Ok, GNOME has GNOME VFS, which, maybe is a little bit behind KIOSlave, but it works neverthen less. I can connect to ftp, ssh, samba, nfs - you name it. Heck, I can see them and browse for all of them via Network window, which shows Windows shares AND various Bonjour enabled shares. And I can save text via gnome-vfs from Gedit, Bluefish (web pages), yes, lot of GNOME desktop apps should have this support, which have been added gradually.
For last two releases this functionality simply works, and I feel like on Windows when I check out all shares and all staff - it can even count very fast size of objects on very large SAMBA share. Maybe there was such function before there, but I don't care - I was surprised that it works:)
As for GNOME vs. KDE thing - there is NO such thing, except for very small groups of zealots on both sides. However, I should admit, KDE zealotry is somehow more active - maybe it is because that it's more geek-based and geeks are full with emotions about technologies they are using. Nothing wrong with that, they just keep it in mind that discussions should have a lot more reasonable arguments to be interesting.
I just using GNOME (and few KDE apps, but less and less). I enjoy freedom which is given by these numerous beatiful apps, Kbabel included.
By the way, GNOME CD burner simply works and rocks. It saved my day yesterday, when I burned 14 cds for very short time. No hackings, no config files or menus or dialog boxes, no looking in console for help. It just worked [tm]
I believe in KDE is very frequently the same. So let be in peace, brothers in freedom:)
And you know why? Because there is no much men sane in the world who are capable to manage coorporation. Most of people simply brake down and become...like you describe here.
Power and money corrupts. Not only. It destroys much you are fighting for.
So, no. Not everyone can have power. And not everyone can handle large sums of money. They simply can't.
...and next you would like to ask that geeks would drop their fanboy attitude to various tech subjects:))
To be fair, it is simple because geeks sees real life [tm] girls very rarerly. To learn how to talk with the girl, even is she is your work colegue, is very time consuming task. Too much time consuming. Don't expect standard geek spend time on this.
I learned several heavy lessons with all this. First, hardcore geeks won't get laid, period. It simply won't happen. So if you dig both - tech and girls - simply don't spend *all* the time at the front of computer. Make something out of yourself. Write hikes, lyrics, whatever. Learn to speak. Just live, not only compute.
Startup isn't there for patents, they are here to offer us new, exciting products, aren't they? Or I got it completely wrong?
Ohhh, big company will steal your idea, will *compete* with you, will drive you out of market (yeah, dumping is allowed in when you are monopoly), etc.
Patents is THEORETICALLY "could-be-good" idea (not excelent), and even then only on paper. In reality it is nightmare, it doesn't work. It is like communism - it is nice to have everyone everything equally but it simply doesn't fit. How HARD is to understand that?
They are lot of safe guards for new inventors and startups, and believe me, patents are worst part of them. Why then patents resist to be gone? Because there are "vampire" industry who is based on these laws and principles. They will tell everything society need to hear just to keep machine running.
It is clearlly bullshit. Because tell me ANY invention which would be perfectly original and patent would be rightous cause for inventor. Even electric light was developed by three different people in different countries! And even in times of Edison, there was notion that patents are "failing to achieve their goals".
Inventions don't need protection. Heck, even inventors don't. It is commercial applications who would "theoretically" give some guarantees about income. And even in those situations for such companies who usually can't do the shit in business.
...to bring "Microsoft Democracy(R) and Peace(tm)" in the world. We will just "nuke" everyone who will stand in our way to our last fort. Now we see why there is software patents. They are weapons. And again "we didn't know what monster it will create" from creators. No, you didn't. Because those who had forseen it, won't make such system in the first place.
There is a reason why economics should be regulated by scientists.
It is getting more and more farse. It is really all? It is all you can do? West? It is called progress? Capitalism?
It is *sad* to see all what have been good, go. But it is has to go. Such thinking is dead end for free market and capitalism itself. Anyone sees it more and more.
Less on my emotional and moral rant... Now we see "then they fight you" phase at it's maximum. Question is - will be there "and then you win" phase for us, free/open source software and small business? What Microsoft, sinking like Titanic, will take with it?
That's the whole point of "Unix principle of design". Keep everything clean, simple and modular, so you can debug small "brick" of "wall" and get everything under clear control.
But they just keep dragin on their old code base (as far as unofficial information goes) and coding style that it doesn't sound even funny anymore. I am Linux desktop/server user, but as my job will keep me with Windows on user desktops, I wanted to see Microsoft to do the same level of development how it was on Windows 2000, at least. But as it seems to me hope is all fading. Somehow sad, because lot of people will have to hang on with Windows for years.
it is price we pay about Microsoft monopoly. It is price we pay that we didn't care about Microsoft "mono-envorement" before.
