Tools for all the above are readily and freely available for PCs of nearly any architecture running nearly any operating system, meaning that nearly *any* computer is more than adequate for "business."
1) Look at the portion of that generation that was techincally inclined. Just because that generation "built society and technology" doesn't mean that everyone from that generation used it. Take UNIX, for example. UNIX was born in my father's generation. If you round up 100 people in their fifties and 100 people in their twenties, who's going to have a better understanding of UNIX?
2) Can you honestly sit down and explain to someone who grew up with tube radios and console televisions how the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit processors? DDR and DDR2? Bus speeds? This generation pioneered 4-bit micros, not Pentium 4s.
Belkin wireless ethernet cards that don't have Broadcom chipsets (2004-present)
WTF? I've never gotten a Broadcom chipset to work under *any* OS for which Broadcom didn't provide drivers. Even the driver source Broadcom provides under NDA fails to work under embedded Linux.
What ever happened to the "NewsForge is part of the OSTG, just like Slashdot" disclaimer that used to get posted on stories that linked to other OSTG sites?
I got it from Costco, so it was simply labeled "office chair, mesh." It looks remarkably similar to this chair, but mine has a leather seat. The back is just as comfortable as an Aeron.
I've had an Aeron-style knock off chair (I'm too cheap to shell out for the real thing) for almost two years.
I do agree with you that it comes down to the user's "willingness to commit to a proper [ergonomic] regimen," but I've found that with my "ergonomic" chair, it's much more comfortable to sit upright and position my arms correctly on the arm rests and my feet correctly on the floor. With my previous vanilla office chair, it was uncomfortable -- and some days painful -- to sit in an "ergonomically correct" position.
Since it's more comfortable for me to sit properly, I've started doing it often. I've even adjusted the driver's seat in my car so that I'm sitting more upright.
Basically, it comes down to diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. I'd recommend buying a relatively inexpensive ergonomic chair to start, that way if it's not for you, you're only out $250-$350 instead of $600-$800.
Instead of building a robotic clone, why not harvest some of his cells and create a cyborg of him? At least then all the Borg jokes would be rooted in truth.
Sony expects the segment to hemorrhage 100 billion yen ($871.6 million) in operating losses during the business year as it prepares the PS3 for launch.
I was getting ready to post a reply with most of the same reasons as the parent post. Luckily I kept reading a bit;)
Free wasn't a completely deciding factor for me, but it is a nice reason to switch. I've never actually purchased a version of Windows (I've only purchased one computer with Windows pre-loaded, so I suppose that may count), but -- without getting preachy -- pirating Windows always felt wrong. With Linux -- since I don't use on of the "Enterprise" distros -- I don't have the feeling of guilt, fear, uncertainty, whatever about running my OS.
I run various Slack 10.x distros on various PCs and *rarely* use any of its few package management tools. Not having software "managed" for me was another big reason for making the switch from Windows. By actually going out and getting the tarball I want, I only install what I want and what I need. Nothing is obscured by the "security update" or "hotfix" heading. I know exactly what I'm getting, and I like that.
Free applications are even better than the free OS. Sourceforge and Freshmeat are *much* better choices for finding applications than download.com; a vast majority of Windows applications are not free and are poorly written. It can be argued that a vast majority of Linux applications are free and poorly written but with most of the Linux applications, you have the source. Even if you don't know how to fix it yourself, chances are that you know or can find someone who can.
The community of Linux users can be just as harsh as any other group of people. There are assholes everywhere. There are also helpful people everywhere. Just gotta watch what you say, how you say it, and to whom you say it.
Oh, and to the person(s) that mentioned it was easier to find support for Windows related problems than Linux related problems: Learn how to Google. In nearly two years I've not encountered a single problem with Linux that I haven't found an answer to in a few hours. I've had several Windows problems over the past 10 years where the only solution I could find on the Net was "reformat."
Re:Waste of time and source of FUD for Microsoft
on
Dell Offering "Open" PC
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Dell has actually offered PCs with no pre-loaded OS for quite some time. However, these PCs were not "advertised." One could only find them by searching Dell's website for the PC model number followed by an 'n' (for example, "2400n").
