Some make the point that it should perhaps be called GNU/X/Linux for those of you who use X. It is an interesting point.
Why not X/GNU/Linux? This seems logical, since X is sort of a "top-level" interface layer, with easy graphical access to simpler tasks; then we have the GNU tools, which allow more of a "nuts and bolts" interaction with the system (Linux). Oops, I almost forgot... calling it X/GNU/Linux doesn't give Stallman top billing.
Besides, typing out XFCE/X/GNU/Linux/AMD/VIA/Seagate whenever I wanted to refer to my system would send me straight to carpal tunnel hell.
So, in the interest of simplicity, I happily run Linux. But for all the Stallmanites out there, I'm certainly not forgetting about the importance of the GNU tools. I am keenly reminded of GNU's contributions while muddling about without them in the HP-UX systems at work.
My main question is: if this thing can do all that and cost $99.95, why does a Palm (whatever, V? VII?) do the same stuff and cost 3x as much?
Take a look at the specs. Let's compare with the Handspring Visor. ($179.00)
Main Processor: 32 bit, 11 MHz Hitachi H8S/2246 The Visor uses a 16MHz Motorola Dragonball EZ.
Coprocessor: Atmel AT90S2313, 4 MHz
RAM: 512 KB The Visor quadruples this, with 2MB.
Flash disk: 512 KB, extendible up to 1 MB None built-in on the Visor, but 8MB and 16MB flash modules are available.
LCD display: 160x100 dots, 59x40 mm, 4 level grayscale Visor's screen is 160x160, 53.34mm square, 16-level grayscale
RF transceiver: RF2915 -- Supposedly able to communicate over 300 feet. Visor uses IR to communicate between units. In my experience, this is limited to a 4-foot line-of-sight between the units' IR lenses.
Expansion cartridge slot: 68-pin Springboard slot, lots of gizmos available.
PC connection socket: RS232 serial port Visor's USB cradle is faster.
Size: 5.7" x 2.8" x 0.86" Visor is 4.8" x 3.0" x 0.7"
Weight: 4.3 oz Visor is actually heavier, at 5.4 oz.
The storage capacity seems to be the big factor. 512K isn't a whole lot of room to work with.
I still want one. I can see a lot of nifty applications for this, particularly once the Cybiko Wireless Internet Gates are available (see Xunker's post below).
You'll just have to find the next quotable wünder-kid to spice up your stories;)
How DARE he?! Linus's quotes and interviews make magazines sell like hotcakes! If he steps down, he'll CRIPPLE the publishing industry!
See how stupid this sort of thing is?
Linux is Linus's creation, and he can do whatever he wants with it. He obviously didn't intend it to be a moneymaking venture, or he wouldn't have brought the GPL anywhere near it.
The fact that the GPL is involved, though, means that businesses can fork Linux until they're blue in the collective face. They can include modified versions of the kernel with their products, and they can do their own developlent (as long as they release the source code). Basically, within the restrictions of the GPL, they can do whatever they want.
But they have no right to expect Linus to bend to their [irrelevant] wills. As the originator of Linux, he is universally recognized as the authority on the OS. He has retained the right to decide what goes into the "official" version of the Linux kernel, and he will have that right until he passes it to someone else, or just lets it drop (which is also his right, if he chooses).
So, the business interests can come off it. The official kernel release is Linus's show, and he'll run it his way.
... and people wonder why there are no decent browsers. How can browsers be compliant with the W3C standards if said standards change every other week? If the W3C would just quit twiddling around with stuff, perhaps we could get a few browsers written, debugged, and working properly before the spec changed yet again.
you are free to not enter into contracts with those big bad corporations...
... For now. If the corporations had their way, nearly everything we experience in a day would come complete with an implicit license agreement. For every word you read, every song you hear, etc., it would be understood that "you may not record, reproduce, remember, and/or repeat the words, lyrics, meter, tune, or any other linguistic or rhythmic characteristics of this work." One can just hear L. Bob Rife screaming at the top of his lungs, "Dammit! They don't have any right to that information!"
Not ass, OS. You lefties need to realise that accurate spelling is not an oppressive sign of the man's dominance.