Simply no. GPL and BSD is enforsable ONLY BECAUSE OF COPYRIGHT LAW (If you are broke GPL agreement, then you are in same league as any music "pirate" - you violated copyright laws). Otherwise they would be public domain and guess what - then no one would contribute or even ADMIT that it has taken your code and put into their program.
RMS can believe what he wants to, but he believes in copyright law, because it what he has said in life lecture which I attented two years ago in Riga, Latvia.
Maybe it is wrong. But it is not to you to decide, but owner of work, who owns copyrights. Exactly listen to word - copy right. He is the one who has full rights to copy. You have only mererly rights to "fair use", use song on your iPod/iRiver, computer in FLAC format, whatever. And even that not in all countries.
That's the law. Like it or not. The same law GPL and BSD is founded on.
Because Highest management simply DON'T TRUST IT management, period. And I don't know a heck - why. Maybe it is because that what says IT management contraticts very heavily what is said by very polite, good looking marketing droid from Microsoft team. Maybe it is a little bit about that IT management usually can't talk a shit with arguments.
And they are not talking about not letting personal feelings in business. Heck, business IS personal feelings, want it or not.
Microsoft knew this all time along. And they have used it more and more for their good. They go stright to CIO, highest management, gets some dinner together. This is how deals are stroked.
Not out of technical merits. Why? They are not needed. Because that guy had nice shoes!
Just got me there - that is all what I always sayings in these flamewars. Forget that stupid argument "why both? there should be holy one". No. Period. Over my dead body. I don't want any of these project die. Heck, I even want to Xfce to survive for low-end boxes. Don't mention flubox for really low-end and hackers.
Yes, it _is_ all about freedom and choice. In the begining it didn't matter to me, but now...if you will take it away, you will suffer me:)
.. in metaphysical way (joke:)) because this delay what was in my mind all this weekend. Dapper comes to be *good*, in sense "cheap, working iPod for masses", so it should be polished at maximum. I mean, almost *everything* works out of box, so why not done it that everything what is possible to be done is done?
Actually I would welcome all hackers/coders/common linux crowd take a way in their browsers to Ubuntulinux.org, download latest beta, install it as some test partition and try to crash/test their favorite apps. Then, get all those nasty bugs to www.launchpad.net and get them filled. Kudos tu Ubuntu bugsquash team, which are very quick in testing/confirming bugs. You won't be left in cold.
So, let's get over "we have different distros", and let's help make one who really rock!
Re:Microsoft didn't want Vista side by side with O
on
No EFI Support for Vista
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· Score: 2, Interesting
It is interesting that there are many technical comments that claim that Windows actually can boot from EFI, but I think you defined most clearly that main point here.
Microsoft won't ever officially support Windows on new Apple computers, period. We could find it quite funny, but Microsoft is _clearly_ afraid of already so big comparing between OS X and Vista, so they don't want any additional troubles. And it is not that they afraid from Apple fanboys, no, they are afraid that some CIO will buy new, shinny PowerBook, as he will be heard that those "expensive, but cool toys" could run operational system that he is found of (or he is used to) and then...bums!...he loads OS X. And suddenly he understands.
There is other operational systems than Windows! There are other systems! And heck, they can be even BETTER ones!
Yes, I made it a little bit dramatical, but Microsoft is afraid from Apple. Again. This time they should be, because people don't want simple blank, confused computers. And even if they own shares in Apple (which I personally think is worth now quite a money, but is not about money at all this time), they are not happy about what power Apple under Jobs have appeared to be.
Ohh, I didn't finish what people want. They want entertament systems. In my opinion, I would like to claim that PC market is already very saturated for this level and have reached maximum. Future belongs to consoles (for games), easy to use web systems (we have very useful webmail, productivity packages on the web, thank to small-to-big but new companies like Google), Nokia 770 and that new Microsoft thingy... Mobile, easy to use devices. Yes, laptops will stay, and will take place of PCs. MacMinis.
For me, Microsoft Windows is clearly at dinosaur level. It is meant to disappear. Question is - what will stay in his place. So far, Vista does very bad job to prove that it can be that one.
..."if you have no evidence against guy, you simply can't get guy punished" they don't understand?
How they will prove that he cleaned up needed information in first place? Fingerprints? Electronic analystics? Give me a break, it is simply NOT possible. It is very possible that employee did something very wrong (and in fact, we don't know much about that). What we know that before getting a order from judge to get back hard drive, employee discarded any information from it. He maybe breached job contract, he maybe overstepped some laws, but clearly company will have a hard time to prove that this guy is gulty in first crime. And if laptop was only evidence then I think it smells more like "pushing around the small guy" theme all over again, not serious wish to discover the truth.
