Win9X may be dying in the opinion of corporate IT managers, but it's alive and doing fairly well in homes across America. As people buy new WinXP systems, lots of "obsolete" 486's and Pentiums running Win95/98/ME are being handed down for the kids to use.
Also, since I hopped off the Windows bandwagon a few years ago, and started using Linux and Mac OSX as my main OSes, my 1 remaining Windows system has been "stuck" at Win98SE, and that's where it'll stay until I decommission it in the distant future.
...to which the response has been a litany of the sins of the RIAA. OK, the RIAA is evil. I've been saying that for years. But it doesn't make the people who "share" recordings they didn't actually create, or who download recordings without the permissions of the people who did, right.
Sometimes the enemy of my enemy is also my enemy, and both parties are wrong.
The World Wide Web uses more protocols than just HyperText Transfer Protocol. FTP resources (for example) are part of the WWW as well. This is why Tim Berners-Lee (whose definition of term is pretty darn authoritative, I'd say) took the trouble to include a protocol designation in his specification for the Web's URLs (not realising at the time that one day millions of people would find themselves having to type that awkward "http://" construct over and over).
Because Microsoft named their web browser poorly. "Web Explorer" would have been more accurate, and wouldn't have led people such as yourself to get so confused about the distinction. There's more on the internet than just the web. But you probably wouldn't know that, because IE doesn't show the rest of it to you.
OK, and the oldest no-replacement-parts PC I still use is a Compaq Prolinea 3/25s, which (with hard drive removed, and a pair of old NE2000 clones) runs Coyote Linux as my firewall/router.
P.S. I still use Quattro Pro 4.0 for DOS (copyright 1992) on my Windows box to handle my budget. I built a very nice macro-automated, multi-sheet, tiled-windows system for tracking my finances back in the late 1980's (complete with graphs displaying history and projecting my bank balance over the next few years), and I have yet to find a reason to convert it to something else.
I have an 1987-vintage PCs Limited (the name Michael Dell originally did business under) Turbo PC box (serial# 00HDQ) that I currently keep equipped as a emergency web/mail/dns server.
OK, I've replaced the CPU a few times (Intel Inboard/386, 486DX2, Pentium/150), replaced the 20MB MFM hard drive (with 64MB RLL, 200MB IDE, now 1.2GB), and just about every other component a few times over as well. Along the way, the OS has gone from DOS 3.3 to Win3.0 to Win95 to Red Hat Linux 6.1-7.1. But the case, the power supply, and the 84-key keyboard are all the original kit.
(I also have a TRS-80 model 100 laptop I use occasionally, but I just picked that up second-hand a few years back, rather than owning it all along.)
The thing I miss about the C-64 is that it was possible for a studious geek with a few wirebound "Compute!" books to know and understand the whole system. It was all mapped out From byte 0 through byte 65535. And by playing with PEEKs and POKEs you could get that machine to do all sorts of cool things. And best of all, if you POKEd where you shouldn't and locked it up, a quick toggle of the rocker switch would bring you safely back home. I probably learned as much about the principles of computer tech from that Toys R Us purchase as I did from the four following years in college.
At the risk of slashdotting myself (please be gentle... it's Celeron/333 on residential DSL!), might I suggest my Alternatives to Microsoft site (listing various alternatives to each of MS's major products) as a resource?
I didn't have a computer in 6th grade. Building an Apple I from a kit was a bit more than I was ready for. Or could afford. But I'll adjust the timeframe 5 years to when I actually did get a computer, and play along....
There's still a huge difference between our situation and this one: I paid for that computer with my own money. That's why it meant a lot to me. By contrast, a piece of equipment that's handed out by the dozens at school is going to be treated by any 6th grader the same way she treats her schoolbooks. Not because she's an idiot, but because she's 11.
Microsoft's stated intention to not provide IE7 as a free upgrade to existing Windows users will likely prompt many of them to look around at the other still-current browsers they can get for free. This will be especially true of IE7 implements new technology that IE6 doesn't support... but that future revs of Mozilla, Opera, etc. presumably will.
The Browser Wars aren't over. More like the Rebel Alliance is finally getting a shot at the Death Star.