I manged to talk my boss into buying 3 such machines for embedded Linux development since they were cheap (less than $300 US at the time; $100 cheaper than the stock Dell Dimension 2400) and still had Dell's hardware waranty. Plus, the PCs have nifty 'n' badges in the lower left corner. And I've got 3 FreeDOS CDs floating around now:)
Pffft. What a pussy. Giving up because he had issues with audio. He's lucky to live in an age where PCs have sound.
And regarding alizard's post: The fact that a Linux newbie like me got sound (as well as (g)mplayer etc running (without using any package management tools; what's the point in learning something if you just automate it?) proves that it's not all that hard.
Gmail blocks sending attachments of "executable" files... It even checks inside of zip, tar/gz archives to see if a file with matching extension is found.
Yes, but even Gmail's scanners can be confused by encrypting the attachment by using GPG or WinZip's built in password protection feature.
This just goes to show how poor most e-mail filters/scanners are. If some script kiddie can bust WinZip's built in password protection, how hard would it really be for whoever writes these filters to do the same? And if the filter can scan through a ZIP file to detect an executable, why not scan a RAR file as well?
The only reason this virus crisis has reached such a state is due to the laziness of tool and OS engineers and admins and the ignorance of the common user.
If OS engineers didn't leave so many vulnerabilities in their code (how hard is it to check for a buffer overrun ffs?) that would have a significant impact on virus creation and proliferation.
If the tool writers had any kind of foresight and actually thought about ways to prevent simple virus trends (like sending RARs instead of EXEs or SCRs) that would have a significant impact on virus creation and proliferation.
If net admins took the time to educate their users instead of berating them (notice how this one kills two birds with one stone) that would have a significant impact on virus proliferation.
Haha...Apple IIe was my first computer experience in 1987 at school. We all had to learn how to type using some (surely pirated) software that featured a cat pointing at all the letters we were supposed to be typing. Sometimes I miss that nuclear-green glow that came from those monitors.
About a year later, my parents bought an Amstrad PC/CK(?); had the onboard midi card, 4-color CGA, dual 5 1/4" floppies and no harddrive. Initially, I just used PFS Write for typing up homework. My dad and I would go to software shows and come home with wonderful freeware gems such as "Jump Joe" and "ICBM." Eventually we started shelling out money for games produced by actual studios (Sierra's sidescrolling '3D' adventures, LucasArt's Indian Jone's series, etc).
That computer's long dead, but I managed to salvage one of the floppy drives and I still break out the old games on occasion.
With 1.0PR I had 2 crashes on my Windows box and no crashes on my Linux box. With 1.0 I've had no crashes on my Windows box and 1 crash on my Linux box (which may have been a RAM issue).
Fry's Electronics has "Great Quality" brand machines that come with some terrible Linux distro (I can't remember the name off the top of my head). The people that I see buying these machines (and I know quite a few who have), have a hard enough time turning the PC on, much less running Linux.
What would be interesting to see is how many PCs not purchased from resellers (HP, Dell, etc). are use to run pirated copies of Windows. How many garage sale and EBay PCs?
I've got Nero, Alcohol 120, and Roxio Easy CD/DVD Creator all installed on the same PC. I also have Sims 2 and Doom 3 installed with no problems whatsoever. In fact, my wife was able to install Sims 2 by herself while I was out of town without having to call me for any support.
So, either I have some kind of mystical, magical set up, or someone else is full of shit.
instead of just re-blabbering the press releases straight out of the white house with all critical thinking skills shut down
There's a difference between news (reporting the press release) and editorial (turning on critical thinking skills). There's a time and place for both, but most people fail to understand that.
Slashdot Mirror
Ahh, yes. I misunderstood. Sorry about that.
But all in all, macs are bad for business
How so?
What do most "business" types do with their computers?
Tools for all the above are readily and freely available for PCs of nearly any architecture running nearly any operating system, meaning that nearly *any* computer is more than adequate for "business."
1) Look at the portion of that generation that was techincally inclined. Just because that generation "built society and technology" doesn't mean that everyone from that generation used it. Take UNIX, for example. UNIX was born in my father's generation. If you round up 100 people in their fifties and 100 people in their twenties, who's going to have a better understanding of UNIX?
