... because many important peripherals do not work by default. For example, getting 802.11x is still a pita in linux unless you plan ahead by making certain that your hardware works with it.
Amazingly enough, on my Dell Latitude C610, I have given up - after hours of effort - on ever getting my built-in Orinoco wireless to work under Win XP or Win 2K. It is a dual boot system, and in Linux it was a piece of cake, but even with Dell support files, flashing the bios, everything I could throw at it, it just doesn't work. Of course, it is an end-of-life item, so no support from the actual manufacturer.
While troubleshooting before installing Linux on the laptop, I noted that Knoppix auto-configured the wireless properly. So, I knew it worked, which led to the endless fruitless attempts to get it functioning in Windows.
Even more interesting to me was that when I was searching for tips on getting it working under Windows, I found 10 helpful Linux links to every 1 helpful Windows link. That's the kind of support that Windows can only dream of, and it believe it shows the strong future of Linux and of free software in general.
I used to be a manager at Dell, and I can tell you that if you had presumed to format one of my or my developers machines without first getting authorization from me, you'd be fired and "walked out of the building" the following day.
Maybe the authorization got misrouted. Maybe you are wrong about either the authorization or the requirement for it. Maybe it was an experiment on a dept. system. Maybe it wasn't hooked to the network. Maybe we were testing the system's Linux compatibility at the end of the day and left it 'till the morning to finish.
In my tenure at Dell, all these things were true at some point or another, and no one formatted our systems. We were too busy to get in the pissing matches that would have started.
Certainly you should quit abusing your very limited power and try to help rather than simply jumping to conclusions.
There're not going to white color resort prison. No, no, no. There're going to Federal pound me in the ass prison.
Modded "funny" because anal rape is so hilarious? Isn't it time we left the middle-school humor behind? Yes, it is a quote from "Office Space", which is almost, but not quite enough to rescue it.
Your notary sounds clueless about her "job", which is to validate that *you* signed the document. If signatures intrinsically meant anything, she'd have no function.
I had a notary refuse to sign an letter-of-authorization allowing my wife to take our child on vacation out of the country. "It is not a legal document", she claimed. Er, yes, it is. I wrote it, and it grants a specific, limited power to my wife. It also happens to be a required piece of documentation in that circumstance. But to her, a "legal document" is written on a form or letterhead. The barrier-to-entry for a notary seems to be far too low for (my) comfort.
I thought we have established, in general, that "micro-management" in the ADULT world is a bad thing? Are kids really going to learn to be responsible if someone is looking over their shoulder every day? Or, are the periodic student-reviews (report cards) and periodic management meetings (parent-teacher meetings) a better way to allow the student to learn responsibility for themselves...
In the adult world, it is not "micro-management" to review a subordinate's progress much more often than quarterly. In the adult world, it is extremely rare to go more than a week without feedback and interaction regarding progress-toward-goals.
It would be my contention that the rights to privacy [...]
Children do not have a legal right to privacy from their parents. Shocking, but both true and neccessary.
I use a TouchStream (Dvorak format) XL keyboard as my primary keyboard for programming. I use it for a solid 6-8 hours a day, and I absolutely love it. Feedback is way overrated for good typists, IMHO.
I love the gestures, I love the fact that I can move the mouse without moving my hand off the keyboard. After a bit of LISP hacking, I now love its integration with Emacs.
Best yet, my painful RSI symptoms have evaporated.
In fact, when I am forced to use an old-school keyboard/mouse combo, I get frustrated at the lunkiness of it. Mice are simply the worst ergonomic idea ever.
So, I'll give these projection keyboards a try, if I can find a Dvorak version.
Priceless! A comment which is demonstrably wrong on two both of the claims it makes and yet which is moderated up.
First, Adam Smith isn't the representative for the district where Corporate HQ lies -- that's Jay Inslee. That said, a great many MS employees do live in Rep. Smith's district, and a number of them do contribute to his campaign.