If I had the points right now, I'd mod that up with a "funny". I'm probably one of the biggest spelling nazis on the face of the planet. Also, I'm not even close to being a lefty.
"Sir, sensors indicate his shirt is in location F4 and his pants are in location F7, and that his shoes are in location E1"
"What?!"
"Well, it seems that Ms. Jones' clothing is scattered about in a similar fashion. Blouse in location F7, skirt in F4... but her shoes, and all of their undergarments, are in location F5."
"This is outrageous! What does it all mean?"
"Apparently, sir, she sunk his Battleship."
(Sorry, I couldn't resist)
--LordEq
Cool poster screwed up by corporate censorship!
on
Quickie Twister
·
· Score: 1
> Oh, and the MP3 propoganda at Modern Humorist
> is pretty sweet too...
Aaagh! Why'd they change it? The original graphic said "A reminder from the Recording Industry Association of America" at the bottom. The poster says "A reminder from <ugly-script>Your</ugly-script> Recording Industry".
Had they not wimped out^W^Wchanged it like that, I would have bought a bunch of them.
> I have to say that as a sega employee this
> really wouldnt surprise me... their 1st aprty
> games and our network and we'll beat every other
> company out there...it is definitly a huge
> advantage.
I wonder how the higher-ups in each company feel about this. Are they all for it, or do they see it as a necessary evil?
A few years ago, when a Nintendo-Sega merger was a ridiculous idea, that very thing became a topic of discussion among my friends. I had this mental picture of the big announcement in Electronic Gaming Monthly. The cover art would feature Luigi and Tails all smiles and shaking hands, while Mario and Sonic stood off to the sides, with backs turned and arms crossed...
Don't they realize that the best ads for their album would be the songs themselves? If I download music that I like, I tend to go out and buy the CD. I support artists that I like; and, in the process, I acquire a CD-perfect copy of the music.
It's the exact same principle that has allowed the recorded music industry to survive, despite the existence of the radio and the tape deck. A second-hand copy, broadcast over the airwaves (or the 'net), complete with static (or CPU hiccups, courtesy of that eye-candy screensaver) just isn't good enough for the serious music fan. But it IS good enough to get the point across.
> To keep keyboards spruce, office cleaning
> firms recommend that people regularly hold
> their keyboard upside down and shake them
> vigorously to dislodge the debris.
> Alternatively, users can remove the keys, and
> vacuum, blow or shake off the dirt beneath.
Amateurs.
1. Disassemble keyboard. Take EVERYTHING apart.
2. Wash case pieces in warm soapy water.
3a. Wash keycaps in warm soapy water, or
3b. Swab down keycaps, inside and out, with isopropyl alcohol.
4. Rinse that sheet of "rubber nipples" in warm water. (soap optional)
5. Wipe down the plastic circuit membranes with isopropyl alcohol. (alcohol prep pads from medical supply stores work great -- I perfected this technique while working at a hospital)
6. Allow everything to dry thoroughly.
7. Reassemble keyboard.
This works for about 90% of keyboards out there. I haven't figured out how to clean my glorious old PS/2 keyboard yet, though, mainly because I'm afraid I'll break it. It would be *impossible* to find a suitable replacement.
Why there was anything there to subpoena? Any halfway security-conscious organization should be shredding all dead-tree memos and deleting all email messages relating to internal matters as soon as they have served their purpose. Read, remember... and destroy.
It was incredibly lax of the Napster folks to allow this stuff to even exist long enough to be acquired.
Just how did the RIAA get access to Napster's internal communications? Certainly the Napster guys didn't say, "Here, we want you to have these copies of our memos. And while we're at it, have some copies of our e-mail messages, too..."
Jeez, people. What's wrong with revisiting a subject every now and then? I didn't remember this thing from October, and I'm willing to bet that there are some others who didn't remember either. Not to mention that Slashdot might have gotten some new readers since that story got rotated off the index page...
It's not such a bad thing. If nothing else, all the people who saw it the first time get to swap stories about what they've done with the thing.
France declares war on U.S. (even clones Napoleon to lead the French armies)
U.S. conquers France within twelve-and-a-half minutes, changes the official language of France to Lojban, and gives the land to Canada free of charge, on the condition that the French language be outlawed in Quebec.
