People generally don't want to change what comes with their system Take over the desktop. then worry about a browser.
Are you kidding? Taking over the browser is too confusing, so they should try taking over the entire OS first? Maybe I am misunderstanding you, but if people are scared of new browser, why the hell would they want to change their entire operating system?
I say start small - once people see the benefits of open source apps, they might start opening their eyes to bigger things.
True, no one was electrocuted, but a phone ring is generated by a 90 VAC charge down the phone line, IIRC (probably because of the older phones which needed that kind of voltage to operate the mechanical bell). I've actually been shocked by the ring charge before, when I was fooling around with an old desktop phone with the cover off, dialing my own phone number to cause it to ring while holding down the hookswitch standing on my concrete basement floor in bare feet. Yes, I'm an idiot, but while I wasn't anything more than a little soiled in the pants, I could see how this could potentially be a HUGE problem if someone with a pacemaker or just a weak heart were to find themselves in this quasi-unlikely situation with their VAIO.
now, why is just thinking of it as "how fast your computer runs" so bad?
Because that's a half-truth. So many other aspects of the computer impact the speed of finishing tasks. RAM, Front-side bus speed, video card specs, motherboard chipset, and a thousand other things all correlate with "how fast your computer runs."
There is no way I could describe clock speed as "how fast your computer runs" without some sort of "but..." following it, because it's just one among many variables which determine the quality of the machine.
Um...he's stating a fact. The only reason anyone would ever buy an LCD screen is because (A) it takes up less space or (B) it looks cool (or possibly (C) it uses less power, but usually that's a fringe benefit). Nobody buys them because they have a better picture because...they don't.
The web isn't a purely visual media. That implies that it's all pictures and movies, and little to no text, which is utterly incorrect. It's an informational (read: text-driven) media. Look at this website. Are you here for the sweet-ass banner ads? Do you think this site is completely unreadable in a text-only browser? Sure, there's flash and animated GIF's and all of that stuff out there, but it is by NO MEANS the majority of the content. Graphics are and ought to be just added eye-candy for those of us who have working eyes.
The web was originally intended to be a way to pass around information; another way to communicate. There are billions and billions of webpages out there which are perfectly accessible via text-only browsers (or, by extension, braille terminals). There is no reason why anybody should prevent users from entering.
As for your argument that websites are private property, this is true, but so are office buildings. They are owned privately, and yet are required to provide wheelchair access to every floor. I'm not saying a webpage showcasing somebody's art needs to have textual descriptions of each picture, but when a website offers a service which a blind person can find useful prevents that person from using it's service, something needs to be done.
All of that said, I think lawsuits are a horrible fucking idea. It's not like Yahoo intentionally left these people out; it was just an honest oversight. If they don't bother to do anything to rectify the situation, then, yes, a lawsuit may be in order, but give them a chance to come up with something first.
Re:News flash - Bill Gates downplays linux
on
Bill Gates On Linux
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· Score: 1
A newspaper interview with a businessman is nothing more than an opportunity for free advertising. You don't think Bill knows that?
Since when does Microsoft need free advertising? People who have no more than a basic knowledge of what a computer LOOKS like know who Microsoft is. I'd say this article was much more beneficial to Linux, just because the word "Linux" was in it - some more of the populace just learned a new word, even if they know nothing about it.
Given the job market recently, they probably have several "promising candidates".
Anyway, I doubt insubordination is a quality any employer is looking for. If I asked someone to demonstrate a skill they listed on their resume and they acted as though this task was beneath them, I'd scratch them off my list immediately.
I cannot comprehend how communism would incur social equality. The government (made up of people) will have control over everyone else (who also happen to people). Ergo, those involved in the government will NOT be socially equal to the common folk.
Admittedly, I have not read much about communism, but it seems to me that at no point in history has it ever really worked.
If you think I'm wrong, please explain. I'm more than willing to change my mind if certain issues can be cleared up.