You hit a nail on its head and got my cynical note.
Yes, there _is_ possible way to have free market/capitalism and yet, provide understandable common coordination of power consumtion. But no one dares to care about it.
And there comes problem with coorporations, free market and capitalism in general. Coorporations follow logic which directly is anti-free market. Why? Because they tend to maximise their marketshare and therefore, money flow. They want to reach monopoly. Monopoly means end of free market. Examples? Microsoft, AT&T, US as center of power itself in the world (not coorporation exactly, but similarities are very big).
It is all about not seeing forest behind woods. When you see yourself as part of the market, not only wholy one, then it is allright - you will care about your profits, but you will also care about customer blackslash, about image, about everything else.
But when you think that you are wholy one, then it is dead end.
Hmmmm, what do you want it is not possible with free market and competetive capitalism. There will be always overhead, overproduction, etc. and more or less, big waste of power.
Next dream?
Another big big yawn. "Features" you mentioned are already given in OpenOffice.org, except Access claim which I shoot down - Access is nothing but a joke for serious and stable "databasing", trust me, I have eaten tons of salt with it. OpenOffice.org with few clicks can be very easily binded with lot of various databases, and it has JDBC support, making virtually ANY database with JDBC driver supported.
Have printed thousands of envelopes with address from Calc sheets in Writer, have been prepearing book catalog in Writer, doing some data work in MySQL database. Easy, with good interfaces for that.
Take a shot of reality, dude. Yes, Word maybe was king of the hill some time ago, but that era came and went away. Excel NEVER have been capable to do serious calculation work (memory problems, rounding problems, etc.). And Access is not capable to manage more that two thousand rows. It comes all from my expierence. There is NOTHING powerful in Microsoft Office, actually, it is full of empty claims and half-working features, which easily broke with touch of real usage.
2) Hardware. Since Linux only commands about one quarter of 1% of the desktop market....
Answer; Wrong. Most hardware which can be supported on Linux (open specs/willingness from vendor to produce them/binary only drivers) are supported and mostly which are not are not worth that damn anyway. Most of not supported devices are buggy Winmodems/cams/printers anyway, which are very unstable and not even equally supported on all Windows versions (Canon printers, anyone?).
Have you tested lastest Knoppix/Ubuntu LiveCDs? It will find your hardware in 85% of cases and will even configure correct screen resolution for you - something you won't achieve with Windows default install. I have installed Drapper - everything works out of box on my box, even DVD burner. Surprised? I'm not.:)
To avoid to be a "yes-man", I should agree that there are room for improvement, but for overall, I rate hardware detection and quality of drivers (BSD/Linux ones) much higher than Windows counterparts. If something in the software world gains significanty from free software idea, then those are device drivers.
3) Cost. Practically all PCs come with MS operating systems installed....
Answer:...and it is totally failure of anti-monopoly laws - it should not have to be that way. But it is so and in this situation I don't interpret it as barrier, but more of wrongdoing which we can only impact seriously with beating Windows in other fronts.
4) Performance. Without a GUI, Linux is very fast, and will run with minimum hardware. But, once you run KDE or GNOME, Linux performance is much worse than windows. I know there are other trimmed down GUIs, but they don't generally have the functionality of GNOME or KDE, and certainly don't approach the functionality of Windows or MacOS.
Answer: Again, a little bit flaimory claim. GNOME runs wonderfully on very low requirements (Pentium III 600Mhz, 128 MB) and is stable and responsive as Windows XP on the same computer. And ohhh, GNOME and KDE are MUCH more functional as Windows (bare Windows interface with minimum apps I mean) ever be, it seems you have never used none of them before seriously.
And, FYI, there are recent polishing and peformance improvement developments under way for both projects. Wonderful world of open source, I would say.
5) Lack of standards. No standard distribution, no standard interface, no standard way to upgrade, no standard installation for OS, or applications, or drivers. Frankly, no standard anything. Those who like to tinker endlessly consider this an advantage. But, the vast majority of desktop users don't want to endlessly tinker.