> The tiny snake, just 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) in > diameter, could be used to inspect gas lines > here on Earth as well. Marzwell said the snake > could use the pressure of the gas within the > pipeline to turn a tiny turbine to produce its > own electricity.
Does anyone else here see the problem with sending an electrical generator into a gas line?
> In fact, I think most Slashdotters listen to > pretty shitty music... Except for Cowboy Neal, > who likes the Grateful Dead.
I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. I always hear people worshipping the Dead, talking about how awesome Jerry Garcia was, etc. I've listened to their stuff. I don't see what's so impressive about it. Help me out here.
(No offense meant to the people who like their music... I'm just wondering what the attraction is.)
> Be are simply doing this for marketing reasons > and not from any type of kindess or good-will.
Of course they are. BeOS is a commercial product, still fairly new on the scene. Most people only know of Microsoft. Be would certainly do anything to give them an edge over the crew at Redmond. And, in my opinion, they have done the best thing that they could do. By releasing a fully functional version of their OS as free for personal use, they are gaining a massive audience and potential customer base (that is, everyone in the world whose ears perk up at the prospect of getting something for free).
This, however, is only the beginning. Once people see the basic version in action, things will begin to happen. So-called "power users" will get curious about the bells and whistles available in the for-sale version... those who are really impressed will buy a copy to show their support (and to fund further development)... those steeped in the hyper-commercial eighties/nineties/naughties culture will buy a copy because the freebie "feels wrong to them", or some similar nonsense... and when the CEO, CIO, or CFO sees what h[is/er] kid has downloaded, starts playing with it, and likes it... BeOS might find its way onto quite a few desktops in the business space as well.
> They realise that their OS is regarded as an > inferior product with little support and a very > small user base, and as such are trying to > increase their share of the OS market through > this publicity stunt.
Who have you been talking to? By all accounts that I've heard, BeOS is a well-designed and well-implemented OS that has made astounding progress in such a short time. Of course its user base is small compared to, say, Microsoft's... but that is why Be is using this marketing tactic (or "publicity stunt", as you misjudge it).
> Until Be show that they are truly commited to > the community by releasing the source code for > BeOS then I think we should boycott this as we > should any other closed-source product. If we > blindly rush to download BeOS then you are > tacitly supporting closed-source applications > and OSes, and thus harming the open-source > movement.
Be is NOT committed to the [open-source] community. They are committed to developing, producing, and marketing their product, as is any commercial venture. At least Be is choosing to do it by developing a quality product and increasing its visibility to as wide an audience as possible. Certain other companies take much easier ways out (e.g. leveraging monopoly power to push low-quality product).
Everything has its place, ye zealot. Supporting a quality product, even if it is closed-source, is not harming the Open Source movement.
> They have had the trademark for 50 years, and > you register "coke.ch" because its cool? so you > can battle?
No. Read the post, genius. He didn't register coke.ch because it's "cool"; he registered it because coke (cocaine) is/was the subject matter of the pages on the site.
> Have fun. Next time, be more original.
What would you suggest? "cocaine-killed-my-friend-and-i-dont-want-it-to-ha ppen-to-anyone-else.ch"? Give the guy a break. He was trying to do some good, and all he gets for his efforts is a megacorp shitting on him. God bless America.
For my part, I think I'm going to stick to Mountain Dew until the suits at Coca-Cola Corp. decide to grow a brain (or at least a conscience).
God forbid. Clear Channel Broadcasting is becoming the Microsoft of the radio/television industry. Their purchase of the.cc TLD is their attempt to push a tentacle into yet another medium. For this reason, I personally wouldn't have a.cc domain -- even if was the last domain name ever to be assigned, and I was given first crack at it.
Slashdot Mirror
Some make the point that it should perhaps be called GNU/X/Linux for those of you who use X. It is an interesting point.
Why not X/GNU/Linux? This seems logical, since X is sort of a "top-level" interface layer, with easy graphical access to simpler tasks; then we have the GNU tools, which allow more of a "nuts and bolts" interaction with the system (Linux). Oops, I almost forgot... calling it X/GNU/Linux doesn't give Stallman top billing.