So what? Well, OpenSecrets associates all contributions from individuals with the employer of the primary wage earner for the individual or its family. [...]
Um, and you are complaining because it just so happens that Adam Smith, author of the bill, gets the most Microsoft money as measured by this technique?
Considering the blatantly pro-MS nature of the bill, I think OpenSecrets is measuring something real and useful with this method.
Worst Case Scenario:
--------------------
All online media is protected by DRM. Computers can not view any intellectual property on the internet without running a DRM compliant operating system. Running a non DRM compliant operating system on a computer with built in DRM violates the DMCA. Microsoft owns the patent on DRM in operating systems, so any competitor has to pay microsoft for the right to include closed source DRM code in their operating system.
Not gonna happen.
At least not the "all" part. I'm never going to require DRM for access to my home or business websites. Are you?
Seriously, I've come to terms with the spread of the lock-in/DRM content by just accepting that at some point there will be two 'nets. One of them will require me to use some form of an enhanced-TV (obvious future of MS products) and the other will be the relatively more chaotic, rewarding and freewheeling network we have today.
Hell, it is already getting that way. Enough so that last week I put my Windows game machine on a separately firewalled network. I just can't trust it anymore, depite the fact that I am a security professional.
I like the ability to preview music before buying it using Napster and I will admit that I have purchased music that I never would have bought without the access that Napster provided. Unfortunately, I wonder how often that really happens. Ok everyone, when's the last time you went to the record store and purchased a CD even though you had downloaded the same material on Napster? Right.
The typical mistake of the arrogant. "I am moral, but everyone else is probably not." How dare you make such an assumption?
FWIW, I do not use Napster, but a few years ago I used binary boards quite a bit, and I did end up buying the (good) programs I used - perhaps one in five. What's more, in several cases, I convinced my employer to buy packages that I'd previewed via less-than-legal methods.
I am convinced that this sort of activity on my part is good for the software industry. It kept my money from going to the idiots and jerks who release junky/buggy software, and it enriched those who make software I judge valuable.
If I actually do as I propose, and host a site in a country which truly values free speech, I'll definitely have to "break the link" to my U.S. origins.
I'll probably just open a shell corp in Anguilla (for US $200), which won't require me to register the board of director's names. With that, I'll have a moderately secure blanket of obfuscation.
There are a couple of gotchas which haven't yet been mentioned:
1. Look out for "no-compete-clauses" tied to the options. Generally, the no-competes that companies try to saddle you with are unenforceable (IANAL), but they become significantly more enforceable if the company ties the agreement to something of real value, such as options.
2. At my company, your options - even vested options - can be taken away if you are fired for cause. Don't think that you are immune to being fired "for cause" if you are a good guy. HR people are weasels and these days tend to fire first at any complaint. Given the rise in the strategic use of harrassment/prejudice complaints in office politics, you just might get burned. The solution to that is to cash out your vested options when you are in a positive position, transfer them to an account not owned by your company, and hold them if you think the value is still going to skyrocket.
Figuring out what to buy for a moderately-wealthy gadget lover is challenging. I always have to promise my loved-ones that I will refrain from buying any new toys for the couple months approaching Xmas.
My list: 1. Nice clothes - I usually like the clothes I get as gifts much more than than those I buy for myself. 2. Sonic toothbrush - Supposedly gives you that nice dentist-scrubbed feeling. 3. Portable hard-drive based mp3 player 4. Car mp3 player 5. Flat panel monitor 6. Ball-less mouse - *if* they work well, I haven't heard yet. 7. Massage gift certificates
All that is really necessary is for a (liveable) country or two to simply refuse to recognize software patents. We could then funnel the publishing of OSS through conveniently placed like-minded folks or not-for-profits in those countries.
This wouldn't work for profit-oriented software, since the money could always be sequestered in the evil-patent-enforcing country of origin. But with sufficient bandwidth to the anti-patent country it would make OSS unstoppable.
