Most users don't really care to understand what's going on; all they want to do is play their newest game (or whatever). For people who want to learn and aren't afraid of a CLI, it's a great experience. Unfortunately, it's not for everyone.
(NB: I've been using Windows for years, and just switched to Gentoo on my laptop. It's quite an experience, but definitely not for the average user. Given past experience with "easy" distros like Fedora Core 3, even they aren't quite ready for the average user yet.)
Right, but most users have an inherent fear of the command line. They tend to feel they'll screw something up... Which is a bit easier with the command line, especially if you don't really know what you're doing.
For the average user, clicking "Next" a bunch of times is a lot more intuitive than typing "tar -xzvf foo.tar.gz && cd foo && make && make install" or whatever. Plus, average users tend to be afraid of the command line. Yeah, you're too much of a geek. After all, you're posting on Slashdot.;-)
So, it's basically a package format with all dependencies built in, and a nice graphical installer? Sweet! Definitely a good step towards making Linux ready for the average Joe.
(Before I get flamed, note that installing from command line is not a viable option for most people)
I built myself a new, quiet computer over the summer. It's aircooled, and the price premium (over a noisy system) was only about $50-$100. Here's how I did it (using advice from SilentPCReview:
CPU fan: Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu (best one out at the time, around $30)
Case: Antec SLK3700-BQE (again, best one out at the time, around $70 including reasonably quiet PSU and quiet 120 mm fan (especially at 5V))
Hard drive: Samsung SP1614C (very quiet 7200 RPM, 160 GB SATA hard drive, also comes in IDE variant SP1614N, around $100)
GPU cooling: NV Silencer 5 (added aftermarket as soon as it was available, around $30)
The rig has: A64 3000+, 1 GB PC3200, 160 GB HD, 6800GT. All it needs for cooling are the PSU, case, CPU, and GPU fans. By far, the loudest component is the NV Silencer 5. When I was using a passively-cooled GeForce 2 (waiting for the 6800GT to be reasonably available), the system was almost completely silent. If I had wanted to spend more, I could've made it absolutely inaudible, but it wasn't worth it to me. Building a quiet system is actually very easy and cheap, assuming you're buying all-new parts anyway.
Thunderbird recieves the editor's choice, with praise for its platform range, expandability (the calendar and macro editor are mentioned), and price. In his final words, the author notes that there's "no single 'best product'", and that different users need different programs.
Speaking as an American... Many of us hold the same opinion as the rest of the world. We don't all approve of the war in Iraq. We don't all approve of Bush. Hell, a lot of us are absolutely disgusted with what's going on. Unfortunately, it's not like we can do much. Protest? Those don't do much. Rebellion? Yeah, that'll work... We're not all hypocritical; just some of us.
Heh, there are a fair number of us on Slashdot. Unfortunately, we don't appear to represent most high schoolers. I go to a private school, and some of the in-system messages (we use Firstclass)... ugh, utter tripe. The school system these days is in the gutter (given my K-8 public school experiences, as well as my sisters (hers are more recent)), and doesn't show any signs of improving. Trust me, the public school system isn't very good (the private school system is better, but even my school is starting to slip a bit).
I apologize if the previous paragraph was a bit incoherent; I ought to get to sleep...
Anywho, I'll take a shot at this. Firefox and other Free, multi-platform software (Thunderbird, OpenOffice.org, etc.) reduce dependence on Windows, because people aren't stuck with Windows-specific programs. For me, the only thing stopping me from moving to Linux is gaming (I don't believe Cedega supports the games I play). Basically, Microsoft's got my "patronage" hanging by a thread, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Besides normal line-recording, nanoloop also allows to transfer song data digitally through the audio port by playing a chain of rectangular pulses which represent song data bytes stored in the cart memory. These pulses can be decoded by a PC client software and then stored in the same format as on the cart.
