Your problems with Linux (instability, RPM hell, constant reinstallation) are so widespread and horrible that I've never encountered any of them, or spoken with someone who has. Whatever works for you, I guess.
Ah, I figured one of the apps actually used it after install. In that case, the dev made a bad choice, but really, its not a big deal.
I didn't look into it too closely, since I use Gentoo - my whole system depends on Python.
I still think its a pointless complaint, though. Yelling about having a language installed when you're compiling software, even if its only used for an install script, seems pretty lame.
If you want to compile (or use, in the case of interpeted languages) a piece of software which uses a certain language, you have to have that language installed. I can't see how thats something worth complaining about.
I've noticed the awful CPU usage with the linux client, as well. It particularly pisses me off when I'm browsing from my laptop - I really don't want ads that step up my CPU speed and drain my battery faster. So, flash gets turned off on that machine.
A pretty pointless study, all in all. And here's why -
My most recent college paper -
Kincaid: 13.1
ARI: 15.6
Coleman-Liau: 14.7
Lix: 59.2 = higher than school year 11
My last four comments on Slashdot:
Kincaid: 6.6
ARI: 6.3
Coleman-Liau: 7.8
Lix: 29.5 = below school year 5
Writing comments in various online forums is a very informal form of writing. I don't see a point in using such informal writing to attempt to make any sort of comparison about the writers.
I'm pretty sure I saw an article not long ago that said the G4 iMacs were selling pretty poorly. Otherwise, I probably would have come to the same conclusion as yourself.
Consider the prices of the current iMacs and iBooks for a moment - The low-end iBook matches the low-end iMac in everything but hard drive space, and its $200 cheaper. You can bump that drive up to a 60gb (the iMac's is 80) for $75, and you'll still have $125 more than if you bought the iMac.
I'm not willing to *pay* $125 to be tied to a desk, are you? Maybe a few people would be willing to pay the extra for the larger, but same resolution, LCD. Personally I think the portability and $125 are worth the 3" though.
I think this probably had quite bit of influence on Apple's decision to discontinue the G4 iMacs so long before their replacements are available - the iBooks undercutting the iMacs like that couldn't have been good for sales.
But there are things Gates can do to be more friendly. Don't force windows to want a whole drive all to itself. If I have drive, and want to have a small partition for linux, don't force windows to reformat that partition to ntsc or fat. Let it be. It is a pain to have to do everything after windows is installed.
Huh? Last time I installed Windows on a dual-boot computer, it didn't ask to take the whole drive or format my non-windows partitions. Actually, the partition software in the installer did exactly what I asked it to, and nothing more.
Maybe you're thinking of Windows "restore" cds (ugh) that come with most OEM PCs. These usually just bulldoze the whole disk and return it to the original setup.
In the last couple astro/geo classes I've taken, I was told the current theory on how the moon was created is a Mars sized planet colliding with the Earth. Hmmm...
I've been suprised how good my school is about textbooks - I've been able to purchase used books every quarter I've been here, and this quarter I actually didn't have to purchase any books because I'm taking courses which use books I already owned from previous courses.
Because to someone with *no* computer, a four year old laptop is better than nothing. Myself, I think your "its four years old.. its USELESS!" attitude is worse. I use a four year old computer daily.. its not my main machine, but its still useful.
As long as the thing works, there's nothing wrong with donating it. Although, I would suggest he replace the finicky cd-rom before sending it off. It may not be any use to him (having been replaced by newer hardware) but that doesnt make it useless. The fact that he *could* sell it on e-bay and send them the money pretty much proves that its useful to someone, now doesn't it??
Sure, buying a new laptop and donating it would be even better, but even in the US not everyone can afford to donate a brand new laptop...
They've been teaching metric to kids for some time in the US - I'm 22 and I remember learning about it in elementary school. However, most people my age will just give you a blank stare if you try to tell them a distance in km, a mass in grams, or a temperature in celcius. Usually they'll understand liters, because you can buy soda in 2L bottles. Its being taught, but most people aren't really learning it.
How on earth is it difficult to figure out how big a gas tank needs to be to drive 1000 miles at 50 miles/gallon?? I'd say thats pretty trivial either way.
You can buy non-apple PPC machines, yes. I haven't seen any non-apple motherboards for sale, though. IBM sells several PPC workstations - but they're even more expensive than a Mac. Yellow Dog Linux sold generic PPC machines for a while, but from a quick look at their website they now appear to be only selling Apple and IBM machines, as well as PPC BriQs - tiny g3 or g4 systems that fit in a 5 1/4" drive bay.
Slashdot Mirror
Your problems with Linux (instability, RPM hell, constant reinstallation) are so widespread and horrible that I've never encountered any of them, or spoken with someone who has. Whatever works for you, I guess.
That would be "Pollo."
Ah, I figured one of the apps actually used it after install. In that case, the dev made a bad choice, but really, its not a big deal.
I didn't look into it too closely, since I use Gentoo - my whole system depends on Python.