Besides, typing out XFCE/X/GNU/Linux/AMD/VIA/Seagate whenever I wanted to refer to my system would send me straight to carpal tunnel hell.
So, in the interest of simplicity, I happily run Linux. But for all the Stallmanites out there, I'm certainly not forgetting about the importance of the GNU tools. I am keenly reminded of GNU's contributions while muddling about without them in the HP-UX systems at work.
--LordEq
Tho' your promise count for nothing
Who is to say God didn't brew the primodial stew...
Mmmm... primordial brew. I like that.
--LordEq
Tho' your promise count for nothing
My main question is: if this thing can do all that and cost $99.95, why does a Palm (whatever, V? VII?) do the same stuff and cost 3x as much?
Take a look at the specs. Let's compare with the Handspring Visor. ($179.00)
The Visor uses a 16MHz Motorola Dragonball EZ.
The Visor quadruples this, with 2MB.
None built-in on the Visor, but 8MB and 16MB flash modules are available.
Visor's screen is 160x160, 53.34mm square, 16-level grayscale
Visor uses IR to communicate between units. In my experience, this is limited to a 4-foot line-of-sight between the units' IR lenses.
Springboard slot, lots of gizmos available.
Visor's USB cradle is faster.
Visor is 4.8" x 3.0" x 0.7"
Visor is actually heavier, at 5.4 oz.
The storage capacity seems to be the big factor. 512K isn't a whole lot of room to work with.
I still want one. I can see a lot of nifty applications for this, particularly once the Cybiko Wireless Internet Gates are available (see Xunker's post below).
--LordEq
Tho' your promise count for nothing
You'll just have to find the next quotable wünder-kid to spice up your stories ;)
How DARE he?! Linus's quotes and interviews make magazines sell like hotcakes! If he steps down, he'll CRIPPLE the publishing industry!
See how stupid this sort of thing is?
Linux is Linus's creation, and he can do whatever he wants with it. He obviously didn't intend it to be a moneymaking venture, or he wouldn't have brought the GPL anywhere near it.
The fact that the GPL is involved, though, means that businesses can fork Linux until they're blue in the collective face. They can include modified versions of the kernel with their products, and they can do their own developlent (as long as they release the source code). Basically, within the restrictions of the GPL, they can do whatever they want.
But they have no right to expect Linus to bend to their [irrelevant] wills. As the originator of Linux, he is universally recognized as the authority on the OS. He has retained the right to decide what goes into the "official" version of the Linux kernel, and he will have that right until he passes it to someone else, or just lets it drop (which is also his right, if he chooses).
So, the business interests can come off it. The official kernel release is Linus's show, and he'll run it his way.
--LordEq
Tho' your promise count for nothing
... and people wonder why there are no decent browsers. How can browsers be compliant with the W3C standards if said standards change every other week? If the W3C would just quit twiddling around with stuff, perhaps we could get a few browsers written, debugged, and working properly before the spec changed yet again.
--LordEq
Tho' your promise count for nothing
you are free to not enter into contracts with those big bad corporations...
... For now. If the corporations had their way, nearly everything we experience in a day would come complete with an implicit license agreement. For every word you read, every song you hear, etc., it would be understood that "you may not record, reproduce, remember, and/or repeat the words, lyrics, meter, tune, or any other linguistic or rhythmic characteristics of this work." One can just hear L. Bob Rife screaming at the top of his lungs, "Dammit! They don't have any right to that information!"
--LordEq
Tho' your promise count for nothing
(Hangs head in emabersment.....)
Hold your head high, friend. Thinking in octal is nothing to be ashamed of.
--LordEq
Tho' your promise count for nothing
If I had the points right now, I'd mod that up with a "funny". I'm probably one of the biggest spelling nazis on the face of the planet. Also, I'm not even close to being a lefty.
Good comeback, though.
--LordEq
Tho' your promise count for nothing
Yes.
--LordEq
"Sir, sensors indicate his shirt is in location F4 and his pants are in location F7, and that his shoes are in location E1"
"What?!"
"Well, it seems that Ms. Jones' clothing is scattered about in a similar fashion. Blouse in location F7, skirt in F4... but her shoes, and all of their undergarments, are in location F5."
