transfer data. I think it would be cool to be able to carry source that you copied from a machine at home to work and vice versa. Of course it would be even better if you could edit the code on the bus to work.
Yeah. Sure. That's why M$ has RDP built into Windows XP for remote support. And it can be used by MS, or even by a relative that is knowledgable enough to help grandma or big sister/brother when they can't fix something. Sorry, remote support is one of the best things that Linux could have to offer if X was fully taken advantage of. Go elsewhere with your anti-X troll. Just because you don't know how to use X, doesn't mean it's the problem. YOU are the problem. Put forth a little effort and you will see how much X has to offer.
... that Windows XP Pro is going to outlive Windows XP home? Way to go M$! Screw the average consumer out of their hard earned money by forcing them to upgrade more frequently than the corporates. Simply more proof that big business loves big business and cares nothing about the average person.