Sounds like a modem to me... Granted, the line noise is probably less than that of a telephone, but what kind of bit rate are they expecting to get with this? Wouldn't it be better to just stick a USB port on the thing? Also, I assume this means that the hard drive function is Windows-only?:-/
Almost, but not quite; it doesn't yet have quite the mission structure of the EV series, but word from the devs is that some of that stuff should be coming very soon. Oh, and it's 3D, too.;)
A few months ago, I picked up a ViewSonic VP171b, based on reviews from Tom's Hardware and Anandtech. It was pretty expensive for a 17" LCD display, at $550 from Newegg, but I couldn't be happier with it. I haven't seen any ghosting whatsoever (20ms response time), and the picture quality is nothing short of amazing. It came with 1.5 dead pixels, but they're stuck on black and nearly impossible to notice; I basically have to put my nose to the monitor to see them, unless it's a single-color image or something. I don't use the pivot function, but I suppose it could be useful for some things. It's got nice ergonomics (height, tilt, rotate), and one digital port, as well as two analog ports. No hubs or speakers, but I wouldn't use them anyway (front-mounted USB ports on case, Creative T5400s). Oh, and the thin bezel is nice, too. I highly suggest this monitor if you're looking at 17" LCDs.
Since at least one person representative of Transgaming appears to be reading this thread, I'd like to ask a few questions. First, what of the plan to open-source WineX/Cedega? Is it safe to assume this is still in the works? If so, when is it estimated to happen?
Now, for a support question... Is addition of support for FF XI currently in progress? Will it ever be in the near future? As it is, that's probably the only thing keeping me from switching to Linux (and buying a Cedega subscription, of course). Also, does the Steam version of Half-Life and its various mods (e.g., The Specialists) work under Cedega currently?
Anywho, 4.1 looks great. Performance boosts are always a good thing.;)
Also, are there any benchmarks comparing between Cedega 4.0, Cedega 4.1, and native Windows performance? I'd like to see if Cedega causes a sizable framerate hit (i.e., 20% or more).
Why stop there? Hell, people can use their hands to choke someone to death! We should chop off everyone's hands! Oh, but wait... Then they could use their arms as bludgeoning weapons... Lop those off, too! Hmmm, but they could still bite people... Off with their heads!
I don't know a person in the world who runs Windows who doesn't have some pirated software on their machine.
I'm running Windows XP Pro, and nothing on my computer is pirated. I'm running free or Free programs for the most part, and the few that aren't (games, NAV, etc.), I pay for. All it takes is looking for alternatives, and I'm quite happy with the ones I've found.
What I'd do when I played the original was to make a family of nothing but kids. I'd make a small room, get them all to go in, delete the door, and sit there laughing maniacally as they pissed themselves and started beating each other up. If I ever become a god, Earth is probably screwed...:P
... most organisms don't want to get viruses. From what I've seen from doing tech work, the average user doesn't care about viruses. Hell, half of the time, they don't even know what they are, and their definitions are two years out of date because they don't want to pay for the subscription! And I won't even mention the lack of Windows updates and the horrid use of IE... [/rant]
Also, natural selection means that species will likely eventually gain a resistance to whatever virus is affecting them (granted, the virus will also adapt). Not so with computer users, unless ISPs decide to start shutting down access to infected boxen.
Slashdot Mirror
(NB: I've been using Windows for years, and just switched to Gentoo on my laptop. It's quite an experience, but definitely not for the average user. Given past experience with "easy" distros like Fedora Core 3, even they aren't quite ready for the average user yet.)
Right, but most users have an inherent fear of the command line. They tend to feel they'll screw something up... Which is a bit easier with the command line, especially if you don't really know what you're doing.
For the average user, clicking "Next" a bunch of times is a lot more intuitive than typing "tar -xzvf foo.tar.gz && cd foo && make && make install" or whatever. Plus, average users tend to be afraid of the command line. Yeah, you're too much of a geek. After all, you're posting on Slashdot. ;-)
(Before I get flamed, note that installing from command line is not a viable option for most people)
The rig has: A64 3000+, 1 GB PC3200, 160 GB HD, 6800GT. All it needs for cooling are the PSU, case, CPU, and GPU fans. By far, the loudest component is the NV Silencer 5. When I was using a passively-cooled GeForce 2 (waiting for the 6800GT to be reasonably available), the system was almost completely silent. If I had wanted to spend more, I could've made it absolutely inaudible, but it wasn't worth it to me. Building a quiet system is actually very easy and cheap, assuming you're buying all-new parts anyway.
