I, for one, welcome competent people but I do give a damn what plumbing they've got...but it doesn't affect my opinion of their competence.
When people make hurtful personal remarks, sure, that's immature, and shouldn't enter into a discussion on what is basically a profile of a person as a hacker. I'm equally offended when people make fun of RMSs beard or Tron dude's camel toe..
I find girls more attractive than guys. I don't think she's a better hacker (well..maybe a better social-engineer:o) just because I think she's attractive. Likewise, I don't think RMS is any less of a hacker just because I don't find him attractive(I'm sure he'll be upset:o)
Hopefully this whole series will give the "mainstream" a kick in the sternum by challenging their pre-conceptions about 'hackers'. They've certainly picked a great opener.
I don't instinctively fault the manufacturer for not having it. Why? Because for I'm not really expecting a driver from them. Who's forcing them to? Why would they bother?
Why? Why not?
Q: Why do they write drivers for Windows?
A: Because the people who buy their products probably use a Microsoft OS.
You..yes YOU, their customer don't use a Microsoft OS, you..yes YOU, are what keeps them in business. Regardless of what operating system you use, YOU are a customer. If I couldn't get some hardware of mine supported, be it in Windows or GNU/Linux, I'd be pissed off.
As it is, I've got a USB Packard-Bell multi-card reader, a Fuji digital camera which hooks up using USB, and a USB HP Printer (with drivers by HP) all of which work. All of which were no hassle to install, though I am reasonably competent.
Can you say by only checking the manufacturer's site if it will work on linux?
How is this anyone's fault but the manufacturers? How hard is it, at the very least, to say "unsupported in Linux", or "unofficial drivers here"? This is the manufacturers dropping the ball here and no-one else.
I don't understand this at all,you say you steer your mother away from buying unsupported hardware, how can you not extend this to GNU/Linux? You seem to accept that some hardware is not supported/has poor support in Windows, but see it as less of a problem than unsupported hardware in GNU/Linux.
Installing CUPS or uncommenting modprobe usb-storage(or whatever) from/etc/rc.d/rc.modules is NOT something that I'd expect my parents to be able to do. BUT, that is well within the capabilities of someone writing a software installer for a printer/camera etc.
GNU/Linux is ready for your parents if you can set it up for them. If you can't, which it seems is the position you're in, get them a Windows PC or a Mac.
Off the bat, let me say..the closest I've got to insurance is buying it and a quotes system we wrote for a uni project.
If I *know* someone isn't going to crash their car, then I can offer them a premium as low as you like, if it covers my costs and perhaps a little profit. And I'll be undercutting the people who aren't sure whether that person will crash their car. This should be the position OSRM are in surely?
Likewise, I only offer to insure their car up to it's agreed value, if another insurer doesn't know the value of their car, then they might insure it for more than it's worth, further raising the premium they charge. This should be the position OSRM are in surely?
If this expert knowledge doesn't give them enough edge to offer a lower price, then I share your concerns for the viability of their endeavour.
My understanding of insurance is offering to bear a risk for monetary compensation. If there is no risk, why should anyone want to pay someone to take 0 risk off their hands?
I share your supsicions BUT... Although I'm not privy to the facts, I'm not sure why it *couldn't* be "black and white", consider that the following has to be true for the code to be infringing on copyrights.
If X's code *is* in the kernel AND X actually owns the copyright(!) AND If that code is not legally GPL'd/BSD'd AND the code passes $patent_tests*.
X's *claims* to own copyrights may be blatantly false,e.g. certain claims of SCO's have been vehemently debunked by Linus himself, because he wrote it.
If a company "accidentally" releases code under the GPL then, as far as I understand it, they have to STFU, accept their losses, go home and listen to Morissey.
If an employee of company X GPL'd code illegally, then that's another matter. But doesn't some element of Good Faith(tm) enter into it? Perhaps some resident IAAL/IANALBIPOOTV could ellucidate.
*If the code is trivial or obvious, two developers may well come up with the same solution independently. They may eben^H^H^Hven use the same variable names if it's trivial and obvious, or, they are complying with some standard etc..
I'm no expert on writing device drivers...but I hear that it's easier to develop them when you have 1 or both of:
The full specs.
The hardware you're writing the driver for
I might even go so far as to say that the second is neccessary....but again I'm no expert.