Re:Orwell's vision was true!
on
Gates and Security
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· Score: 3, Informative
I challenge you to tell me how we are supposed to make any difference anymore.
By fucking caring, that's how. By spreading the understanding to those around you (if you are in the U.S.) that they live in a fucking bubble, which seems to be growing smaller every day. By living your life as if you have choices (of music, of movies, of religions, of beliefs, hell, of operating systems) besides those which society shoves down our throats. By not being fucking complacent, only then will things even begin to change.
Voting will never solve anything, as your options consist of a corporate-owned whore or a corporate-owned slut.
There's plenty of options. There are only two that are really shoved down our throats, and most likely the one elected will be one of them. BUT - if third-party (fourth-? fifth-?) candidates get significant amounts of votes, people will pay attention. They will see new names, new choices creeping into their field of vision.
I LOVE my country. I love the Constitution and rights it grants me. I love the ideals that the founders had in mind.
But I HATE what my country has become. I hate the laws that have created and the loopholes left gaping which circumvent my Constitution. I hate the ideals that my society expresses.
This world is not static; it is either evolving or devolving. It is up to us to care which direction it goes.
That's good know. Thanks for the advice - I actually do have a RH 7.3 partition on this box, but kinda got bored with it. I'm gonna install RH9, but i'm gonna need a weekend probably to get it all working, seeing as how I need my box to serve as a DHCP server for my parent's computer (no, I'm not in their basement - I am upstairs, thank you very much).
Thanks for the website links. Oh, I have a question: what distro would you recommend? I'm just doing rh because I have a friend who's using it and can probably help me out, but if there's something of higher quality out there, i'd certainly like to know!
I am absolutely not saying it is impossible to get used to. All I'm saying is that it takes time and effort, which is not something everybody who WANTS to switch has.
I realize Gnome and KDE are very similar to Windows, but to feel completely comfortable in them, a hardcore Windows user must either reconfigure everything to their liking (which takes a little bit of time) or get used to the new setup (which also takes a little bit of time).
I'm about the same age as you, and have been using windows for about as long (hell, I still remember parkdisk). But, like most people, I am lazy and resistant to change. Why bother switching when I am comfortable where I am? Why screw around with actually LEARNING something about networking when I can just let Windows figure it out for me?
Humans abhor change. I'm not saying it's right, or a Good Thing, but it's understandable.
For the sake of learning and wisdom and partaking in the big mind-altering bong hit that is open-source, I plan on getting RH9 running as my primary OS sometime this summer. Hell, probably this weekend.
What's hard about it, you ask? It's different. Since before Windows 95 I've grown accustomed to expecting certain behaviors from my OS and it's UI. This includes everything from window behavior to more complicated stuff like setting up a network.
Am I just curmudgeonly? Maybe, but I also just haven't had a) the time or b) the motivation to spend time getting used to all of these factors. In a certain sense, I'm betting that the more hardcore Windows users find it more difficult to switch than the less experienced users, simply because certain expectations have become so innate that even the slightest difference requires a significant effort to get used to.
I just wasted good money for a 128MB FX5200 video card. It stinks. Slower FPS than my old GF2 Ti 32MB card in most every 3D game.
Erm...that's not all that surprising, seeing as how the 5200 is supposed to be the budget version of the FX line (analogous to the MX in the earlier generations), whereas the Ti was the top-of-the-line version of the GF2. Even though your 5200 had 128 MB RAM, it's still bottlenecked by the intentionally crippled chip.
: If "millions" are breaking some law "each and every day", it's a good indication the law is a bad idea
No, it's not. All it means is people will do whatever they can get away with.
People speed all the time. Traffic generally flows (at least in my area) around 10 mph above the posted speed limit. Does this mean the law is a bad idea? Should we get repeal the speed limit laws, just because nobody follows them? Of course not - maybe increase the speed limit (i.e. rework the law to be practical), but not eliminate it altogether.
I learned GW-Basic and QBasic first, then moved on to Visual Basic, and I did not have any problem whatsoever comprehending Java. It probably all depends on what your source of information was and how structured you learned to be within Basic.
ps BASIC stands for Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. It was designed for code n00bs.