2) Can you honestly sit down and explain to someone who grew up with tube radios and console televisions how the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit processors? DDR and DDR2? Bus speeds? This generation pioneered 4-bit micros, not Pentium 4s.
Belkin wireless ethernet cards that don't have Broadcom chipsets (2004-present)
WTF? I've never gotten a Broadcom chipset to work under *any* OS for which Broadcom didn't provide drivers. Even the driver source Broadcom provides under NDA fails to work under embedded Linux.
What ever happened to the "NewsForge is part of the OSTG, just like Slashdot" disclaimer that used to get posted on stories that linked to other OSTG sites?
I got it from Costco, so it was simply labeled "office chair, mesh." It looks remarkably similar to this chair, but mine has a leather seat. The back is just as comfortable as an Aeron.
I've had an Aeron-style knock off chair (I'm too cheap to shell out for the real thing) for almost two years.
I do agree with you that it comes down to the user's "willingness to commit to a proper [ergonomic] regimen," but I've found that with my "ergonomic" chair, it's much more comfortable to sit upright and position my arms correctly on the arm rests and my feet correctly on the floor. With my previous vanilla office chair, it was uncomfortable -- and some days painful -- to sit in an "ergonomically correct" position.
Since it's more comfortable for me to sit properly, I've started doing it often. I've even adjusted the driver's seat in my car so that I'm sitting more upright.
Basically, it comes down to diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. I'd recommend buying a relatively inexpensive ergonomic chair to start, that way if it's not for you, you're only out $250-$350 instead of $600-$800.
Instead of building a robotic clone, why not harvest some of his cells and create a cyborg of him? At least then all the Borg jokes would be rooted in truth.
I'm not a big MS fan, but before you all go sticking your feet in your respective mouths:
From the article:
From the horse's mouth (or is it ass?):
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=293907open source proof reading software?
That is why the option of open source is so financially compelling to the both the consumer and organizations have thousands of computers.
Chapter 1 start with an overview...
I was getting ready to post a reply with most of the same reasons as the parent post. Luckily I kept reading a bit ;)
Free wasn't a completely deciding factor for me, but it is a nice reason to switch. I've never actually purchased a version of Windows (I've only purchased one computer with Windows pre-loaded, so I suppose that may count), but -- without getting preachy -- pirating Windows always felt wrong. With Linux -- since I don't use on of the "Enterprise" distros -- I don't have the feeling of guilt, fear, uncertainty, whatever about running my OS.
I run various Slack 10.x distros on various PCs and *rarely* use any of its few package management tools. Not having software "managed" for me was another big reason for making the switch from Windows. By actually going out and getting the tarball I want, I only install what I want and what I need. Nothing is obscured by the "security update" or "hotfix" heading. I know exactly what I'm getting, and I like that.
Free applications are even better than the free OS. Sourceforge and Freshmeat are *much* better choices for finding applications than download.com; a vast majority of Windows applications are not free and are poorly written. It can be argued that a vast majority of Linux applications are free and poorly written but with most of the Linux applications, you have the source. Even if you don't know how to fix it yourself, chances are that you know or can find someone who can.
The community of Linux users can be just as harsh as any other group of people. There are assholes everywhere. There are also helpful people everywhere. Just gotta watch what you say, how you say it, and to whom you say it.
Oh, and to the person(s) that mentioned it was easier to find support for Windows related problems than Linux related problems: Learn how to Google. In nearly two years I've not encountered a single problem with Linux that I haven't found an answer to in a few hours. I've had several Windows problems over the past 10 years where the only solution I could find on the Net was "reformat."
Dell has actually offered PCs with no pre-loaded OS for quite some time. However, these PCs were not "advertised." One could only find them by searching Dell's website for the PC model number followed by an 'n' (for example, "2400n").
I manged to talk my boss into buying 3 such machines for embedded Linux development since they were cheap (less than $300 US at the time; $100 cheaper than the stock Dell Dimension 2400) and still had Dell's hardware waranty. Plus, the PCs have nifty 'n' badges in the lower left corner. And I've got 3 FreeDOS CDs floating around now :)
Pffft. What a pussy. Giving up because he had issues with audio. He's lucky to live in an age where PCs have sound.