If I had some obscure piece of hardware for which there was no support, then I might be tempted to have a go at a driver, but I have very little motivation to do the same for someone else's hardware. If someone wanted me to, the very least that I'd expect is a donation of hardware.
GNU/Linux can support the soundcards, but it doesn't, because the right people don't have the problem and the wrong people do.
To paraphrase Linus, "It is not my intention to bring about the downfall of Microsoft. That will be an entirely unintentional side-effect."
Major distributions, while they have some incentive to support peoples' more esoteric hardware, are more likely to support mainstream hardware and the hardware of large contributors.
Unfortunately, most solutions to the problem you raise involve putting your hand in your pocket, or only buying from vendors who support your operating system of choice.
I may be on my own here...but all of those look like horrible, horrible FUD. There's lots of idle speculation and outright bollocks, but no real arguments.
Example 1: "Microsoft and Yahoo might actually try and compete with Google."
WHAT THE JIMMINY-BILLY-BOB-BING? You mean all this time Yahoo was just having a jolly old time of playing at search engines and not really trying to compete with Google? Well, maybe I should just bow down at the feet of Mr. Ali Baba PhD, he obviously knows something I don't...
Example 2:"Google's reported 50% margin with its AdSence (displaying Google ads on third party sites) is unsustainably high for a middleman. Competitors will offer similar services in the future, taking less of a cut."
I don't get it..people are paying for Google's service, if there was a cheaper alternative, I'm sure they'd jump ship, but there isn't. By the time there is, Google will have raised the bar and lowered the price.
Example 3:"Half the Internet entrepreneurs that I have known have brainstormed starting a search engine business, most quickly abandoning the thought.But as the costs of technology and software fall (#2 and #3) more Internet entrepreneurs may start search engines leading to a competitive and innovative search industry."
HA! HAHA!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
I especially like number 2 and 3, where he tries to talk about the cost of entry and outsourcing. Capital, my dear Steve Baba, just capital. Maybe you should look into trading in your Ph.D. for a Clue(tm).
In soviet england we have this ability too...well I do anyway. I'm even thinking of putting it on my CV.
Even when I'm at the stage of having to steady myself on walls, taking 2 steps back for every 3 I take forward and frequently falling into bushes/the road, I can always find my way home.
I don't secretly fancy them, I'll readily admit that I find women with curves more attractive than impossibly waif-like, 13-year-old girl, no-hips, looking models.
Having a different body-shape is not a flaw, and the sooner people realise this the better off we'll all be.
"I felt sorry for all the guys packing into gyms, trying to look like what Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger said they should." - Jack
Sometimes, I wonder if some people's dislike of geeks is just something that has been imposed on us by society. How many of us secretly admire them, but are too afraid to admit it to anyone? Does this perceived dislike end up giving more intelligent people a lower self-esteem, making them less sociable, and re-inforcing the stereotype? According to this article, a geek started a business as a prank, but ended up becoming the richest man in the world, but was later disqualified because people preferred stylish furniture.
In the days of old, geeks used to be considered most attractive. Perhaps being intelligent was a symbol of fertility, and to maximise your chances of passing on your genes, you tended to look for a more intelligent man. Now-a-days, people just want to get laid, so maybe they subconciously look for men who are un-fertile.
Re:Aren't we still in an Ice Age?
on
A New Ice Age?
·
· Score: 1
Unless you're eaten by a white lion which is only alive because we want to gawk at them....
Also, does a lightning strike still count as all_natural if you're out playing golf in a thunderstorm?:o)
A good solution might be for the local LUG to donate hardware/free time. They keep a collection of Free Software on the machine which can be burnt to a user-provided CD with the click of a button.
This is probably characteristically idealistic of me..but that's the kind of guy I am.
I haven't seen anyone bring this up, on this story or otherwise...but I read in New Scientist last year about functional MRI being the phrenology of our time. I can't find reference to it on the website, but a google returns this among others.
Slashdot Mirror
Am I the only one who doesn't know what ORSM means?
Am going to donate when I get my next Student Loan check next Monday, today however I shall buy milk and noodles.
:o)
Hopefully when I graduate I'll have something worthy of protection by the EFF. Ha!
Resume link in the menu of http://www.oneeyedcrow.net/ is broken, but the one in the body of your About Me page is just dandy. :o)
I, for one, welcome competent people but I do give a damn what plumbing they've got...but it doesn't affect my opinion of their competence.
