Strongly recommend you try Euro Truck Simulator 2 if you enjoy driving. You basically complete long haul trucking assignments across Europe. If you don't want to do that, you can just drive forever, as long as you can afford the petrol.
I went through the same process with my mother about five years ago.
Before then, her parents and siblings were devout Catholics who wouldn't dream of the need to end a life. After, they were all still devout, but they strongly supported doctor-assisted dying and wished it was legal (here in Australia).
It was a barbaric, horrific experience for everyone involved, no doubt including my mother.
While Salon was certainly the leader in this regard, it's rather shocking how far both it and Slate have fallen in terms of quality journalism and opinion-making. It's simply horrendous. I still check both occasionally, but less and less, and as the months go on I can see myself stopping entirely. Two years ago this would have been a sad thing, but now? It'll only improve my life.
If you are looking for high quality reading, the aggregator aldaily.com is generally pretty good. Other than that, the internet can be a bit of a wasteland at times.
Check out the Spiderweb Software page. The guy who created Exile just released his second remake of the game (at present Mac only), and it looks and plays pretty nice. It's called Avernum now.
My sweetheart was in a car accident on the 29th of November, but she survived. It's incredibly amazing how quick it all is, and how easy it is to lose someone. The chances of her dying were huge, but she didn't - but she could have. And, just like your brother and father, her life would have been 'just stepped out on', which is an incredibly difficult thing to imagine.
I have a bit of a problem with believing the concept that 'your vote counts' when votes = money.
If I stop buying, say, Sony albums, what does that tell Sony? What does it tell them of my reasons? Money doesn't leave any clues, and it's not as if they can spot an extra twenty dollars spent on, say, tomatoes and say that that's where my money has gone.
Anything could have happened to make them 'lose' my twenty dollars. I could have died. I could have bought a different album by another company. I could have... you get the idea. Anything could have happened, and they have no way of knowing if it was because of their DRM or something other reason.
Voting with your wallet doesn't work as well as you would think because it is never accompanied with reason or explanation. If it is, then yes, I can agree. Otherwise, it could mean anything.
It's a book by George Orwell, a British author. It's well worth a read - you'll understand terms like 'big brother' and 'double plus good' and so forth a lot better after that.
Yes, people do receive certain rights when they are born - but purchasing bread is not one of them.
The baker could refuse to sell you (or anyone) bread as often as he wished. You can then refuse to enter his store. Easy - and everyone keeps freedoms. You do not have a right to spend money to buy something someone does not want to sell to you.
We have a lady at work who has to deal with less than that, but a similar set up nonetheless. Including the swipe cards. I see how frustrated she gets when more and more things are dumped on her, so I sympathise with yourself. I help where I can, but my main role is a) wiki maintenance and b) one day a week, so there isn't much I can do. I think there is something of a mentality that IT staff can do things quickly/easily/whatever than consultants/sales because it's 'just a computer'.
Most of the time I got as far as the Technodrome, but it was so hard. I also found the level where you fall down a really long shaft to kill a huge mouse robot thing, great for killing off turtles.
I beat the game once. I distinctly recall that I wasn't even really trying all that hard in the Technodrome (As I had learnt to my sadness it was stupidly hard), and then bam! Shredder and then, bam! Shredder was dead. Never saw him again after that, but I did it once. Great game, though.
That could help, but it also implies that the person installing Ubuntu would have another computer handy to check websites and all that.
Perhaps another solution could be a 'case study' situation, where the Ubuntu installation screens have a button (or an automatic pop-up in a corner, I don't know) that says 'Bob wants to do x with his computer, so he chooses option A' or some such. It'd have to be plainspeak not geekspeak, but that shouldn't be a problem with Ubuntu anyway.
I guess an issue that arises from methods such as that is - why not just have the big shiny button in the middle of the screen? If it solves all of the problems for most of the people, then it's useful. Someone who wants more advanced options can selected it from an unobtrusive but visible button/menu/whatever. Even a timed 'You seem to be taking a while to select your options, do you need more help?' pop up box could be handy.