Last year my (now former) employer let me take all the 586/200's they were going to throw out and sell them to employees (mostly non-technical folks), with the proceeds going to charity, as long as all I spent on them was my time. The only commercial software I could include was the Win95 licences we'd bought with them, so the rest had to be free(beer). The software I installed was:
office apps: OpenOffice.org
database: Treepad
web/mail: Netscape 6 (they were familiar with the Netscape name already, otherwise it would've been Mozilla)
graphics: I wanted to include a paint program, but (IMHO) the GIMP's interface is too bizarre for mundanes and no other free apps looked worthwhile. I'd suggest Jasc PaintShop as a high-value option for those who actually have a budget.
I've been a Psion user since the Series3, back when their most serious competition was still the Wizard. The software was always first-rate, and the design (fitting a usable alpha keypad in a pocketable device) impressive. Unfortunately the units just weren't built to last, with materials that couldn't hold up to the clever folding designs. At least it gave me excuses over the years to replace the S3 with an S3a with a Revo with a Revo+.
So, what have we here? Take a Psion. Remove the Symbian software. Remove the pocketability. What's left is... well, maybe someone else will be interested. {sigh}
Meanwhile, as my current Revo is starting to click and wiggle when I open/close it, I'm contemplating buying a Nokia 9290 phone(!) to replace it.
One of the key claims of this suit is that MS's security advisories go over the heads of the typical home computer user. This is true.
Personally, I think they (and much of the rest of the industry) should be held liable for pushing all of this technology onto an unsuspecting public that frankly isn't ready for it (or vice versa). The state of the art these days is still such that the grandfathers and housewives and (to a lesser degree) schoolkids of today can't make it work properly.
The automobile began as a toy for tinkerers, then spent a few decades as a luxury for those who could afford to hire those tinkerers, and didn't find its way into the driveway of every home until the technology was actually ready for non-technical users. Computers got rushed into the public's homes much faster, largely by vendors insisting that they were easier to support than they really are. Compounding this has been the strategy of using low-cost components to bring the price - and level of reliability - down.
I'm sorry, I thought we were talking about whether TiVo made it easy or automatic enough that people were actually skipping commercials altogether with it, not whether anyone knew the "cheat" codes for it.
TiVo doesn't "skip commercials" any more than a VCR does. Either one requires the viewer to fast-play while watching the screen and then press a button when it reaches the part of the recording you want to watch. TiVo performs the job less clunkily than a VCR (the advantage of disk storage over tape), but that's it. (I believe ReplayTV is the one that actually has a commercial-skipping feature.)
If "no one cares about BeOS", how did YellowTab getted/.ed so quickly? Surely they're not running the site on PoorMan (the itty-bitty web server bundled with BeOS)?
20 years ago, this distributed development model was difficult. There was an internet, of course, but much of it was still strung together through low-bandwidth and intermittent dial-up connections among machines with restricted access and belonging to programmers' employers (not the programmers themselves). The modern development model has been able to evolve only since then.
It's often noted how much of the Internet has been built on open-source/libre software, but it's also worth noting how much open-source/libre software has been built on the Internet. If one of these didn't exist, we probably wouldn't have the other.
Slashdot Mirror
Also, since I hopped off the Windows bandwagon a few years ago, and started using Linux and Mac OSX as my main OSes, my 1 remaining Windows system has been "stuck" at Win98SE, and that's where it'll stay until I decommission it in the distant future.
Sometimes the enemy of my enemy is also my enemy, and both parties are wrong.
The World Wide Web uses more protocols than just HyperText Transfer Protocol. FTP resources (for example) are part of the WWW as well. This is why Tim Berners-Lee (whose definition of term is pretty darn authoritative, I'd say) took the trouble to include a protocol designation in his specification for the Web's URLs (not realising at the time that one day millions of people would find themselves having to type that awkward "http://" construct over and over).
You left out:
7) It breaks a lot of spam detection software.
Because Microsoft named their web browser poorly. "Web Explorer" would have been more accurate, and wouldn't have led people such as yourself to get so confused about the distinction. There's more on the internet than just the web. But you probably wouldn't know that, because IE doesn't show the rest of it to you.
OK, and the oldest no-replacement-parts PC I still use is a Compaq Prolinea 3/25s, which (with hard drive removed, and a pair of old NE2000 clones) runs Coyote Linux as my firewall/router.