I vote for Anguilla. Off-shore banks, smart people, cheap and easy IBCs and (of course) good weather. I even volunteer to move there.
Seriously, how would/could this be stopped? I'm no lawyer, but this looks bulletproof.
This article has to be a fake. Try as I might to be "nice" about this journalist, either the man is somehow completely lacking reasoning skills, or he is pulling the readers' legs.
For example: The guy claims he doesn't know what a video card is, much less how to determine the brand of card. Yet he does know that it is something inside the computer. Given that one bit of knowledge, figuring out what bit is the video card becomes utterly trvial. Basic reasoning follows:
"Hey, maybe I should follow the cable from my (running!) monitor. Oh look, the cable only enters the computer in one place. Maybe that's the video card thingie."
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Amazingly enough, on my Dell Latitude C610, I have given up - after hours of effort - on ever getting my built-in Orinoco wireless to work under Win XP or Win 2K. It is a dual boot system, and in Linux it was a piece of cake, but even with Dell support files, flashing the bios, everything I could throw at it, it just doesn't work. Of course, it is an end-of-life item, so no support from the actual manufacturer.
While troubleshooting before installing Linux on the laptop, I noted that Knoppix auto-configured the wireless properly. So, I knew it worked, which led to the endless fruitless attempts to get it functioning in Windows.
Even more interesting to me was that when I was searching for tips on getting it working under Windows, I found 10 helpful Linux links to every 1 helpful Windows link. That's the kind of support that Windows can only dream of, and it believe it shows the strong future of Linux and of free software in general.
I used to be a manager at Dell, and I can tell you that if you had presumed to format one of my or my developers machines without first getting authorization from me, you'd be fired and "walked out of the building" the following day.
Maybe the authorization got misrouted.
Maybe you are wrong about either the authorization or the requirement for it.
Maybe it was an experiment on a dept. system.
Maybe it wasn't hooked to the network.
Maybe we were testing the system's Linux compatibility at the end of the day and left it 'till the morning to finish.
In my tenure at Dell, all these things were true at some point or another, and no one formatted our systems. We were too busy to get in the pissing matches that would have started.
Certainly you should quit abusing your very limited power and try to help rather than simply jumping to conclusions.
Modded "funny" because anal rape is so hilarious? Isn't it time we left the middle-school humor behind? Yes, it is a quote from "Office Space", which is almost, but not quite enough to rescue it.
Your notary sounds clueless about her "job", which is to validate that *you* signed the document. If signatures intrinsically meant anything, she'd have no function.
I had a notary refuse to sign an letter-of-authorization allowing my wife to take our child on vacation out of the country. "It is not a legal document", she claimed. Er, yes, it is. I wrote it, and it grants a specific, limited power to my wife. It also happens to be a required piece of documentation in that circumstance. But to her, a "legal document" is written on a form or letterhead. The barrier-to-entry for a notary seems to be far too low for (my) comfort.
In the adult world, it is not "micro-management" to review a subordinate's progress much more often than quarterly. In the adult world, it is extremely rare to go more than a week without feedback and interaction regarding progress-toward-goals.
It would be my contention that the rights to privacy [...]
Children do not have a legal right to privacy from their parents. Shocking, but both true and neccessary.
I use a TouchStream (Dvorak format) XL keyboard as my primary keyboard for programming. I use it for a solid 6-8 hours a day, and I absolutely love it. Feedback is way overrated for good typists, IMHO.
I love the gestures, I love the fact that I can move the mouse without moving my hand off the keyboard. After a bit of LISP hacking, I now love its integration with Emacs.
Best yet, my painful RSI symptoms have evaporated.
In fact, when I am forced to use an old-school keyboard/mouse combo, I get frustrated at the lunkiness of it. Mice are simply the worst ergonomic idea ever.
So, I'll give these projection keyboards a try, if I can find a Dvorak version.