Argh, seems I've flipped within three comments. Ah well. Seems to me that it's more important to have my sister or mother on Ubuntu than it is to make it difficult and scary.
I think it's important to remember that just because I disagree with you doesn't make you (or me!) an idiot. A trap far too many people fall into on Slashdot and elsewhere...
Anyway. I understand what you are saying about grandfathers. I have one just like that, except he is 76. Same basic concept, he wants reassurance that his photographs/etc won't be lost. I understand that completely. Granted, I backed everything up (and have since gone to a full Ubuntu install), so for me, if it all went haywire, I wouldn't have minded.
And that's probably where we are sensing a problem. I didn't care if I lost it all, so I was perhaps a little more hasty (reckless?) with accepting options and taking the suggestions presented to me. If it didn't work, I didn't care. But it did, so I was happy. In my experience of the installation, I felt that I was presented with exactly enough information to give me the confidence to forge ahead with putting Ubuntu on my laptop. If I hadn't back everything up, though? I can't say - but perhaps I would have made absolutely sure that everything was going to be fine.
So I wonder if it's a babying situation, or more that a geek attempting to install Ubuntu/whatever would have everything backed up, and possibly even be installing Linux on another computer to try it all out first? If that's the case, it's easy to just forge ahead and take what comes. But for someone who hasn't, or can't, or doesn't want to back up or sort all of that out, perhaps it is a lot more frightening. I can't say, as that wasn't how my installation worked. But it makes sense that you could see it that way.
I wonder how Ubuntu could address this? I suppose it's a pretty fine line between huge shiny buttons and clear indications of 'expert' level settings. Hopefully it is something they can improve in another version, I don't know.
Okay, I've read a number of your comments to various people. I'll try to keep this flame free, because while I don't agree with what you are saying, I also don't think you are a fool.
That said - why do you want to be that babied by the install program?
I recently installed Ubuntu. Before that, I haven't ever used Linux. So, for me as much as yourself, the installation process was new when compared to what I had done with Windows. Yet I didn't have a problem. It was all quite clear and clearly explained. Perhaps a single button install would have been nice, but I had no problem with reading the installation help and tips to get me where I wanted to be - with an installation of Ubuntu on my computer, while keeping my windows partition.
I think asking for a single button install is almost an irresponsible thing for Ubuntu to do. Instead, it explains in clear, concise English what is happening to your computer. You are educated rather than babied. Isn't that better? Aren't we all adults here?
I certainly deplore the babying attitude you are championing. I don't want to have to install Gentoo (merely reading slashdot comments on it gives me shivers) but nor do I want big shiny buttons that do things for me without me knowing what has happened. I apply this to every aspect of my life, not just installing an operating system. Why don't you?
To all these arguments I try to add my own anecdotal evidence.
I had never heard of the band Iron and Wine (This is back in 2004). A website I frequented mentioned them, so I downloaded the album. Fast forward a few months, my brother, sister, friends etc had the album. Fast forward a few more and Iron and Wine came to Australia. I went with my brother and a few of my friends, and we all bought shirts, and half of us bought cds. One of my friends bought all of the band's albums.
None of these sales would have occurred without me originally downloading the album.
Of course, this doesn't condone pirating necessarily, but it places some sort of 'regular usage' into context.
Triple J are usually pretty bad at playing all of the tracks on their feature album. They tend to, in my opinion (which comes from liking and buying feature albums every now and again), pick a few songs which will get high airplay anyway, and flog them to death. Playing the whole album and every now and again dipping into the more obscure tracks isn't really compensation, I think.
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Thanks for the story. Honestly.
Strongly recommend you try Euro Truck Simulator 2 if you enjoy driving. You basically complete long haul trucking assignments across Europe. If you don't want to do that, you can just drive forever, as long as you can afford the petrol.
Completely agree.
I went through the same process with my mother about five years ago.
Before then, her parents and siblings were devout Catholics who wouldn't dream of the need to end a life. After, they were all still devout, but they strongly supported doctor-assisted dying and wished it was legal (here in Australia).