Slashdot Mirror
. Just pretend you didn't notice that.
People generally don't want to change what comes with their system
Take over the desktop. then worry about a browser. Are you kidding? Taking over the browser is too confusing, so they should try taking over the entire OS first? Maybe I am misunderstanding you, but if people are scared of new browser, why the hell would they want to change their entire operating system? I say start small - once people see the benefits of open source apps, they might start opening their eyes to bigger things.
Did anyone else notice that cute little logo had a Mac one-button mouse for the nose?
True, no one was electrocuted, but a phone ring is generated by a 90 VAC charge down the phone line, IIRC (probably because of the older phones which needed that kind of voltage to operate the mechanical bell). I've actually been shocked by the ring charge before, when I was fooling around with an old desktop phone with the cover off, dialing my own phone number to cause it to ring while holding down the hookswitch standing on my concrete basement floor in bare feet. Yes, I'm an idiot, but while I wasn't anything more than a little soiled in the pants, I could see how this could potentially be a HUGE problem if someone with a pacemaker or just a weak heart were to find themselves in this quasi-unlikely situation with their VAIO.
Because that's a half-truth. So many other aspects of the computer impact the speed of finishing tasks. RAM, Front-side bus speed, video card specs, motherboard chipset, and a thousand other things all correlate with "how fast your computer runs."
There is no way I could describe clock speed as "how fast your computer runs" without some sort of "but ..." following it, because it's just one among many variables which determine the quality of the machine.
Um...he's stating a fact. The only reason anyone would ever buy an LCD screen is because (A) it takes up less space or (B) it looks cool (or possibly (C) it uses less power, but usually that's a fringe benefit). Nobody buys them because they have a better picture because...they don't.
Extract cranium from rectum.
The web isn't a purely visual media. That implies that it's all pictures and movies, and little to no text, which is utterly incorrect. It's an informational (read: text-driven) media. Look at this website. Are you here for the sweet-ass banner ads? Do you think this site is completely unreadable in a text-only browser? Sure, there's flash and animated GIF's and all of that stuff out there, but it is by NO MEANS the majority of the content. Graphics are and ought to be just added eye-candy for those of us who have working eyes.
The web was originally intended to be a way to pass around information; another way to communicate. There are billions and billions of webpages out there which are perfectly accessible via text-only browsers (or, by extension, braille terminals). There is no reason why anybody should prevent users from entering.
As for your argument that websites are private property, this is true, but so are office buildings. They are owned privately, and yet are required to provide wheelchair access to every floor. I'm not saying a webpage showcasing somebody's art needs to have textual descriptions of each picture, but when a website offers a service which a blind person can find useful prevents that person from using it's service, something needs to be done.
All of that said, I think lawsuits are a horrible fucking idea. It's not like Yahoo intentionally left these people out; it was just an honest oversight. If they don't bother to do anything to rectify the situation, then, yes, a lawsuit may be in order, but give them a chance to come up with something first.
Since when does Microsoft need free advertising? People who have no more than a basic knowledge of what a computer LOOKS like know who Microsoft is. I'd say this article was much more beneficial to Linux, just because the word "Linux" was in it - some more of the populace just learned a new word, even if they know nothing about it.
Given the job market recently, they probably have several "promising candidates".
Anyway, I doubt insubordination is a quality any employer is looking for. If I asked someone to demonstrate a skill they listed on their resume and they acted as though this task was beneath them, I'd scratch them off my list immediately.
I cannot comprehend how communism would incur social equality. The government (made up of people) will have control over everyone else (who also happen to people). Ergo, those involved in the government will NOT be socially equal to the common folk.
Admittedly, I have not read much about communism, but it seems to me that at no point in history has it ever really worked.
If you think I'm wrong, please explain. I'm more than willing to change my mind if certain issues can be cleared up.
