As I have seen a few times so far, Linux and Windows have traveled different paths in their product life cycles. Microsoft was born out of usability and friendliness. A pretty (to some) GUI with easy to use features (some what) with all the built in functionality you could ever need (and Bill said 640K would be all we'd need...). By lumping so much into an Operating system (which is inheritantly large to begin with - generally) you will definatly find yourself facing issues of Security.
Linux is different. Linux started out with a security mindset. Make it secure and let people figure out how to make it work. So with that as its roots, it was able to grow from there, and that focus on security is still there.
There is also a different community feeling with Linux as opposed to Windows. With Linux you have the Kernel changes and OS changes and what not, and that gets released for trail before an official release is made. And there is an avid community that tries out the latest and greatest and bugs are fixed and issues resolved before a release is mad public. That is not to say that there are no bugs and vulnerbilities found later on, but at least a good deal of things can be caught prior to general acceptance and use. On the flip side we have Windows that makes a SP release or an version of the OS avaialable, we download or buy the newest and run it only to find out later there are a couple thousand bugs that have yet to be fixed and we will have to wait 4 months until it is resolved in the next SP release. Or even better, a vulnerability is found, a worm/virus comes out to attack that exploit, MS then releases a patch/hotfix, then we run around trying to figure out which machines have been compromised and fix them.
Linux has come a long way in its usability, which I think is great. And if Microsoft is any clue, I think it is easier to add usability to a secure system then it is to add security to a newbie friendly OS.
Darl McBride says he sometimes carries a gun because his enemies are out to kill him.
I am not entirely sure who would really want to kill him? I mean, this guy's stupidity is such that he shouldn't be put out of his misery but instead ridiculed and mocked for as long as we possibly can. We should use his actions in case studies on what -not- to do. He should be more worried of people pointing a finger and laughing then people pointing a gun and shooting.
Okay I can see a few issues when it comes to translating IM speak.
USSoldier: Yo Wuz Up Wit U?
Translation to Iraqi Soldier: Error Code 32 - Invalid Input String
USSoldier: Y U Not Anzer Fo? I'm 3l33t H4x0r.
Translation to Iraqi Soldier: Translation Error 10 - Words Not Found In Database.
USSoldier - Yo, Anzer Fo, else I pwnz U!
Translation to Iraqi Soldier: Stack Buffer Overflow - Language Translator Broken Contact Your Administrator.
And we all know what happens now, US Soldier blows up three Iraqi Towns because he thought he was being ignored.
Okay I read the article, and agreed with most of it. I have been there many a times for friends that have done something stupid on their computer and needed a 'white knight' to save the day. And yah, it does get annoying when the only time you hear from someone is when they have a computer problem. What really got me about the article is the little bit at the end:
Perhaps the one thing that technophobes and technophiles can agree on is that software companies like Microsoft should make things easier and more secure for all kinds of computer users.
You can't make things easier and more secure at the same time. It just doesn't happen with computers or even in life in general. If you want something to be easier to do/use you must sacrifice security, and if you want security, you end up sacrificing convienence. Those are just the facts of life, and people need to realize it. Look at Airports for example. How much longer do we wait to get to the gate now with the increased security in the US? Sure you can stream line it a bit, but the fact remains, it is no way an easy process. The same is true about computers. One of the problems with Windows is that it is to easy to use in some aspects, which in turn leaves it open for attack. Where as *nix is the opposite, it is not as easy to use, but is also far more secure.
I just think people should look at the reality of the situation, and realize they can't count on another company to do everything for them and they need take some responsibility for their own security and safety.
Okay so advertising keeps Network TV free, Newspapers cheap, phone books free. So will internet advertising of this short make the internet cheaper for the rest of us? Or is this just another way for large corporations get larger and spam us in a new way? I'm thinking towards the later on this.
Interesting. My home town of Tacoma, WA did this some 4-5 years ago. Ran fiber out to the houses in an area and provided high speed internet and digital cable. I've found it to be quite reliable and fast. They don't provide phone services at this time, and you get the choice of three ISP services to choose, the most expensive of which is like $29 a month for internet access. Compared to the $40+ for Comcast of Verizon, its a great deal. I can see more and more cities adding internet and cable into their utility services. If it can mean lower prices and better service, I'm all for it.
Business Professor: Now Students, we are going to learn about business models today. Forget what you have learned about supplying a product or service to a client, that way of making money is old school.
Business Student: But if a company has nothing to offer, how can they make money?