I still think its a pointless complaint, though. Yelling about having a language installed when you're compiling software, even if its only used for an install script, seems pretty lame.
...configuring Macs using ZeroConf... The irony kills me.
If you want to compile (or use, in the case of interpeted languages) a piece of software which uses a certain language, you have to have that language installed. I can't see how thats something worth complaining about.
Fear, uncertainty, doubt
I've noticed the awful CPU usage with the linux client, as well. It particularly pisses me off when I'm browsing from my laptop - I really don't want ads that step up my CPU speed and drain my battery faster. So, flash gets turned off on that machine.
A pretty pointless study, all in all. And here's why -
My most recent college paper -
Kincaid: 13.1
ARI: 15.6
Coleman-Liau: 14.7
Lix: 59.2 = higher than school year 11
My last four comments on Slashdot:
Kincaid: 6.6
ARI: 6.3
Coleman-Liau: 7.8
Lix: 29.5 = below school year 5
Writing comments in various online forums is a very informal form of writing. I don't see a point in using such informal writing to attempt to make any sort of comparison about the writers.
I'm pretty sure I saw an article not long ago that said the G4 iMacs were selling pretty poorly. Otherwise, I probably would have come to the same conclusion as yourself.
Maybe you should check those specs again. The base iMac model, which I was using in my comparison, ships with a combo-drive.
Consider the prices of the current iMacs and iBooks for a moment - The low-end iBook matches the low-end iMac in everything but hard drive space, and its $200 cheaper. You can bump that drive up to a 60gb (the iMac's is 80) for $75, and you'll still have $125 more than if you bought the iMac.
I'm not willing to *pay* $125 to be tied to a desk, are you? Maybe a few people would be willing to pay the extra for the larger, but same resolution, LCD. Personally I think the portability and $125 are worth the 3" though.
I think this probably had quite bit of influence on Apple's decision to discontinue the G4 iMacs so long before their replacements are available - the iBooks undercutting the iMacs like that couldn't have been good for sales.
I always wondered if there was a way to fix that. Thanks.
Being lectured on science by someone who can't spell "embrace" or "empirical" is rather amusing, if you ask me.
But there are things Gates can do to be more friendly. Don't force windows to want a whole drive all to itself. If I have drive, and want to have a small partition for linux, don't force windows to reformat that partition to ntsc or fat. Let it be. It is a pain to have to do everything after windows is installed.
Huh? Last time I installed Windows on a dual-boot computer, it didn't ask to take the whole drive or format my non-windows partitions. Actually, the partition software in the installer did exactly what I asked it to, and nothing more.
Maybe you're thinking of Windows "restore" cds (ugh) that come with most OEM PCs. These usually just bulldoze the whole disk and return it to the original setup.
In the last couple astro/geo classes I've taken, I was told the current theory on how the moon was created is a Mars sized planet colliding with the Earth. Hmmm...
I've been suprised how good my school is about textbooks - I've been able to purchase used books every quarter I've been here, and this quarter I actually didn't have to purchase any books because I'm taking courses which use books I already owned from previous courses.
Because to someone with *no* computer, a four year old laptop is better than nothing. Myself, I think your "its four years old.. its USELESS!" attitude is worse. I use a four year old computer daily.. its not my main machine, but its still useful.
As long as the thing works, there's nothing wrong with donating it. Although, I would suggest he replace the finicky cd-rom before sending it off. It may not be any use to him (having been replaced by newer hardware) but that doesnt make it useless. The fact that he *could* sell it on e-bay and send them the money pretty much proves that its useful to someone, now doesn't it??
Sure, buying a new laptop and donating it would be even better, but even in the US not everyone can afford to donate a brand new laptop...
I hate to break it to you, but guys who ace calc aren't usually considered "cool" by their peers either ;)
I think he just picked a silly example.. figuring out how far you can go on x amount of gas is trivial no matter the measurement system.
They've been teaching metric to kids for some time in the US - I'm 22 and I remember learning about it in elementary school. However, most people my age will just give you a blank stare if you try to tell them a distance in km, a mass in grams, or a temperature in celcius. Usually they'll understand liters, because you can buy soda in 2L bottles. Its being taught, but most people aren't really learning it.
How on earth is it difficult to figure out how big a gas tank needs to be to drive 1000 miles at 50 miles/gallon?? I'd say thats pretty trivial either way.
Fractions aren't always bad - they're actually quite nice when you want to specify something very accurately - rather than .031-ish mm.
I don't know of any reason why you wouldn't be able to use both at once. Should be interesting...
No, the best alternative to the crap they play on Seattle radio stations is a CD player.
You can buy non-apple PPC machines, yes. I haven't seen any non-apple motherboards for sale, though. IBM sells several PPC workstations - but they're even more expensive than a Mac. Yellow Dog Linux sold generic PPC machines for a while, but from a quick look at their website they now appear to be only selling Apple and IBM machines, as well as PPC BriQs - tiny g3 or g4 systems that fit in a 5 1/4" drive bay.