Yawn. Standard that, standard this. Get a grip, man. Windows are VERY different in terms of ANY standards between versions, even in apps support, and let's not talk about "wonderful" support of old formats in newest Office suites. Linux and other free software/open source OSes are providing envorement where everything is made to "just work". If you want Microsoft Network support - you can can add that. You want browser - you can choose or stick with envorement standard ones - Epiphany, Firefox, Konqueqor, you name it. They all work practically without any kind of diference. Actually free software apps are REQUIRED to stick with standards (real ones, like TCP/IP, IPP, etc) to be compatable with rest of the world, it is required for them to be accepted. Something like providers like Microsoft will never care to do correctly, because, hei, they use "different methods" to ensure their marketshare.
(At this point, I understood that I bite a troll, but I can't resist to carry on...)
6) Support. Your ISP many allow you to use Linux, but don't expect the level of support a windows user would get - not even close. If a peripheral isn't working correctly, don't expect the hardware manufacturer to you if you are running Linux.
Yeah, and there are pratically no problems with devices in Windows. It seems to me that you act
Gosh, let's be clear - I am ready to read some really clever fellas blogs, I am ready to read how Radiohead records their new LP, I check out Linux/Free desktop devel blogs every day. And NONE of them uses any kind of ads. Because if you want to do blogging only for some kind of regular income, then there is clearly something wrong with you (hint: lack of common sense).
It was never ment to work, because stuff worth to read is already posted, for free. From guys who never intended to get money from it.
Re:GNOME's audio backend GStreamer to use DRM
on
A Look at GNOME 2.14
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· Score: 1
Sad that I already had comment in for this article, I could have modded additionally with more points.
You actually said what I wanted to say all the time - to get forward, to get more users, to be really rocking desktop, we should look for compromises, yes, for *true* compromises where we can keep our freedom - but we also can give a user freedom to play legally DVD and listen to mp4.
Re:GNOME's audio backend GStreamer to use DRM
on
A Look at GNOME 2.14
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· Score: 4, Insightful
Yeah, yeah, right. What about DVDs I would like to see? What about DRM-enabled bought files from iTunes?
Lets be clear. DRM is not evil. Abuse of it's functionality and usage from RIAA/MPIAA is, well, it is close to stupid and shortsighted (at least so far - region coding for DVD for price fixing, requesting DRM for bough songs in Internet shops like iTunes). But there are lot of LEGAL and UNDERSTANDING uses of DRM in multimedia, even for small media companies.
I understand that music and movie cartel actions is something is should not taken lightly, however, such hyperbole which are claimed by RMS and other "wisle blowers" are too much. Fight companies which abuse DRM, don't fight DRM itself. Because by itself it is just one of technologies to allow copyright holders have their rights fullfilled. If it is abused to limit anything.
It is NOT a black/white situation. And claiming that Fluendo is doing just to give "control of Linux desktop media to cartels" are plainly overblown and childish claim. Fluendo actually created LEGAL mp3 plugin for you to use, freerly. you can download it at their webshop, put it in your home directory, and vola - no half-legal repositories, no endless searching. It is just works.
And by the way, Xine is illegal to distribute in US with mp3/divx/quicktime support. It is just by the way. Mplayer too. Of course, there is "nothing wrong" with these apps in geeks view. But it totally wrong to think that any distro will get ANY kind of support for those prioritary formats out there with such attitude. Oh, you don't want prioritary formats? What about your XVID videos? What about divx movies? Mp3? Quicktime trailers which geeks love so much? Haven't got enough?
Be real. There is world out there which are seeking compromises not always screaming about something they don't like. And trolling (yes, such claims about Fluendo ARE trolls) won't help not your cause, nor KDE, nor Linux desktop overall.
RIAA is monopoly and clearly acts like that. They want maximum profits and they can get easy away with that, because there are hord of brainwashed masses who will buy anything Britney category musicians will produce. It is sad that if I choose to ignore them (there are very healthy count of unsigned artists, even with real pophits), I have to ignore bunch of artists I really love. However, RIAA actions are clearly pushing envelope here and they are acting realy dumb.
For example, I just really hope that Radiohead won't sign with some big label and will stay in indie arena, as they have such chance now (their contract expired with "Hail To The Thief"). They newest record promises lot of their early age hits like "Last flowers", "Nude (Don't Get Any Ideas)", also their newest songs gives a good feeling.
Yes, and Google founders are not in control of company anymore, riiiiiight....
More or less, get a grip. Companies are companies, of course, and there is executives who are just plainly greedy and ignore any common sense you will throw at them. My pick Google is not one of those companies with them on the board.
And don't forget to add that it is WHY XGL and XEGL is important - if we can show that Linux can use for example, those Intel 3D onboard cards (GraphicsExtreme2 or something) for such eye candy, well, it is as 10:0 in basketball in one quater. It IS important to get lot of new users, even advanced ones, to Linux/Free desktop bandwagon.