Um, and you are complaining because it just so happens that Adam Smith, author of the bill, gets the most Microsoft money as measured by this technique?
Considering the blatantly pro-MS nature of the bill, I think OpenSecrets is measuring something real and useful with this method.
At least not the "all" part. I'm never going to require DRM for access to my home or business websites. Are you?
Seriously, I've come to terms with the spread of the lock-in/DRM content by just accepting that at some point there will be two 'nets. One of them will require me to use some form of an enhanced-TV (obvious future of MS products) and the other will be the relatively more chaotic, rewarding and freewheeling network we have today.
Hell, it is already getting that way. Enough so that last week I put my Windows game machine on a separately firewalled network. I just can't trust it anymore, depite the fact that I am a security professional.
The typical mistake of the arrogant. "I am moral, but everyone else is probably not." How dare you make such an assumption?
FWIW, I do not use Napster, but a few years ago I used binary boards quite a bit, and I did end up buying the (good) programs I used - perhaps one in five. What's more, in several cases, I convinced my employer to buy packages that I'd previewed via less-than-legal methods.
I am convinced that this sort of activity on my part is good for the software industry. It kept my money from going to the idiots and jerks who release junky/buggy software, and it enriched those who make software I judge valuable.
If I actually do as I propose, and host a site in a country which truly values free speech, I'll definitely have to "break the link" to my U.S. origins.
I'll probably just open a shell corp in Anguilla (for US $200), which won't require me to register the board of director's names. With that, I'll have a moderately secure blanket of obfuscation.
There are a couple of gotchas which haven't yet been mentioned:
1. Look out for "no-compete-clauses" tied to the options. Generally, the no-competes that companies try to saddle you with are unenforceable (IANAL), but they become significantly more enforceable if the company ties the agreement to something of real value, such as options.
2. At my company, your options - even vested options - can be taken away if you are fired for cause. Don't think that you are immune to being fired "for cause" if you are a good guy. HR people are weasels and these days tend to fire first at any complaint. Given the rise in the strategic use of harrassment/prejudice complaints in office politics, you just might get burned. The solution to that is to cash out your vested options when you are in a positive position, transfer them to an account not owned by your company, and hold them if you think the value is still going to skyrocket.
Figuring out what to buy for a moderately-wealthy gadget lover is challenging. I always have to promise my loved-ones that I will refrain from buying any new toys for the couple months approaching Xmas.
My list:
1. Nice clothes - I usually like the clothes I get as gifts much more than than those I buy for myself.
2. Sonic toothbrush - Supposedly gives you that nice dentist-scrubbed feeling.
3. Portable hard-drive based mp3 player
4. Car mp3 player
5. Flat panel monitor
6. Ball-less mouse - *if* they work well, I haven't heard yet.
7. Massage gift certificates
All that is really necessary is for a (liveable) country or two to simply refuse to recognize software patents. We could then funnel the publishing of OSS through conveniently placed like-minded folks or not-for-profits in those countries.
This wouldn't work for profit-oriented software, since the money could always be sequestered in the evil-patent-enforcing country of origin. But with sufficient bandwidth to the anti-patent country it would make OSS unstoppable.
I vote for Anguilla. Off-shore banks, smart people, cheap and easy IBCs and (of course) good weather. I even volunteer to move there.
Seriously, how would/could this be stopped? I'm no lawyer, but this looks bulletproof.
This article has to be a fake. Try as I might to be "nice" about this journalist, either the man is somehow completely lacking reasoning skills, or he is pulling the readers' legs.
For example: The guy claims he doesn't know what a video card is, much less how to determine the brand of card. Yet he does know that it is something inside the computer. Given that one bit of knowledge, figuring out what bit is the video card becomes utterly trvial. Basic reasoning follows:
"Hey, maybe I should follow the cable from my (running!) monitor. Oh look, the cable only enters the computer in one place. Maybe that's the video card thingie."
It is a FAKE, no doubt about it.