By fucking caring, that's how. By spreading the understanding to those around you (if you are in the U.S.) that they live in a fucking bubble, which seems to be growing smaller every day. By living your life as if you have choices (of music, of movies, of religions, of beliefs, hell, of operating systems) besides those which society shoves down our throats. By not being fucking complacent, only then will things even begin to change.
Voting will never solve anything, as your options consist of a corporate-owned whore or a corporate-owned slut.
There's plenty of options. There are only two that are really shoved down our throats, and most likely the one elected will be one of them. BUT - if third-party (fourth-? fifth-?) candidates get significant amounts of votes, people will pay attention. They will see new names, new choices creeping into their field of vision.
I LOVE my country. I love the Constitution and rights it grants me. I love the ideals that the founders had in mind.
But I HATE what my country has become. I hate the laws that have created and the loopholes left gaping which circumvent my Constitution. I hate the ideals that my society expresses.
This world is not static; it is either evolving or devolving. It is up to us to care which direction it goes.
That's good know. Thanks for the advice - I actually do have a RH 7.3 partition on this box, but kinda got bored with it. I'm gonna install RH9, but i'm gonna need a weekend probably to get it all working, seeing as how I need my box to serve as a DHCP server for my parent's computer (no, I'm not in their basement - I am upstairs, thank you very much).
Thanks for the website links. Oh, I have a question: what distro would you recommend? I'm just doing rh because I have a friend who's using it and can probably help me out, but if there's something of higher quality out there, i'd certainly like to know!
I realize Gnome and KDE are very similar to Windows, but to feel completely comfortable in them, a hardcore Windows user must either reconfigure everything to their liking (which takes a little bit of time) or get used to the new setup (which also takes a little bit of time).
I'm about the same age as you, and have been using windows for about as long (hell, I still remember parkdisk). But, like most people, I am lazy and resistant to change. Why bother switching when I am comfortable where I am? Why screw around with actually LEARNING something about networking when I can just let Windows figure it out for me?
Humans abhor change. I'm not saying it's right, or a Good Thing, but it's understandable.
For the sake of learning and wisdom and partaking in the big mind-altering bong hit that is open-source, I plan on getting RH9 running as my primary OS sometime this summer. Hell, probably this weekend.
Fuck it, I'M DOING IT TONIGHT!!!
Everyone who read this is now stupider.
Seriously, why does my mom need to know shit about partitions, hostnames, or IPs to use word processing (a point-and-click-and-type world)?
What's hard about it, you ask? It's different. Since before Windows 95 I've grown accustomed to expecting certain behaviors from my OS and it's UI. This includes everything from window behavior to more complicated stuff like setting up a network.
Am I just curmudgeonly? Maybe, but I also just haven't had a) the time or b) the motivation to spend time getting used to all of these factors. In a certain sense, I'm betting that the more hardcore Windows users find it more difficult to switch than the less experienced users, simply because certain expectations have become so innate that even the slightest difference requires a significant effort to get used to.
No, it doesn't.
Erm...that's not all that surprising, seeing as how the 5200 is supposed to be the budget version of the FX line (analogous to the MX in the earlier generations), whereas the Ti was the top-of-the-line version of the GF2. Even though your 5200 had 128 MB RAM, it's still bottlenecked by the intentionally crippled chip.
Don't blame the company because you didn't do your reading.
: If "millions" are breaking some law "each and every day", it's a good indication the law is a bad idea No, it's not. All it means is people will do whatever they can get away with. People speed all the time. Traffic generally flows (at least in my area) around 10 mph above the posted speed limit. Does this mean the law is a bad idea? Should we get repeal the speed limit laws, just because nobody follows them? Of course not - maybe increase the speed limit (i.e. rework the law to be practical), but not eliminate it altogether.
I learned GW-Basic and QBasic first, then moved on to Visual Basic, and I did not have any problem whatsoever comprehending Java. It probably all depends on what your source of information was and how structured you learned to be within Basic. ps BASIC stands for Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. It was designed for code n00bs.