Business Professor: *shakes head* There is a new approach we are going to call the 'Legal Model.' In this model you don't need a product or service, but good lawyers. You see, you get a good law firm and you target innocent people, twelve year olds are good, or even large businesses. It does not matter the reason, in fact, the stupider the reason, the more you look to gain from it. Inveritably someone will invest in your cause, your stock will go up and whether you are bought out or win, you stand to make money. Helps to use bully tactics to force settlements out of people as well.
Business Student: But how do you plan to pay for the lawyers?
Business Professor: Oh just give them a large percentage if you are bought out or win the law suits. Lawyers are suckers for those types of deals. It's actually incentive for them.
Ghost is a god-send when it comes to deploying massive (or even small) amounts of machines. I work in the CSCE Department at a University and we ghost the labs here once or twice a semester (depending on security updates for Windows and software needs). We can do a lab of 20 machines in an hour, that includes ghosting and finishing up for use. It would take longer to touch each machine individually to apply the patches and software updates. It's amazing how much time I save. As far as ghosting different machines, I've had pretty good luck in this department. So long as the chipsets on the motherboard and processor are not way different from each other, it tends to ghost fairly well. You might need to spend a little more time on the setup at the end (ie reinstalling video drivers) but that is still quicker then doing a fresh install.
Now this is the sort of thing you would expect to see from the likes of Bill Gates, but not from someone in the Linux community. And even while It might be true, you don't really need to go out and say it.
People will use what they are comfortable with, plain and simple. The whole Grandfather story is just stupid, my Grandma can't use Windows, but I'm not telling her to use Mac0SX or Linux. Such examples are kind of pointless.
I do agree Linux has a ways to go to be a complete desktop replacement, but having been one to use it off and on for a few years now, I can say things have come a long way and continue to get better.
Saying it needs to mature though, to me, seems to take away from what Linux is, as if it isn't really ready for use. Yet, Linux already is more stable and robust then Windows is (or probably ever will be). I don't see Linux needing to mature so much as it needs expand, filling in gaps here and there. The basics have been covered, the system is great, now just improve upon what we have to make it even better.
I don't ever see Linux being as frilly as Windows, and I hope it never is. But I do see it becoming a larger threat to Microsoft.
I remember when my friends and I would play Street Fighter for hours on end. At the end of the day, I would have worn my thumbs down to blisters. All those quick combination moves to do a fire ball or spin kick did a number on my fingers.
1. Even the N.Y. times wasn't able to offer much real evidence for merger talks. Also, remember that they are just talks, and a preference for IPO was stated by the company.
Course how do we know the N.Y. Times isn't just making up another story?
On another note, if the merger did happen, would be finally be able to find stuff on Microsoft's site?
Say the yeast is engineered to detect human disease. Then a doctor could print up a yeast card, have a patient breathe on it and determine what illness the person has, Brinker said.
And what if you have really bad breath? Will it tell you that you have cancer? Makes you wonder.
What would be really nice is if they added games to these things, that way when we are shopping with our wives/girlfriends we can be fragging the other guys in the store doing the same thing. Now that would be a good use of this technology IMHO.
What we need are carts that will tell us when we ask for the Twinkie aisle that we are to fat and instead take us to the bananas. What better a dieting tool then ridiculing carts. But unfortunatly these things will likely feed on our inpulse buying habits and we'll all just get fatter and lazier still. *sigh*
I don't think so. People thought that the TV would kill Radio, yet we still have our AM and FM stations. And I believe they will be around for quite a while yet. Yes we have TV and the Internet to promote artists, but I don't really watch the much TV and don't go just browsing the internet for musicians. There are just to many out there now-a-days. I still listen to the radio from time to time, if I hear a band I like I look them up and maybe download some of their music. If it is good, I tend to go out and buy an album. And while I find most 'popular' radio stations annoying with little to distinguish one from another there are a few that are better then most (usually the local college stations).
And Radio is more then just a place for music. There are the news stations and weather stations and traffic reports, and lets not forget sports as well. There are the talk shows and such as well, so while Radio might loose its edge as a medium for music, there are still quite a few uses for it to remain relevant into the future.
Personally I'm waiting for the Oldies station that plays old add jingles (from the movie Demolition Man).
"class-action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last week that accuses the company of not doing enough to guard the personal information of Windows users."
Okay I understand Microsoft has a long ways to go in making their products secure, but come on people, when are Windows users going to wake up and take some responsibility for their machines. I'm a user of Windows/Linux/Solaris and I have long since learned to live by the phrase "Patch Frequently and Patch Often." Maybe it is just something we *nix users have gotten used to, but it is something Windows users need to become more aware of and quite blaming Microsoft for their inability to secure their own machines.