When people make hurtful personal remarks, sure, that's immature, and shouldn't enter into a discussion on what is basically a profile of a person as a hacker. I'm equally offended when people make fun of RMSs beard or Tron dude's camel toe..
I find girls more attractive than guys. I don't think she's a better hacker (well..maybe a better social-engineer:o) just because I think she's attractive. Likewise, I don't think RMS is any less of a hacker just because I don't find him attractive(I'm sure he'll be upset:o)
But people do notice these things, and in an environment where anonymity is so readily available, you can't expect them not to pass comment.
Hopefully this whole series will give the "mainstream" a kick in the sternum by challenging their pre-conceptions about 'hackers'. They've certainly picked a great opener.
We all know hackers are physically unfit males aged 13-19 with pasty faces and no social skills. :o)
Didn't she just say she objected to comments about her...oh..."boots"...nm.
Q: Why do they write drivers for Windows?
A: Because the people who buy their products probably use a Microsoft OS.
You..yes YOU, their customer don't use a Microsoft OS, you..yes YOU, are what keeps them in business. Regardless of what operating system you use, YOU are a customer. If I couldn't get some hardware of mine supported, be it in Windows or GNU/Linux, I'd be pissed off.
As it is, I've got a USB Packard-Bell multi-card reader, a Fuji digital camera which hooks up using USB, and a USB HP Printer (with drivers by HP) all of which work. All of which were no hassle to install, though I am reasonably competent. How is this anyone's fault but the manufacturers? How hard is it, at the very least, to say "unsupported in Linux", or "unofficial drivers here"? This is the manufacturers dropping the ball here and no-one else.
I don't understand this at all,you say you steer your mother away from buying unsupported hardware, how can you not extend this to GNU/Linux? You seem to accept that some hardware is not supported/has poor support in Windows, but see it as less of a problem than unsupported hardware in GNU/Linux.
Installing CUPS or uncommenting modprobe usb-storage(or whatever) from
GNU/Linux is ready for your parents if you can set it up for them. If you can't, which it seems is the position you're in, get them a Windows PC or a Mac.
He really loves a drink too, apparently he has 3 months of drinking and 1 month off(to avoid getting too dependent and give the liver a rest).
He may have caused me hours of anguish being dragged round Ikea, but he's still my No.1 favourite richest man in the world ever.
Off the bat, let me say..the closest I've got to insurance is buying it and a quotes system we wrote for a uni project.
If I *know* someone isn't going to crash their car, then I can offer them a premium as low as you like, if it covers my costs and perhaps a little profit. And I'll be undercutting the people who aren't sure whether that person will crash their car.
This should be the position OSRM are in surely?
Likewise, I only offer to insure their car up to it's agreed value, if another insurer doesn't know the value of their car, then they might insure it for more than it's worth, further raising the premium they charge.
This should be the position OSRM are in surely?
If this expert knowledge doesn't give them enough edge to offer a lower price, then I share your concerns for the viability of their endeavour.
My understanding of insurance is offering to bear a risk for monetary compensation. If there is no risk, why should anyone want to pay someone to take 0 risk off their hands?
I share your supsicions BUT...
Although I'm not privy to the facts, I'm not sure why it *couldn't* be "black and white", consider that the following has to be true for the code to be infringing on copyrights.
If X's code *is* in the kernel AND X actually owns the copyright(!) AND If that code is not legally GPL'd/BSD'd AND the code passes $patent_tests*.
X's *claims* to own copyrights may be blatantly false,e.g. certain claims of SCO's have been vehemently debunked by Linus himself, because he wrote it.
If a company "accidentally" releases code under the GPL then, as far as I understand it, they have to STFU, accept their losses, go home and listen to Morissey.
If an employee of company X GPL'd code illegally, then that's another matter.
But doesn't some element of Good Faith(tm) enter into it? Perhaps some resident IAAL/IANALBIPOOTV could ellucidate.
*If the code is trivial or obvious, two developers may well come up with the same solution independently. They may eben^H^H^Hven use the same variable names if it's trivial and obvious, or, they are complying with some standard etc..
I'm no expert on writing device drivers...but I hear that it's easier to develop them when you have 1 or both of:
The full specs.
The hardware you're writing the driver for
I might even go so far as to say that the second is neccessary....but again I'm no expert.
If I had some obscure piece of hardware for which there was no support, then I might be tempted to have a go at a driver, but I have very little motivation to do the same for someone else's hardware. If someone wanted me to, the very least that I'd expect is a donation of hardware.