Now *that* would kick ass. I sincerely hope your prediction is correct.
Right, but Outlook costs money (AFAIK), so Thunderbird got the editor's choice.
Thunderbird recieves the editor's choice, with praise for its platform range, expandability (the calendar and macro editor are mentioned), and price. In his final words, the author notes that there's "no single 'best product'", and that different users need different programs.
Bah, and here I thought it meant this...
Speaking as an American... Many of us hold the same opinion as the rest of the world. We don't all approve of the war in Iraq. We don't all approve of Bush. Hell, a lot of us are absolutely disgusted with what's going on. Unfortunately, it's not like we can do much. Protest? Those don't do much. Rebellion? Yeah, that'll work... We're not all hypocritical; just some of us.
I apologize if the previous paragraph was a bit incoherent; I ought to get to sleep...
Whoa, thanks for the info! World of Warcraft is fully supported, and Shattered Galaxy and FF XI may work! I may be able to switch to Linux after all!
Smells like a troll...
Anywho, I'll take a shot at this. Firefox and other Free, multi-platform software (Thunderbird, OpenOffice.org, etc.) reduce dependence on Windows, because people aren't stuck with Windows-specific programs. For me, the only thing stopping me from moving to Linux is gaming (I don't believe Cedega supports the games I play). Basically, Microsoft's got my "patronage" hanging by a thread, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Hello Kitty holy wars?
Almost, but not quite; it doesn't yet have quite the mission structure of the EV series, but word from the devs is that some of that stuff should be coming very soon. Oh, and it's 3D, too. ;)
A few months ago, I picked up a ViewSonic VP171b, based on reviews from Tom's Hardware and Anandtech. It was pretty expensive for a 17" LCD display, at $550 from Newegg, but I couldn't be happier with it. I haven't seen any ghosting whatsoever (20ms response time), and the picture quality is nothing short of amazing. It came with 1.5 dead pixels, but they're stuck on black and nearly impossible to notice; I basically have to put my nose to the monitor to see them, unless it's a single-color image or something. I don't use the pivot function, but I suppose it could be useful for some things. It's got nice ergonomics (height, tilt, rotate), and one digital port, as well as two analog ports. No hubs or speakers, but I wouldn't use them anyway (front-mounted USB ports on case, Creative T5400s). Oh, and the thin bezel is nice, too. I highly suggest this monitor if you're looking at 17" LCDs.
Now, for a support question... Is addition of support for FF XI currently in progress? Will it ever be in the near future? As it is, that's probably the only thing keeping me from switching to Linux (and buying a Cedega subscription, of course). Also, does the Steam version of Half-Life and its various mods (e.g., The Specialists) work under Cedega currently?
Anywho, 4.1 looks great. Performance boosts are always a good thing. ;)
Also, are there any benchmarks comparing between Cedega 4.0, Cedega 4.1, and native Windows performance? I'd like to see if Cedega causes a sizable framerate hit (i.e., 20% or more).
You mean copying games he already owns? I do the same thing on my computer, with Daemon Tools; it saves me the hassle of swapping disks.
Why stop there? Hell, people can use their hands to choke someone to death! We should chop off everyone's hands! Oh, but wait... Then they could use their arms as bludgeoning weapons... Lop those off, too! Hmmm, but they could still bite people... Off with their heads!
I'm running Windows XP Pro, and nothing on my computer is pirated. I'm running free or Free programs for the most part, and the few that aren't (games, NAV, etc.), I pay for. All it takes is looking for alternatives, and I'm quite happy with the ones I've found.
Heh, Norton Antivirus wouldn't even let me try it. The heuristics grabbed it before it was even on my desktop. Now [i]that[/i] is impressive.
What I'd do when I played the original was to make a family of nothing but kids. I'd make a small room, get them all to go in, delete the door, and sit there laughing maniacally as they pissed themselves and started beating each other up. If I ever become a god, Earth is probably screwed... :P
You, sir, have made my day. If I had mod points and you weren't already at +5, I'd give them to you. :P
Also, natural selection means that species will likely eventually gain a resistance to whatever virus is affecting them (granted, the virus will also adapt). Not so with computer users, unless ISPs decide to start shutting down access to infected boxen.