It was a barbaric, horrific experience for everyone involved, no doubt including my mother.
Completely agree.
While Salon was certainly the leader in this regard, it's rather shocking how far both it and Slate have fallen in terms of quality journalism and opinion-making. It's simply horrendous. I still check both occasionally, but less and less, and as the months go on I can see myself stopping entirely. Two years ago this would have been a sad thing, but now? It'll only improve my life.
If you are looking for high quality reading, the aggregator aldaily.com is generally pretty good. Other than that, the internet can be a bit of a wasteland at times.
Posts like these are the reason I still come to Slashdot. Hats off, sir.
Thanks for writing this post. I enjoyed reading it.
I had a longer post comparing my experience in Spain with my life in Australia, but slashdot ate it. Never mind.
Couldn't get into Avadon, either. But I did like Geneforge.
Check out the Spiderweb Software page. The guy who created Exile just released his second remake of the game (at present Mac only), and it looks and plays pretty nice. It's called Avernum now.
Cheap, too.
Thanks for this. I'm sorry for your loss.
Bravo. I think that's a great idea.
I'm really sorry to hear that.
My sweetheart was in a car accident on the 29th of November, but she survived. It's incredibly amazing how quick it all is, and how easy it is to lose someone. The chances of her dying were huge, but she didn't - but she could have. And, just like your brother and father, her life would have been 'just stepped out on', which is an incredibly difficult thing to imagine.
I'm sorry for your loss.
I enjoyed the write-up of your trip. Thanks for taking the time to write it.
I have a bit of a problem with believing the concept that 'your vote counts' when votes = money.
If I stop buying, say, Sony albums, what does that tell Sony? What does it tell them of my reasons? Money doesn't leave any clues, and it's not as if they can spot an extra twenty dollars spent on, say, tomatoes and say that that's where my money has gone.
Anything could have happened to make them 'lose' my twenty dollars. I could have died. I could have bought a different album by another company. I could have... you get the idea. Anything could have happened, and they have no way of knowing if it was because of their DRM or something other reason.
Voting with your wallet doesn't work as well as you would think because it is never accompanied with reason or explanation. If it is, then yes, I can agree. Otherwise, it could mean anything.
It's a book by George Orwell, a British author. It's well worth a read - you'll understand terms like 'big brother' and 'double plus good' and so forth a lot better after that.
If you're willing to send me one... damianke@gmail.com
I used to be involved with oink, but sadly all that's fallen away now. I haven't found a good torrent site since then, unfortunately.
I watched the Youtube video. Congratulations on being married.
Yes, people do receive certain rights when they are born - but purchasing bread is not one of them.
The baker could refuse to sell you (or anyone) bread as often as he wished. You can then refuse to enter his store. Easy - and everyone keeps freedoms. You do not have a right to spend money to buy something someone does not want to sell to you.
Yes.
We have a lady at work who has to deal with less than that, but a similar set up nonetheless. Including the swipe cards. I see how frustrated she gets when more and more things are dumped on her, so I sympathise with yourself. I help where I can, but my main role is a) wiki maintenance and b) one day a week, so there isn't much I can do. I think there is something of a mentality that IT staff can do things quickly/easily/whatever than consultants/sales because it's 'just a computer'.
Most of the time I got as far as the Technodrome, but it was so hard. I also found the level where you fall down a really long shaft to kill a huge mouse robot thing, great for killing off turtles.
I beat the game once. I distinctly recall that I wasn't even really trying all that hard in the Technodrome (As I had learnt to my sadness it was stupidly hard), and then bam! Shredder and then, bam! Shredder was dead. Never saw him again after that, but I did it once. Great game, though.
Thanks for the story. You seem like you were a good teacher.
That could help, but it also implies that the person installing Ubuntu would have another computer handy to check websites and all that.
Perhaps another solution could be a 'case study' situation, where the Ubuntu installation screens have a button (or an automatic pop-up in a corner, I don't know) that says 'Bob wants to do x with his computer, so he chooses option A' or some such. It'd have to be plainspeak not geekspeak, but that shouldn't be a problem with Ubuntu anyway.