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As I have seen a few times so far, Linux and Windows have traveled different paths in their product life cycles. Microsoft was born out of usability and friendliness. A pretty (to some) GUI with easy to use features (some what) with all the built in functionality you could ever need (and Bill said 640K would be all we'd need...). By lumping so much into an Operating system (which is inheritantly large to begin with - generally) you will definatly find yourself facing issues of Security.
Linux is different. Linux started out with a security mindset. Make it secure and let people figure out how to make it work. So with that as its roots, it was able to grow from there, and that focus on security is still there.
There is also a different community feeling with Linux as opposed to Windows. With Linux you have the Kernel changes and OS changes and what not, and that gets released for trail before an official release is made. And there is an avid community that tries out the latest and greatest and bugs are fixed and issues resolved before a release is mad public. That is not to say that there are no bugs and vulnerbilities found later on, but at least a good deal of things can be caught prior to general acceptance and use. On the flip side we have Windows that makes a SP release or an version of the OS avaialable, we download or buy the newest and run it only to find out later there are a couple thousand bugs that have yet to be fixed and we will have to wait 4 months until it is resolved in the next SP release. Or even better, a vulnerability is found, a worm/virus comes out to attack that exploit, MS then releases a patch/hotfix, then we run around trying to figure out which machines have been compromised and fix them.
Linux has come a long way in its usability, which I think is great. And if Microsoft is any clue, I think it is easier to add usability to a secure system then it is to add security to a newbie friendly OS.
That's just my two bits...
They should just study the behaviour of frat boys. Drunken ones to be specific. ;)
And here I thought Dawn of the Dead was just another Zombie movie, not a documentary.....
Darl McBride says he sometimes carries a gun because his enemies are out to kill him.
I am not entirely sure who would really want to kill him? I mean, this guy's stupidity is such that he shouldn't be put out of his misery but instead ridiculed and mocked for as long as we possibly can. We should use his actions in case studies on what -not- to do. He should be more worried of people pointing a finger and laughing then people pointing a gun and shooting.
Such is my Humble Opinion.
Okay I can see a few issues when it comes to translating IM speak.
USSoldier: Yo Wuz Up Wit U?
Translation to Iraqi Soldier: Error Code 32 - Invalid Input String
USSoldier: Y U Not Anzer Fo? I'm 3l33t H4x0r.
Translation to Iraqi Soldier: Translation Error 10 - Words Not Found In Database.
USSoldier - Yo, Anzer Fo, else I pwnz U!
Translation to Iraqi Soldier: Stack Buffer Overflow - Language Translator Broken Contact Your Administrator.
And we all know what happens now, US Soldier blows up three Iraqi Towns because he thought he was being ignored.
All Your TV Belong To Us!!
Okay I read the article, and agreed with most of it. I have been there many a times for friends that have done something stupid on their computer and needed a 'white knight' to save the day. And yah, it does get annoying when the only time you hear from someone is when they have a computer problem. What really got me about the article is the little bit at the end:
Perhaps the one thing that technophobes and technophiles can agree on is that software companies like Microsoft should make things easier and more secure for all kinds of computer users.
You can't make things easier and more secure at the same time. It just doesn't happen with computers or even in life in general. If you want something to be easier to do/use you must sacrifice security, and if you want security, you end up sacrificing convienence. Those are just the facts of life, and people need to realize it. Look at Airports for example. How much longer do we wait to get to the gate now with the increased security in the US? Sure you can stream line it a bit, but the fact remains, it is no way an easy process. The same is true about computers. One of the problems with Windows is that it is to easy to use in some aspects, which in turn leaves it open for attack. Where as *nix is the opposite, it is not as easy to use, but is also far more secure.
I just think people should look at the reality of the situation, and realize they can't count on another company to do everything for them and they need take some responsibility for their own security and safety.
Okay so advertising keeps Network TV free, Newspapers cheap, phone books free. So will internet advertising of this short make the internet cheaper for the rest of us? Or is this just another way for large corporations get larger and spam us in a new way? I'm thinking towards the later on this.
Interesting. My home town of Tacoma, WA did this some 4-5 years ago. Ran fiber out to the houses in an area and provided high speed internet and digital cable. I've found it to be quite reliable and fast. They don't provide phone services at this time, and you get the choice of three ISP services to choose, the most expensive of which is like $29 a month for internet access. Compared to the $40+ for Comcast of Verizon, its a great deal. I can see more and more cities adding internet and cable into their utility services. If it can mean lower prices and better service, I'm all for it.
Business Professor: Now Students, we are going to learn about business models today. Forget what you have learned about supplying a product or service to a client, that way of making money is old school.
Business Student: But if a company has nothing to offer, how can they make money?