And regarding alizard's post: The fact that a Linux newbie like me got sound (as well as (g)mplayer etc running (without using any package management tools; what's the point in learning something if you just automate it?) proves that it's not all that hard.
Gmail blocks sending attachments of "executable" files ... It even checks inside of zip, tar/gz archives to see if a file with matching extension is found.
Yes, but even Gmail's scanners can be confused by encrypting the attachment by using GPG or WinZip's built in password protection feature.
This just goes to show how poor most e-mail filters/scanners are. If some script kiddie can bust WinZip's built in password protection, how hard would it really be for whoever writes these filters to do the same? And if the filter can scan through a ZIP file to detect an executable, why not scan a RAR file as well?
The only reason this virus crisis has reached such a state is due to the laziness of tool and OS engineers and admins and the ignorance of the common user.
If OS engineers didn't leave so many vulnerabilities in their code (how hard is it to check for a buffer overrun ffs?) that would have a significant impact on virus creation and proliferation.
If the tool writers had any kind of foresight and actually thought about ways to prevent simple virus trends (like sending RARs instead of EXEs or SCRs) that would have a significant impact on virus creation and proliferation.
If net admins took the time to educate their users instead of berating them (notice how this one kills two birds with one stone) that would have a significant impact on virus proliferation.
Haha...Apple IIe was my first computer experience in 1987 at school. We all had to learn how to type using some (surely pirated) software that featured a cat pointing at all the letters we were supposed to be typing. Sometimes I miss that nuclear-green glow that came from those monitors.
About a year later, my parents bought an Amstrad PC/CK(?); had the onboard midi card, 4-color CGA, dual 5 1/4" floppies and no harddrive. Initially, I just used PFS Write for typing up homework. My dad and I would go to software shows and come home with wonderful freeware gems such as "Jump Joe" and "ICBM." Eventually we started shelling out money for games produced by actual studios (Sierra's sidescrolling '3D' adventures, LucasArt's Indian Jone's series, etc).
That computer's long dead, but I managed to salvage one of the floppy drives and I still break out the old games on occasion.
I'm pretty much in the same boat.
I've got 6 years of experience at a great job, but no degree (yet).
I've got no plans to leave, but without a degree my options are *very* limited if I do end up leaving.
Sure, I can get a job with "equivalent experience," but I can expect my salary to be at less 10% less than if I had a degree *and* the experience.
With 1.0PR I had 2 crashes on my Windows box and no crashes on my Linux box. With 1.0 I've had no crashes on my Windows box and 1 crash on my Linux box (which may have been a RAM issue).
"I was able to...view personal messages sent and received on public PCs.
There should be no expectation of privacy when using a public PC.
I'd have to agree with imsabbel.
Fry's Electronics has "Great Quality" brand machines that come with some terrible Linux distro (I can't remember the name off the top of my head). The people that I see buying these machines (and I know quite a few who have), have a hard enough time turning the PC on, much less running Linux.
What would be interesting to see is how many PCs not purchased from resellers (HP, Dell, etc). are use to run pirated copies of Windows. How many garage sale and EBay PCs?
I've got Nero, Alcohol 120, and Roxio Easy CD/DVD Creator all installed on the same PC. I also have Sims 2 and Doom 3 installed with no problems whatsoever. In fact, my wife was able to install Sims 2 by herself while I was out of town without having to call me for any support.
So, either I have some kind of mystical, magical set up, or someone else is full of shit.
instead of just re-blabbering the press releases straight out of the white house with all critical thinking skills shut down
There's a difference between news (reporting the press release) and editorial (turning on critical thinking skills). There's a time and place for both, but most people fail to understand that.
I get my news from outside the US
But then you're getting your news from a bunch of people who have absolutely no idea what's actually going on in the country.
Jeez...
You'd think Microsoft would have issued some kind of patch for this years ago. I mean, Linux has had this ability for years.
But Windows is so much more advanced and feature rich than Linux.
Ever hear of maintaining legacy systems?
On the plus side (if you can call it that) the customer is upgrading to embedded XP...*shudder*