The term "rant" is basically no more than an attempt to trivialize and marginalize a political statement. It's a mistake to fall for that characterization and perpetuate the use of the term.
"Just" changing the battery? If the ruined battery in your notebook cost $40,000, you would tend to call it bricked too. A guy who just paid $100,000 for a car and now has to cough up $40,000 more just because he drove it and then parked it too long is going to be more than an angry customer. He is going to be a danger to the entire chain of people involved in designing, manufacturing, distributing, and selling him that car. Danger as in "angry man with a gun".
"Bricked" is not a scientific term. If you can't restore the item to a working condition for a reasonable amount of effort and expense, it's bricked.
I found some time ago that rules of thumb are just a good way to be embarrassed by reality. What we believe can be trumped by facts. It's best not to believe too much dogma too implicitly.
Ever heard of the Sony Eneloop? It's a NiMH cell that holds 75% charge for three years and is completely unharmed by doing so.
I put aside a notebook with a LiIon ion battery for several years and recently turned it on and it booted and worked fine on battery. And it still accepts a full charge. That's on the original 2003 battery.
On the other hand I wouldn't take a NiCad for ANY purpose if you PAID me. They are complete garbage.
You'd be out of luck in Europe, genius. They only make 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 euro notes. One and 2 euro are coins only. I happen to think the break point should and will move one notch higher (5 euros) in the near term and further in the long term.
Paper notes are filthy, disgusting, and wear out quickly. Coins are almost eternal.
I can't help it, but I have a mental picture of a tottering stick figure who finds carrying a few coins just too taxing. The one euro coin is 7.5 grams, and the 2 euro is 8.5. A half dozen 1 euro and a half dozen 2 euro coins, all together, weigh precisely 96 g, or an entire staggering 3.4 oz, and give you a whole 18 euros in small change. Add a little more for the chicken feed coins below 1 euro, or just don't carry them.
You're right that $1 and $2, very possibly even $5 and $10, should be coins only, and the way to make this happen is absurdly simple. Just stop printing the goddam bills. Anybody who wants to possess change in those denominations will just have to settle for coins; like it or lump it. The bills will wear out quite quickly, and go into the furnaces just as they do now, only they will never be replaced by more.
Obsoleting 1, 5, and 10 cent coins, maybe even 25 cent coins, could be handled the same way. Just stop minting them and force all retail sales to be rounded after taxes to the nearest $0.25 or $1 by force of law. As the useless small coins get taken in change by stores and delivered to banks, they would gradually go out of circulation. On day one, nobody would be getting them any more in change.
Use of credit and debit cards is a complete red herring. It's happening. Already I think of anybody in the checkout line using cash or (shudder) check as a complete loser. I happen to think these dopes should be forced to use their own, much slower line. But this issue does not affect the above measures at all.
Your memory is incorrect. I am sick of false fantasies of incredibly low gas prices in history. It never happened. There is this thing called inflation. Gas was not "almost free" in the 1970s. Adjusted to 2004 dollars, it varied between $1.73 and $2.28. The lowest adjusted price for gas EVER was $1.22 in 1998. That compares to the best adjusted price in the 1930s - $2.15 in 1931 - and the best adjusted price in the 1950s - $2.00 in 1952. In 2004 it had only risen to $1.89 from the 1998 low.
OK, the chart stops in 2004, and the current adjusted value is probably around $3.90, but somehow I don't think twice the price is the difference between $2 and $3.90 is "nearly free" compared to agonizingly high.
The doctor could easily proactively protect himself against cases like that by having the parent sign a disclaimer. "Prescribed routine vaccinations against [list]; patient refused - signed I. M. Takingachancewithmychildren".
When and if distributions dump X11, I dump THEM. Period. You can put a Gnome2 mask on Gnome3, but that doesn't give it Gnome2 capabilities. It's still just a punk wearing a mask.
There are not yet extensions in Gnome3 to replicate all of Gnome2. And why is it such a sack of garbage that extensions are needed to fix it, anyway?
So yeah, I _am_ sticking with Gnome2, thanks to RHEL6. When that runs out and Gnome2 can no longer be made to work right, maybe Mate will be good enough. But the last thing I use will be Gnome3.
It is just silly to suggest that Gnome2 (or X11) were "busted". They were and are extremely capable, versatile, efficient, and dependable, and calling people who prefer these qualities "technologically Amish" just shows the smug mindset of the Gnome3 cult.
You in turn need to read what I wrote. It doesn't get rid of anywhere near all the cruddiness. Period. And that set of applets you point to is not complete. Nice try, but no cigar.
Wow, that looks like it might be pretty damn good. When I still had to use Windows, I liked 4nt.exe, except that it did not address the clunkiness of the text mode window itself.
Under F16 set it to use the fallback video driver - it gets rid of all the 3.2 cruddiness.
No it doesn't. Not even close. This still doesn't give you Gnome2's drawer applet, weather applet, sensors applet, CPU scaling applet, mini commander applet, and a lot of other Gnome2 features.