"This is outrageous! What does it all mean?"
"Apparently, sir, she sunk his Battleship."
(Sorry, I couldn't resist)
--LordEq
> Oh, and the MP3 propoganda at Modern Humorist
> is pretty sweet too...
Aaagh! Why'd they change it? The original graphic said "A reminder from the Recording Industry Association of America" at the bottom. The poster says "A reminder from <ugly-script>Your</ugly-script> Recording Industry".
Had they not wimped out^W^Wchanged it like that, I would have bought a bunch of them.
--LordEq
> I have to say that as a sega employee this
> really wouldnt surprise me... their 1st aprty
> games and our network and we'll beat every other
> company out there...it is definitly a huge
> advantage.
I wonder how the higher-ups in each company feel about this. Are they all for it, or do they see it as a necessary evil?
A few years ago, when a Nintendo-Sega merger was a ridiculous idea, that very thing became a topic of discussion among my friends. I had this mental picture of the big announcement in Electronic Gaming Monthly. The cover art would feature Luigi and Tails all smiles and shaking hands, while Mario and Sonic stood off to the sides, with backs turned and arms crossed...
--LordEq
> Which begs the question: why are you targeting
> a handheld device if what you really want is
> a desktop?
Portability. Remember what they're trying to do here -- gather information at the scene of an accident.
Laptops might be a workable option, but an embedded system would be preferable (no disk access time). When you work for EMS, seconds count.
--LordEq
Don't they realize that the best ads for their album would be the songs themselves? If I download music that I like, I tend to go out and buy the CD. I support artists that I like; and, in the process, I acquire a CD-perfect copy of the music.
It's the exact same principle that has allowed the recorded music industry to survive, despite the existence of the radio and the tape deck. A second-hand copy, broadcast over the airwaves (or the 'net), complete with static (or CPU hiccups, courtesy of that eye-candy screensaver) just isn't good enough for the serious music fan. But it IS good enough to get the point across.
--LordEq
> To keep keyboards spruce, office cleaning
> firms recommend that people regularly hold
> their keyboard upside down and shake them
> vigorously to dislodge the debris.
> Alternatively, users can remove the keys, and
> vacuum, blow or shake off the dirt beneath.
Amateurs.
1. Disassemble keyboard. Take EVERYTHING apart.
2. Wash case pieces in warm soapy water.
3a. Wash keycaps in warm soapy water, or
3b. Swab down keycaps, inside and out, with isopropyl alcohol.
4. Rinse that sheet of "rubber nipples" in warm water. (soap optional)
5. Wipe down the plastic circuit membranes with isopropyl alcohol. (alcohol prep pads from medical supply stores work great -- I perfected this technique while working at a hospital)
6. Allow everything to dry thoroughly.
7. Reassemble keyboard.
This works for about 90% of keyboards out there. I haven't figured out how to clean my glorious old PS/2 keyboard yet, though, mainly because I'm afraid I'll break it. It would be *impossible* to find a suitable replacement.
--LordEq
> How many licks it takes to get to the center of
> a tootsie pop.
534, for a chocolate-flavored one. Don't know about the fruity ones.
> After that, how many hairs do I have on my head?
Which head?
--LordEq
Why there was anything there to subpoena? Any halfway security-conscious organization should be shredding all dead-tree memos and deleting all email messages relating to internal matters as soon as they have served their purpose. Read, remember... and destroy.
It was incredibly lax of the Napster folks to allow this stuff to even exist long enough to be acquired.
--LordEq
Just how did the RIAA get access to Napster's internal communications? Certainly the Napster guys didn't say, "Here, we want you to have these copies of our memos. And while we're at it, have some copies of our e-mail messages, too..."
--LordEq
Jeez, people. What's wrong with revisiting a subject every now and then? I didn't remember this thing from October, and I'm willing to bet that there are some others who didn't remember either. Not to mention that Slashdot might have gotten some new readers since that story got rotated off the index page...
It's not such a bad thing. If nothing else, all the people who saw it the first time get to swap stories about what they've done with the thing.
Quit looking for stuff to gripe about.
--LordEq
- France bosses U.S. around.
- U.S. ignores France.