I guess an issue that arises from methods such as that is - why not just have the big shiny button in the middle of the screen? If it solves all of the problems for most of the people, then it's useful. Someone who wants more advanced options can selected it from an unobtrusive but visible button/menu/whatever. Even a timed 'You seem to be taking a while to select your options, do you need more help?' pop up box could be handy.
Argh, seems I've flipped within three comments. Ah well. Seems to me that it's more important to have my sister or mother on Ubuntu than it is to make it difficult and scary.
I think it's important to remember that just because I disagree with you doesn't make you (or me!) an idiot. A trap far too many people fall into on Slashdot and elsewhere...
Anyway. I understand what you are saying about grandfathers. I have one just like that, except he is 76. Same basic concept, he wants reassurance that his photographs/etc won't be lost. I understand that completely. Granted, I backed everything up (and have since gone to a full Ubuntu install), so for me, if it all went haywire, I wouldn't have minded.
And that's probably where we are sensing a problem. I didn't care if I lost it all, so I was perhaps a little more hasty (reckless?) with accepting options and taking the suggestions presented to me. If it didn't work, I didn't care. But it did, so I was happy. In my experience of the installation, I felt that I was presented with exactly enough information to give me the confidence to forge ahead with putting Ubuntu on my laptop. If I hadn't back everything up, though? I can't say - but perhaps I would have made absolutely sure that everything was going to be fine.
So I wonder if it's a babying situation, or more that a geek attempting to install Ubuntu/whatever would have everything backed up, and possibly even be installing Linux on another computer to try it all out first? If that's the case, it's easy to just forge ahead and take what comes. But for someone who hasn't, or can't, or doesn't want to back up or sort all of that out, perhaps it is a lot more frightening. I can't say, as that wasn't how my installation worked. But it makes sense that you could see it that way.
I wonder how Ubuntu could address this? I suppose it's a pretty fine line between huge shiny buttons and clear indications of 'expert' level settings. Hopefully it is something they can improve in another version, I don't know.
Okay, I've read a number of your comments to various people. I'll try to keep this flame free, because while I don't agree with what you are saying, I also don't think you are a fool.
That said - why do you want to be that babied by the install program?
I recently installed Ubuntu. Before that, I haven't ever used Linux. So, for me as much as yourself, the installation process was new when compared to what I had done with Windows. Yet I didn't have a problem. It was all quite clear and clearly explained. Perhaps a single button install would have been nice, but I had no problem with reading the installation help and tips to get me where I wanted to be - with an installation of Ubuntu on my computer, while keeping my windows partition.
I think asking for a single button install is almost an irresponsible thing for Ubuntu to do. Instead, it explains in clear, concise English what is happening to your computer. You are educated rather than babied. Isn't that better? Aren't we all adults here?
I certainly deplore the babying attitude you are championing. I don't want to have to install Gentoo (merely reading slashdot comments on it gives me shivers) but nor do I want big shiny buttons that do things for me without me knowing what has happened. I apply this to every aspect of my life, not just installing an operating system. Why don't you?
To all these arguments I try to add my own anecdotal evidence.
I had never heard of the band Iron and Wine (This is back in 2004). A website I frequented mentioned them, so I downloaded the album. Fast forward a few months, my brother, sister, friends etc had the album. Fast forward a few more and Iron and Wine came to Australia. I went with my brother and a few of my friends, and we all bought shirts, and half of us bought cds. One of my friends bought all of the band's albums.
None of these sales would have occurred without me originally downloading the album.
Of course, this doesn't condone pirating necessarily, but it places some sort of 'regular usage' into context.
Triple J are usually pretty bad at playing all of the tracks on their feature album. They tend to, in my opinion (which comes from liking and buying feature albums every now and again), pick a few songs which will get high airplay anyway, and flog them to death. Playing the whole album and every now and again dipping into the more obscure tracks isn't really compensation, I think.