Slashdot Mirror
Emmmmm...there goes my mod points :)
:)
:)
Ok, GNOME has GNOME VFS, which, maybe is a little bit behind KIOSlave, but it works neverthen less. I can connect to ftp, ssh, samba, nfs - you name it. Heck, I can see them and browse for all of them via Network window, which shows Windows shares AND various Bonjour enabled shares. And I can save text via gnome-vfs from Gedit, Bluefish (web pages), yes, lot of GNOME desktop apps should have this support, which have been added gradually.
For last two releases this functionality simply works, and I feel like on Windows when I check out all shares and all staff - it can even count very fast size of objects on very large SAMBA share. Maybe there was such function before there, but I don't care - I was surprised that it works
As for GNOME vs. KDE thing - there is NO such thing, except for very small groups of zealots on both sides. However, I should admit, KDE zealotry is somehow more active - maybe it is because that it's more geek-based and geeks are full with emotions about technologies they are using. Nothing wrong with that, they just keep it in mind that discussions should have a lot more reasonable arguments to be interesting.
I just using GNOME (and few KDE apps, but less and less). I enjoy freedom which is given by these numerous beatiful apps, Kbabel included.
By the way, GNOME CD burner simply works and rocks. It saved my day yesterday, when I burned 14 cds for very short time. No hackings, no config files or menus or dialog boxes, no looking in console for help. It just worked [tm]
I believe in KDE is very frequently the same. So let be in peace, brothers in freedom
And you know why? Because there is no much men sane in the world who are capable to manage coorporation. Most of people simply brake down and become...like you describe here. Power and money corrupts. Not only. It destroys much you are fighting for. So, no. Not everyone can have power. And not everyone can handle large sums of money. They simply can't.
...and next you would like to ask that geeks would drop their fanboy attitude to various tech subjects :))
To be fair, it is simple because geeks sees real life [tm] girls very rarerly. To learn how to talk with the girl, even is she is your work colegue, is very time consuming task. Too much time consuming. Don't expect standard geek spend time on this.
I learned several heavy lessons with all this. First, hardcore geeks won't get laid, period. It simply won't happen. So if you dig both - tech and girls - simply don't spend *all* the time at the front of computer. Make something out of yourself. Write hikes, lyrics, whatever. Learn to speak. Just live, not only compute.
What bad would happen then? Hm?
Startup isn't there for patents, they are here to offer us new, exciting products, aren't they? Or I got it completely wrong?
Ohhh, big company will steal your idea, will *compete* with you, will drive you out of market (yeah, dumping is allowed in when you are monopoly), etc.
Patents is THEORETICALLY "could-be-good" idea (not excelent), and even then only on paper. In reality it is nightmare, it doesn't work. It is like communism - it is nice to have everyone everything equally but it simply doesn't fit. How HARD is to understand that?
They are lot of safe guards for new inventors and startups, and believe me, patents are worst part of them. Why then patents resist to be gone? Because there are "vampire" industry who is based on these laws and principles. They will tell everything society need to hear just to keep machine running.
It is clearlly bullshit. Because tell me ANY invention which would be perfectly original and patent would be rightous cause for inventor. Even electric light was developed by three different people in different countries! And even in times of Edison, there was notion that patents are "failing to achieve their goals".
Inventions don't need protection. Heck, even inventors don't. It is commercial applications who would "theoretically" give some guarantees about income. And even in those situations for such companies who usually can't do the shit in business.
...hell...wait a minute, I have to click on *this*?
It. Is. Just. Bloody. Nonsense. Period.
...to bring "Microsoft Democracy(R) and Peace(tm)" in the world. We will just "nuke" everyone who will stand in our way to our last fort. Now we see why there is software patents. They are weapons. And again "we didn't know what monster it will create" from creators. No, you didn't. Because those who had forseen it, won't make such system in the first place.
There is a reason why economics should be regulated by scientists.
It is getting more and more farse. It is really all? It is all you can do? West? It is called progress? Capitalism?
It is *sad* to see all what have been good, go. But it is has to go. Such thinking is dead end for free market and capitalism itself. Anyone sees it more and more.
Less on my emotional and moral rant... Now we see "then they fight you" phase at it's maximum. Question is - will be there "and then you win" phase for us, free/open source software and small business? What Microsoft, sinking like Titanic, will take with it?
That's the whole point of "Unix principle of design". Keep everything clean, simple and modular, so you can debug small "brick" of "wall" and get everything under clear control.