- France declares war on U.S. (even clones Napoleon to lead the French armies)
- U.S. conquers France within twelve-and-a-half minutes, changes the official language of France to Lojban, and gives the land to Canada free of charge, on the condition that the French language be outlawed in Quebec.
Problem solved.--LordEq
> The tiny snake, just 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) in
> diameter, could be used to inspect gas lines
> here on Earth as well. Marzwell said the snake
> could use the pressure of the gas within the
> pipeline to turn a tiny turbine to produce its
> own electricity.
Does anyone else here see the problem with sending an electrical generator into a gas line?
--LordEq
> In fact, I think most Slashdotters listen to
> pretty shitty music... Except for Cowboy Neal,
> who likes the Grateful Dead.
I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. I always hear people worshipping the Dead, talking about how awesome Jerry Garcia was, etc. I've listened to their stuff. I don't see what's so impressive about it. Help me out here.
(No offense meant to the people who like their music... I'm just wondering what the attraction is.)
--LordEq
> Be are simply doing this for marketing reasons
> and not from any type of kindess or good-will.
Of course they are. BeOS is a commercial product, still fairly new on the scene. Most people only know of Microsoft. Be would certainly do anything to give them an edge over the crew at Redmond. And, in my opinion, they have done the best thing that they could do. By releasing a fully functional version of their OS as free for personal use, they are gaining a massive audience and potential customer base (that is, everyone in the world whose ears perk up at the prospect of getting something for free).
This, however, is only the beginning. Once people see the basic version in action, things will begin to happen. So-called "power users" will get curious about the bells and whistles available in the for-sale version... those who are really impressed will buy a copy to show their support (and to fund further development)... those steeped in the hyper-commercial eighties/nineties/naughties culture will buy a copy because the freebie "feels wrong to them", or some similar nonsense... and when the CEO, CIO, or CFO sees what h[is/er] kid has downloaded, starts playing with it, and likes it... BeOS might find its way onto quite a few desktops in the business space as well.
> They realise that their OS is regarded as an
> inferior product with little support and a very
> small user base, and as such are trying to
> increase their share of the OS market through
> this publicity stunt.
Who have you been talking to? By all accounts that I've heard, BeOS is a well-designed and well-implemented OS that has made astounding progress in such a short time. Of course its user base is small compared to, say, Microsoft's... but that is why Be is using this marketing tactic (or "publicity stunt", as you misjudge it).
> Until Be show that they are truly commited to
> the community by releasing the source code for
> BeOS then I think we should boycott this as we
> should any other closed-source product. If we
> blindly rush to download BeOS then you are
> tacitly supporting closed-source applications
> and OSes, and thus harming the open-source
> movement.
Be is NOT committed to the [open-source] community. They are committed to developing, producing, and marketing their product, as is any commercial venture. At least Be is choosing to do it by developing a quality product and increasing its visibility to as wide an audience as possible. Certain other companies take much easier ways out (e.g. leveraging monopoly power to push low-quality product).
Everything has its place, ye zealot. Supporting a quality product, even if it is closed-source, is not harming the Open Source movement.
Lighten up.
--LordEq
> They have had the trademark for 50 years, and
a ppen-to-anyone-else.ch"? Give the guy a break. He was trying to do some good, and all he gets for his efforts is a megacorp shitting on him. God bless America.
> you register "coke.ch" because its cool? so you
> can battle?
No. Read the post, genius. He didn't register coke.ch because it's "cool"; he registered it because coke (cocaine) is/was the subject matter of the pages on the site.
> Have fun. Next time, be more original.
What would you suggest? "cocaine-killed-my-friend-and-i-dont-want-it-to-h
For my part, I think I'm going to stick to Mountain Dew until the suits at Coca-Cola Corp. decide to grow a brain (or at least a conscience).
--LordEq
> What, OpenSSH.cc was taken too?
.cc TLD is their attempt to push a tentacle into yet another medium. For this reason, I personally wouldn't have a .cc domain -- even if was the last domain name ever to be assigned, and I was given first crack at it.
God forbid. Clear Channel Broadcasting is becoming the Microsoft of the radio/television industry. Their purchase of the
--LordEq