Business Professor: *shakes head* There is a new approach we are going to call the 'Legal Model.' In this model you don't need a product or service, but good lawyers. You see, you get a good law firm and you target innocent people, twelve year olds are good, or even large businesses. It does not matter the reason, in fact, the stupider the reason, the more you look to gain from it. Inveritably someone will invest in your cause, your stock will go up and whether you are bought out or win, you stand to make money. Helps to use bully tactics to force settlements out of people as well.
Business Student: But how do you plan to pay for the lawyers?
Business Professor: Oh just give them a large percentage if you are bought out or win the law suits. Lawyers are suckers for those types of deals. It's actually incentive for them.
Is this the Business Model of the Future?
Ghost is a god-send when it comes to deploying massive (or even small) amounts of machines. I work in the CSCE Department at a University and we ghost the labs here once or twice a semester (depending on security updates for Windows and software needs). We can do a lab of 20 machines in an hour, that includes ghosting and finishing up for use. It would take longer to touch each machine individually to apply the patches and software updates. It's amazing how much time I save. As far as ghosting different machines, I've had pretty good luck in this department. So long as the chipsets on the motherboard and processor are not way different from each other, it tends to ghost fairly well. You might need to spend a little more time on the setup at the end (ie reinstalling video drivers) but that is still quicker then doing a fresh install.
That's my experience.
Now this is the sort of thing you would expect to see from the likes of Bill Gates, but not from someone in the Linux community. And even while It might be true, you don't really need to go out and say it.
People will use what they are comfortable with, plain and simple. The whole Grandfather story is just stupid, my Grandma can't use Windows, but I'm not telling her to use Mac0SX or Linux. Such examples are kind of pointless.
I do agree Linux has a ways to go to be a complete desktop replacement, but having been one to use it off and on for a few years now, I can say things have come a long way and continue to get better.
Saying it needs to mature though, to me, seems to take away from what Linux is, as if it isn't really ready for use. Yet, Linux already is more stable and robust then Windows is (or probably ever will be). I don't see Linux needing to mature so much as it needs expand, filling in gaps here and there. The basics have been covered, the system is great, now just improve upon what we have to make it even better.
I don't ever see Linux being as frilly as Windows, and I hope it never is. But I do see it becoming a larger threat to Microsoft.
I remember when my friends and I would play Street Fighter for hours on end. At the end of the day, I would have worn my thumbs down to blisters. All those quick combination moves to do a fire ball or spin kick did a number on my fingers.
1. Even the N.Y. times wasn't able to offer much real evidence for merger talks. Also, remember that they are just talks, and a preference for IPO was stated by the company.
Course how do we know the N.Y. Times isn't just making up another story?
On another note, if the merger did happen, would be finally be able to find stuff on Microsoft's site?
Say the yeast is engineered to detect human disease. Then a doctor could print up a yeast card, have a patient breathe on it and determine what illness the person has, Brinker said.
And what if you have really bad breath? Will it tell you that you have cancer? Makes you wonder.
What would be really nice is if they added games to these things, that way when we are shopping with our wives/girlfriends we can be fragging the other guys in the store doing the same thing. Now that would be a good use of this technology IMHO.
What we need are carts that will tell us when we ask for the Twinkie aisle that we are to fat and instead take us to the bananas. What better a dieting tool then ridiculing carts. But unfortunatly these things will likely feed on our inpulse buying habits and we'll all just get fatter and lazier still. *sigh*
I don't think so. People thought that the TV would kill Radio, yet we still have our AM and FM stations. And I believe they will be around for quite a while yet. Yes we have TV and the Internet to promote artists, but I don't really watch the much TV and don't go just browsing the internet for musicians. There are just to many out there now-a-days. I still listen to the radio from time to time, if I hear a band I like I look them up and maybe download some of their music. If it is good, I tend to go out and buy an album. And while I find most 'popular' radio stations annoying with little to distinguish one from another there are a few that are better then most (usually the local college stations). And Radio is more then just a place for music. There are the news stations and weather stations and traffic reports, and lets not forget sports as well. There are the talk shows and such as well, so while Radio might loose its edge as a medium for music, there are still quite a few uses for it to remain relevant into the future. Personally I'm waiting for the Oldies station that plays old add jingles (from the movie Demolition Man).
"class-action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last week that accuses the company of not doing enough to guard the personal information of Windows users." Okay I understand Microsoft has a long ways to go in making their products secure, but come on people, when are Windows users going to wake up and take some responsibility for their machines. I'm a user of Windows/Linux/Solaris and I have long since learned to live by the phrase "Patch Frequently and Patch Often." Maybe it is just something we *nix users have gotten used to, but it is something Windows users need to become more aware of and quite blaming Microsoft for their inability to secure their own machines.