Ha! Windows cmd.exe is a ridiculous piece of shit. You can't resize it in the normal way like any other application. You can't cut and paste in the normal way like any other application. It makes even gnome-terminal look brilliant, let alone konsole.
Exactly. My choice is to give the finger to the Gnome team and not use Gnome3.
Because YOU ARE WRONG! At least that is the message I seem to be getting from Gnome and Ubuntu lately. "We are all about choice as long as you make the right one." Respectfully, gentleman, shove it!
Where you see stagnancy, those with actual perception see maturity, competence, and highly optimized design. If it ain't BUSTED, don't FIX it. If it's not only not busted, but in fact is pretty optimal, don't even THINK about fixing it from the ground up. Gnome3 is like trying to turn a perfectly good hammer into some shitty linear monstrosity that you have to punch nails with straight ahead, instead of economically swinging the hammer at it.
Caveat. I do actual work with desktops and notebooks. I have absolutely no use whatsoever for teeny tiny touchscreens, but for those who do, I recognize those need a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT UI with a different paradigm. But there is absolutely no call to DESTROY the oven when you are designing a microwave.
OS UI got stagnant for about 10 years in there, so I'm happy that they're experimenting with things
I guess you don't have a very impressive set of "tech persons" you talk to, in terms of intellect. They must be a pretty ignorant bunch if they are not pretty well informed on Stallman and his views. And if every last one of them who is not ignorant considers Stallman as nothing more than a nutjob, god save me from that set of ignoramuses.
Maybe you don't drive it into the garage WITH THE DOORS OPEN. Sheesh. Are you in the habit of driving into a garage with the doors open?
The passengers get out of the car before entering the garage. I've never seen anyone drive a car into a garage and then have everyone try to get out. It's not something any normal family does.
Radio, bzzzzt, 10 watts will do it. Completely negligible.
AC, 1000 watts plus. Maybe quite a bit plus. That does have a significant effect. There's this thing called windows, though. Nobody had air conditioning in cars before 1939, and only half the cars built as recently as 1969 came with air conditioning.
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The term "rant" is basically no more than an attempt to trivialize and marginalize a political statement. It's a mistake to fall for that characterization and perpetuate the use of the term.
"Just" changing the battery? If the ruined battery in your notebook cost $40,000, you would tend to call it bricked too. A guy who just paid $100,000 for a car and now has to cough up $40,000 more just because he drove it and then parked it too long is going to be more than an angry customer. He is going to be a danger to the entire chain of people involved in designing, manufacturing, distributing, and selling him that car. Danger as in "angry man with a gun".
"Bricked" is not a scientific term. If you can't restore the item to a working condition for a reasonable amount of effort and expense, it's bricked.
I found some time ago that rules of thumb are just a good way to be embarrassed by reality. What we believe can be trumped by facts. It's best not to believe too much dogma too implicitly.
Ever heard of the Sony Eneloop? It's a NiMH cell that holds 75% charge for three years and is completely unharmed by doing so.
I put aside a notebook with a LiIon ion battery for several years and recently turned it on and it booted and worked fine on battery. And it still accepts a full charge. That's on the original 2003 battery.
On the other hand I wouldn't take a NiCad for ANY purpose if you PAID me. They are complete garbage.
You'd be out of luck in Europe, genius. They only make 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 euro notes. One and 2 euro are coins only. I happen to think the break point should and will move one notch higher (5 euros) in the near term and further in the long term.
Paper notes are filthy, disgusting, and wear out quickly. Coins are almost eternal.
I can't help it, but I have a mental picture of a tottering stick figure who finds carrying a few coins just too taxing. The one euro coin is 7.5 grams, and the 2 euro is 8.5. A half dozen 1 euro and a half dozen 2 euro coins, all together, weigh precisely 96 g, or an entire staggering 3.4 oz, and give you a whole 18 euros in small change. Add a little more for the chicken feed coins below 1 euro, or just don't carry them.
Why do you have to convince "everyone"? You just have to convince the idiots in charge to stop making them.
You're right that $1 and $2, very possibly even $5 and $10, should be coins only, and the way to make this happen is absurdly simple. Just stop printing the goddam bills. Anybody who wants to possess change in those denominations will just have to settle for coins; like it or lump it. The bills will wear out quite quickly, and go into the furnaces just as they do now, only they will never be replaced by more.
Obsoleting 1, 5, and 10 cent coins, maybe even 25 cent coins, could be handled the same way. Just stop minting them and force all retail sales to be rounded after taxes to the nearest $0.25 or $1 by force of law. As the useless small coins get taken in change by stores and delivered to banks, they would gradually go out of circulation. On day one, nobody would be getting them any more in change.
Use of credit and debit cards is a complete red herring. It's happening. Already I think of anybody in the checkout line using cash or (shudder) check as a complete loser. I happen to think these dopes should be forced to use their own, much slower line. But this issue does not affect the above measures at all.