But they just keep dragin on their old code base (as far as unofficial information goes) and coding style that it doesn't sound even funny anymore. I am Linux desktop/server user, but as my job will keep me with Windows on user desktops, I wanted to see Microsoft to do the same level of development how it was on Windows 2000, at least. But as it seems to me hope is all fading. Somehow sad, because lot of people will have to hang on with Windows for years.
it is price we pay about Microsoft monopoly. It is price we pay that we didn't care about Microsoft "mono-envorement" before.
Well, maybe it simply has to be that way.
Simply no. GPL and BSD is enforsable ONLY BECAUSE OF COPYRIGHT LAW (If you are broke GPL agreement, then you are in same league as any music "pirate" - you violated copyright laws). Otherwise they would be public domain and guess what - then no one would contribute or even ADMIT that it has taken your code and put into their program.
RMS can believe what he wants to, but he believes in copyright law, because it what he has said in life lecture which I attented two years ago in Riga, Latvia.
Maybe it is wrong. But it is not to you to decide, but owner of work, who owns copyrights. Exactly listen to word - copy right. He is the one who has full rights to copy. You have only mererly rights to "fair use", use song on your iPod/iRiver, computer in FLAC format, whatever. And even that not in all countries.
That's the law. Like it or not. The same law GPL and BSD is founded on.
And you know why?
Because Highest management simply DON'T TRUST IT management, period. And I don't know a heck - why. Maybe it is because that what says IT management contraticts very heavily what is said by very polite, good looking marketing droid from Microsoft team. Maybe it is a little bit about that IT management usually can't talk a shit with arguments.
And they are not talking about not letting personal feelings in business. Heck, business IS personal feelings, want it or not.
Microsoft knew this all time along. And they have used it more and more for their good. They go stright to CIO, highest management, gets some dinner together. This is how deals are stroked.
Not out of technical merits. Why? They are not needed. Because that guy had nice shoes!
Just got me there - that is all what I always sayings in these flamewars. Forget that stupid argument "why both? there should be holy one". No. Period. Over my dead body. I don't want any of these project die. Heck, I even want to Xfce to survive for low-end boxes. Don't mention flubox for really low-end and hackers.
:)
Yes, it _is_ all about freedom and choice. In the begining it didn't matter to me, but now...if you will take it away, you will suffer me
.. in metaphysical way (joke :)) because this delay what was in my mind all this weekend. Dapper comes to be *good*, in sense "cheap, working iPod for masses", so it should be polished at maximum. I mean, almost *everything* works out of box, so why not done it that everything what is possible to be done is done?
Actually I would welcome all hackers/coders/common linux crowd take a way in their browsers to Ubuntulinux.org, download latest beta, install it as some test partition and try to crash/test their favorite apps. Then, get all those nasty bugs to www.launchpad.net and get them filled. Kudos tu Ubuntu bugsquash team, which are very quick in testing/confirming bugs. You won't be left in cold.
So, let's get over "we have different distros", and let's help make one who really rock!
It is interesting that there are many technical comments that claim that Windows actually can boot from EFI, but I think you defined most clearly that main point here.
Microsoft won't ever officially support Windows on new Apple computers, period. We could find it quite funny, but Microsoft is _clearly_ afraid of already so big comparing between OS X and Vista, so they don't want any additional troubles. And it is not that they afraid from Apple fanboys, no, they are afraid that some CIO will buy new, shinny PowerBook, as he will be heard that those "expensive, but cool toys" could run operational system that he is found of (or he is used to) and then...bums!...he loads OS X. And suddenly he understands.
There is other operational systems than Windows! There are other systems! And heck, they can be even BETTER ones!
Yes, I made it a little bit dramatical, but Microsoft is afraid from Apple. Again. This time they should be, because people don't want simple blank, confused computers. And even if they own shares in Apple (which I personally think is worth now quite a money, but is not about money at all this time), they are not happy about what power Apple under Jobs have appeared to be.
Ohh, I didn't finish what people want. They want entertament systems. In my opinion, I would like to claim that PC market is already very saturated for this level and have reached maximum. Future belongs to consoles (for games), easy to use web systems (we have very useful webmail, productivity packages on the web, thank to small-to-big but new companies like Google), Nokia 770 and that new Microsoft thingy... Mobile, easy to use devices. Yes, laptops will stay, and will take place of PCs. MacMinis.
For me, Microsoft Windows is clearly at dinosaur level. It is meant to disappear. Question is - what will stay in his place. So far, Vista does very bad job to prove that it can be that one.
..."if you have no evidence against guy, you simply can't get guy punished" they don't understand?