P.S. I still use Quattro Pro 4.0 for DOS (copyright 1992) on my Windows box to handle my budget. I built a very nice macro-automated, multi-sheet, tiled-windows system for tracking my finances back in the late 1980's (complete with graphs displaying history and projecting my bank balance over the next few years), and I have yet to find a reason to convert it to something else.
OK, I've replaced the CPU a few times (Intel Inboard/386, 486DX2, Pentium/150), replaced the 20MB MFM hard drive (with 64MB RLL, 200MB IDE, now 1.2GB), and just about every other component a few times over as well. Along the way, the OS has gone from DOS 3.3 to Win3.0 to Win95 to Red Hat Linux 6.1-7.1. But the case, the power supply, and the 84-key keyboard are all the original kit.
(I also have a TRS-80 model 100 laptop I use occasionally, but I just picked that up second-hand a few years back, rather than owning it all along.)
The thing I miss about the C-64 is that it was possible for a studious geek with a few wirebound "Compute!" books to know and understand the whole system. It was all mapped out From byte 0 through byte 65535. And by playing with PEEKs and POKEs you could get that machine to do all sorts of cool things. And best of all, if you POKEd where you shouldn't and locked it up, a quick toggle of the rocker switch would bring you safely back home. I probably learned as much about the principles of computer tech from that Toys R Us purchase as I did from the four following years in college.
At the risk of slashdotting myself (please be gentle... it's Celeron/333 on residential DSL!), might I suggest my Alternatives to Microsoft site (listing various alternatives to each of MS's major products) as a resource?
There's still a huge difference between our situation and this one: I paid for that computer with my own money. That's why it meant a lot to me. By contrast, a piece of equipment that's handed out by the dozens at school is going to be treated by any 6th grader the same way she treats her schoolbooks. Not because she's an idiot, but because she's 11.
The Browser Wars aren't over. More like the Rebel Alliance is finally getting a shot at the Death Star.
For what it's worth, the schools are being required to submit a plan for how to use the computers before they get them.
But not until the technology contained in them is functionally obsolete. {wry grin}
So, what have we here? Take a Psion. Remove the Symbian software. Remove the pocketability. What's left is... well, maybe someone else will be interested. {sigh}
Meanwhile, as my current Revo is starting to click and wiggle when I open/close it, I'm contemplating buying a Nokia 9290 phone(!) to replace it.
Personally, I think they (and much of the rest of the industry) should be held liable for pushing all of this technology onto an unsuspecting public that frankly isn't ready for it (or vice versa). The state of the art these days is still such that the grandfathers and housewives and (to a lesser degree) schoolkids of today can't make it work properly.
The automobile began as a toy for tinkerers, then spent a few decades as a luxury for those who could afford to hire those tinkerers, and didn't find its way into the driveway of every home until the technology was actually ready for non-technical users. Computers got rushed into the public's homes much faster, largely by vendors insisting that they were easier to support than they really are. Compounding this has been the strategy of using low-cost components to bring the price - and level of reliability - down.
Or not so busy.
{sigh}
I'm sorry, I thought we were talking about whether TiVo made it easy or automatic enough that people were actually skipping commercials altogether with it, not whether anyone knew the "cheat" codes for it.
TiVo doesn't "skip commercials" any more than a VCR does. Either one requires the viewer to fast-play while watching the screen and then press a button when it reaches the part of the recording you want to watch. TiVo performs the job less clunkily than a VCR (the advantage of disk storage over tape), but that's it. (I believe ReplayTV is the one that actually has a commercial-skipping feature.)
http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pag
http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pag
Using the URLs as you posted them, you just get redirected to the site's main page.
If "no one cares about BeOS", how did YellowTab getted /.ed so quickly? Surely they're not running the site on PoorMan (the itty-bitty web server bundled with BeOS)?
"Watson come here, I want you."
But will it handle VOIP? I can talk slowly if it'll help.
20 years ago, this distributed development model was difficult. There was an internet, of course, but much of it was still strung together through low-bandwidth and intermittent dial-up connections among machines with restricted access and belonging to programmers' employers (not the programmers themselves). The modern development model has been able to evolve only since then. It's often noted how much of the Internet has been built on open-source/libre software, but it's also worth noting how much open-source/libre software has been built on the Internet. If one of these didn't exist, we probably wouldn't have the other.