Your memory is incorrect. I am sick of false fantasies of incredibly low gas prices in history. It never happened. There is this thing called inflation. Gas was not "almost free" in the 1970s. Adjusted to 2004 dollars, it varied between $1.73 and $2.28. The lowest adjusted price for gas EVER was $1.22 in 1998. That compares to the best adjusted price in the 1930s - $2.15 in 1931 - and the best adjusted price in the 1950s - $2.00 in 1952. In 2004 it had only risen to $1.89 from the 1998 low.
OK, the chart stops in 2004, and the current adjusted value is probably around $3.90, but somehow I don't think twice the price is the difference between $2 and $3.90 is "nearly free" compared to agonizingly high.
Ref: Historical Gas Prices, 1919–2004
The doctor could easily proactively protect himself against cases like that by having the parent sign a disclaimer. "Prescribed routine vaccinations against [list]; patient refused - signed I. M. Takingachancewithmychildren".
Illiterate summary. You can't fire a client or customer. You can only abandon them by refusing to continue to treat them.
A client or customer can fire a professional whose services they have retained, however.
When and if distributions dump X11, I dump THEM. Period. You can put a Gnome2 mask on Gnome3, but that doesn't give it Gnome2 capabilities. It's still just a punk wearing a mask.
There are not yet extensions in Gnome3 to replicate all of Gnome2. And why is it such a sack of garbage that extensions are needed to fix it, anyway?
So yeah, I _am_ sticking with Gnome2, thanks to RHEL6. When that runs out and Gnome2 can no longer be made to work right, maybe Mate will be good enough. But the last thing I use will be Gnome3.
It is just silly to suggest that Gnome2 (or X11) were "busted". They were and are extremely capable, versatile, efficient, and dependable, and calling people who prefer these qualities "technologically Amish" just shows the smug mindset of the Gnome3 cult.
Yeah, it took Mint to partially fix a truly busted-ass design, but they couldn't completely fix it.
You in turn need to read what I wrote. It doesn't get rid of anywhere near all the cruddiness. Period. And that set of applets you point to is not complete. Nice try, but no cigar.
Wow, that looks like it might be pretty damn good. When I still had to use Windows, I liked 4nt.exe, except that it did not address the clunkiness of the text mode window itself.
But in either gnome-terminal or konsole, if you highlight a section of text with the mouse and right clock, you get a context menu including "copy."
Under F16 set it to use the fallback video driver - it gets rid of all the 3.2 cruddiness.
No it doesn't. Not even close. This still doesn't give you Gnome2's drawer applet, weather applet, sensors applet, CPU scaling applet, mini commander applet, and a lot of other Gnome2 features.
Sorry to tell you but fc16 is still bad
It's just F16, not FC16. It hasn't been Fedora Core plus Extras since 7.
Ha! Windows cmd.exe is a ridiculous piece of shit. You can't resize it in the normal way like any other application. You can't cut and paste in the normal way like any other application. It makes even gnome-terminal look brilliant, let alone konsole.
I want applications that remember their states and can be saved and restored (gconsole, I'm looking at you in particular)
With respect for the ridiculously-lacking gnome-terminal, use konsole. Even if your DE is Gnome or Xfce. It is very liberating.
Exactly. My choice is to give the finger to the Gnome team and not use Gnome3.
Because YOU ARE WRONG! At least that is the message I seem to be getting from Gnome and Ubuntu lately. "We are all about choice as long as you make the right one." Respectfully, gentleman, shove it!
Where you see stagnancy, those with actual perception see maturity, competence, and highly optimized design. If it ain't BUSTED, don't FIX it. If it's not only not busted, but in fact is pretty optimal, don't even THINK about fixing it from the ground up. Gnome3 is like trying to turn a perfectly good hammer into some shitty linear monstrosity that you have to punch nails with straight ahead, instead of economically swinging the hammer at it.
Caveat. I do actual work with desktops and notebooks. I have absolutely no use whatsoever for teeny tiny touchscreens, but for those who do, I recognize those need a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT UI with a different paradigm. But there is absolutely no call to DESTROY the oven when you are designing a microwave.
OS UI got stagnant for about 10 years in there, so I'm happy that they're experimenting with things
As others have pointed out, what does censorship have to do with whether a regime is tyrannical or popularly supported?
I guess you don't have a very impressive set of "tech persons" you talk to, in terms of intellect. They must be a pretty ignorant bunch if they are not pretty well informed on Stallman and his views. And if every last one of them who is not ignorant considers Stallman as nothing more than a nutjob, god save me from that set of ignoramuses.
Maybe you don't drive it into the garage WITH THE DOORS OPEN. Sheesh. Are you in the habit of driving into a garage with the doors open?
The passengers get out of the car before entering the garage. I've never seen anyone drive a car into a garage and then have everyone try to get out. It's not something any normal family does.
Radio, bzzzzt, 10 watts will do it. Completely negligible.
AC, 1000 watts plus. Maybe quite a bit plus. That does have a significant effect. There's this thing called windows, though. Nobody had air conditioning in cars before 1939, and only half the cars built as recently as 1969 came with air conditioning.