How they will prove that he cleaned up needed information in first place? Fingerprints? Electronic analystics? Give me a break, it is simply NOT possible. It is very possible that employee did something very wrong (and in fact, we don't know much about that). What we know that before getting a order from judge to get back hard drive, employee discarded any information from it. He maybe breached job contract, he maybe overstepped some laws, but clearly company will have a hard time to prove that this guy is gulty in first crime. And if laptop was only evidence then I think it smells more like "pushing around the small guy" theme all over again, not serious wish to discover the truth.
Yawn. It seems no problem for most LiveCD Linux distros. So Microsoft solution is just brain-dead.
You hit a nail on its head and got my cynical note.
Yes, there _is_ possible way to have free market/capitalism and yet, provide understandable common coordination of power consumtion. But no one dares to care about it.
And there comes problem with coorporations, free market and capitalism in general. Coorporations follow logic which directly is anti-free market. Why? Because they tend to maximise their marketshare and therefore, money flow. They want to reach monopoly. Monopoly means end of free market. Examples? Microsoft, AT&T, US as center of power itself in the world (not coorporation exactly, but similarities are very big).
It is all about not seeing forest behind woods. When you see yourself as part of the market, not only wholy one, then it is allright - you will care about your profits, but you will also care about customer blackslash, about image, about everything else.
But when you think that you are wholy one, then it is dead end.
Hmmmm, what do you want it is not possible with free market and competetive capitalism. There will be always overhead, overproduction, etc. and more or less, big waste of power. Next dream?
Another big big yawn. "Features" you mentioned are already given in OpenOffice.org, except Access claim which I shoot down - Access is nothing but a joke for serious and stable "databasing", trust me, I have eaten tons of salt with it. OpenOffice.org with few clicks can be very easily binded with lot of various databases, and it has JDBC support, making virtually ANY database with JDBC driver supported.
Have printed thousands of envelopes with address from Calc sheets in Writer, have been prepearing book catalog in Writer, doing some data work in MySQL database. Easy, with good interfaces for that.
Take a shot of reality, dude. Yes, Word maybe was king of the hill some time ago, but that era came and went away. Excel NEVER have been capable to do serious calculation work (memory problems, rounding problems, etc.). And Access is not capable to manage more that two thousand rows. It comes all from my expierence. There is NOTHING powerful in Microsoft Office, actually, it is full of empty claims and half-working features, which easily broke with touch of real usage.
2) Hardware. Since Linux only commands about one quarter of 1% of the desktop market....
:)
...
...and it is totally failure of anti-monopoly laws - it should not have to be that way. But it is so and in this situation I don't interpret it as barrier, but more of wrongdoing which we can only impact seriously with beating Windows in other fronts.
Answer; Wrong. Most hardware which can be supported on Linux (open specs/willingness from vendor to produce them/binary only drivers) are supported and mostly which are not are not worth that damn anyway. Most of not supported devices are buggy Winmodems/cams/printers anyway, which are very unstable and not even equally supported on all Windows versions (Canon printers, anyone?).
Have you tested lastest Knoppix/Ubuntu LiveCDs? It will find your hardware in 85% of cases and will even configure correct screen resolution for you - something you won't achieve with Windows default install. I have installed Drapper - everything works out of box on my box, even DVD burner. Surprised? I'm not.
To avoid to be a "yes-man", I should agree that there are room for improvement, but for overall, I rate hardware detection and quality of drivers (BSD/Linux ones) much higher than Windows counterparts. If something in the software world gains significanty from free software idea, then those are device drivers.
3) Cost. Practically all PCs come with MS operating systems installed.
Answer:
4) Performance. Without a GUI, Linux is very fast, and will run with minimum hardware. But, once you run KDE or GNOME, Linux performance is much worse than windows. I know there are other trimmed down GUIs, but they don't generally have the functionality of GNOME or KDE, and certainly don't approach the functionality of Windows or MacOS.
Answer: Again, a little bit flaimory claim. GNOME runs wonderfully on very low requirements (Pentium III 600Mhz, 128 MB) and is stable and responsive as Windows XP on the same computer. And ohhh, GNOME and KDE are MUCH more functional as Windows (bare Windows interface with minimum apps I mean) ever be, it seems you have never used none of them before seriously.
And, FYI, there are recent polishing and peformance improvement developments under way for both projects. Wonderful world of open source, I would say.
5) Lack of standards. No standard distribution, no standard interface, no standard way to upgrade, no standard installation for OS, or applications, or drivers. Frankly, no standard anything. Those who like to tinker endlessly consider this an advantage. But, the vast majority of desktop users don't want to endlessly tinker.