GNU/Linux can support the soundcards, but it doesn't, because the right people don't have the problem and the wrong people do.
To paraphrase Linus, "It is not my intention to bring about the downfall of Microsoft. That will be an entirely unintentional side-effect."
Major distributions, while they have some incentive to support peoples' more esoteric hardware, are more likely to support mainstream hardware and the hardware of large contributors.
Unfortunately, most solutions to the problem you raise involve putting your hand in your pocket, or only buying from vendors who support your operating system of choice.
I may be on my own here...but all of those look like horrible, horrible FUD. There's lots of idle speculation and outright bollocks, but no real arguments.
Example 1: "Microsoft and Yahoo might actually try and compete with Google."
WHAT THE JIMMINY-BILLY-BOB-BING? You mean all this time Yahoo was just having a jolly old time of playing at search engines and not really trying to compete with Google? Well, maybe I should just bow down at the feet of Mr. Ali Baba PhD, he obviously knows something I don't...
Example 2:"Google's reported 50% margin with its AdSence (displaying Google ads on third party sites) is unsustainably high for a middleman. Competitors will offer similar services in the future, taking less of a cut."
I don't get it..people are paying for Google's service, if there was a cheaper alternative, I'm sure they'd jump ship, but there isn't. By the time there is, Google will have raised the bar and lowered the price.
Example 3:"Half the Internet entrepreneurs that I have known have brainstormed starting a search engine business, most quickly abandoning the thought.But as the costs of technology and software fall (#2 and #3) more Internet entrepreneurs may start search engines leading to a competitive and innovative search industry."
HA! HAHA!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
I especially like number 2 and 3, where he tries to talk about the cost of entry and outsourcing.
Capital, my dear Steve Baba, just capital. Maybe you should look into trading in your Ph.D. for a Clue(tm).
Children today are tyrants, they contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers.
-- Socrates, 469-399BC
'Nuff said.
More accurate analogy: He always has a full english breakfast, but eats it in the same order every morning.
And with the clothes: He always puts his clothes on in the same order..O.K. maybe that one doesn't work so well for anyone who isn't Superman...
In soviet england we have this ability too...well I do anyway. I'm even thinking of putting it on my CV.
Even when I'm at the stage of having to steady myself on walls, taking 2 steps back for every 3 I take forward and frequently falling into bushes/the road, I can always find my way home.
I don't secretly fancy them, I'll readily admit that I find women with curves more attractive than impossibly waif-like, 13-year-old girl, no-hips, looking models.
Having a different body-shape is not a flaw, and the sooner people realise this the better off we'll all be.
"I felt sorry for all the guys packing into gyms, trying to look like what Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger said they should." - Jack
Sometimes, I wonder if some people's dislike of geeks is just something that has been imposed on us by society. How many of us secretly admire them, but are too afraid to admit it to anyone? Does this perceived dislike end up giving more intelligent people a lower self-esteem, making them less sociable, and re-inforcing the stereotype? According to this article, a geek started a business as a prank, but ended up becoming the richest man in the world, but was later disqualified because people preferred stylish furniture.
In the days of old, geeks used to be considered most attractive. Perhaps being intelligent was a symbol of fertility, and to maximise your chances of passing on your genes, you tended to look for a more intelligent man. Now-a-days, people just want to get laid, so maybe they subconciously look for men who are un-fertile.
Unless you're eaten by a white lion which is only alive because we want to gawk at them....
:o)
Also, does a lightning strike still count as all_natural if you're out playing golf in a thunderstorm?
Totally agree with you on the global warming though...
Am I the only one who's heard "job" used as a metaphor for shit/having a shit?
A good solution might be for the local LUG to donate hardware/free time. They keep a collection of Free Software on the machine which can be burnt to a user-provided CD with the click of a button.
This is probably characteristically idealistic of me..but that's the kind of guy I am.
Easy solution...take a picture of you and your girlfriend doing it and then....Oh...right.... :o)
Hundreds of car crash films? Did you really mean that? I can't believe that there are even a hundred car crash films...
This is all just a scam, he secretly hides a cold fusion device inside the motor! Idiot.
I haven't seen anyone bring this up, on this story or otherwise...but I read in New Scientist last year about functional MRI being the phrenology of our time. I can't find reference to it on the website, but a google returns this among others.
Could anyone here shed any light on this?