Yawn. Standard that, standard this. Get a grip, man. Windows are VERY different in terms of ANY standards between versions, even in apps support, and let's not talk about "wonderful" support of old formats in newest Office suites. Linux and other free software/open source OSes are providing envorement where everything is made to "just work". If you want Microsoft Network support - you can can add that. You want browser - you can choose or stick with envorement standard ones - Epiphany, Firefox, Konqueqor, you name it. They all work practically without any kind of diference.
Actually free software apps are REQUIRED to stick with standards (real ones, like TCP/IP, IPP, etc) to be compatable with rest of the world, it is required for them to be accepted. Something like providers like Microsoft will never care to do correctly, because, hei, they use "different methods" to ensure their marketshare.
(At this point, I understood that I bite a troll, but I can't resist to carry on...)
6) Support. Your ISP many allow you to use Linux, but don't expect the level of support a windows user would get - not even close. If a peripheral isn't working correctly, don't expect the hardware manufacturer to you if you are running Linux.
Yeah, and there are pratically no problems with devices in Windows. It seems to me that you act
Gosh, let's be clear - I am ready to read some really clever fellas blogs, I am ready to read how Radiohead records their new LP, I check out Linux/Free desktop devel blogs every day. And NONE of them uses any kind of ads. Because if you want to do blogging only for some kind of regular income, then there is clearly something wrong with you (hint: lack of common sense).
It was never ment to work, because stuff worth to read is already posted, for free. From guys who never intended to get money from it.
Sad that I already had comment in for this article, I could have modded additionally with more points.
You actually said what I wanted to say all the time - to get forward, to get more users, to be really rocking desktop, we should look for compromises, yes, for *true* compromises where we can keep our freedom - but we also can give a user freedom to play legally DVD and listen to mp4.
Yeah, yeah, right. What about DVDs I would like to see? What about DRM-enabled bought files from iTunes?
Lets be clear. DRM is not evil. Abuse of it's functionality and usage from RIAA/MPIAA is, well, it is close to stupid and shortsighted (at least so far - region coding for DVD for price fixing, requesting DRM for bough songs in Internet shops like iTunes). But there are lot of LEGAL and UNDERSTANDING uses of DRM in multimedia, even for small media companies.
I understand that music and movie cartel actions is something is should not taken lightly, however, such hyperbole which are claimed by RMS and other "wisle blowers" are too much. Fight companies which abuse DRM, don't fight DRM itself. Because by itself it is just one of technologies to allow copyright holders have their rights fullfilled. If it is abused to limit anything.
It is NOT a black/white situation. And claiming that Fluendo is doing just to give "control of Linux desktop media to cartels" are plainly overblown and childish claim. Fluendo actually created LEGAL mp3 plugin for you to use, freerly. you can download it at their webshop, put it in your home directory, and vola - no half-legal repositories, no endless searching. It is just works.
And by the way, Xine is illegal to distribute in US with mp3/divx/quicktime support. It is just by the way. Mplayer too.
Of course, there is "nothing wrong" with these apps in geeks view. But it totally wrong to think that any distro will get ANY kind of support for those prioritary formats out there with such attitude. Oh, you don't want prioritary formats? What about your XVID videos? What about divx movies? Mp3? Quicktime trailers which geeks love so much? Haven't got enough?
Be real. There is world out there which are seeking compromises not always screaming about something they don't like. And trolling (yes, such claims about Fluendo ARE trolls) won't help not your cause, nor KDE, nor Linux desktop overall.
RIAA is monopoly and clearly acts like that. They want maximum profits and they can get easy away with that, because there are hord of brainwashed masses who will buy anything Britney category musicians will produce. It is sad that if I choose to ignore them (there are very healthy count of unsigned artists, even with real pophits), I have to ignore bunch of artists I really love. However, RIAA actions are clearly pushing envelope here and they are acting realy dumb.
For example, I just really hope that Radiohead won't sign with some big label and will stay in indie arena, as they have such chance now (their contract expired with "Hail To The Thief"). They newest record promises lot of their early age hits like "Last flowers", "Nude (Don't Get Any Ideas)", also their newest songs gives a good feeling.
Yes, and Google founders are not in control of company anymore, riiiiiight....
More or less, get a grip. Companies are companies, of course, and there is executives who are just plainly greedy and ignore any common sense you will throw at them. My pick Google is not one of those companies with them on the board.
And don't forget to add that it is WHY XGL and XEGL is important - if we can show that Linux can use for example, those Intel 3D onboard cards (GraphicsExtreme2 or something) for such eye candy, well, it is as 10:0 in basketball in one quater. It IS important to get lot of new users, even advanced ones, to Linux/Free desktop bandwagon.