.....I would think Symantec, MacAfee, etc would be pretty upset if viruses miraculously disappeared........
Would the medical profession be upset if someone came up with a 100% certain cure for cancer or other heart disease? Would the lawyers get upset if for some strange reason everybody got along well with each other? Would the oil companies get upset if somebody came up with a cheap way to turn water into fuel?
Whenever a person's or group's livelihood is threatened, they try to eliminate such threat, whether legally or not. When cars (horseless carriages) first appeared, stable operators and others in the horse businesses tried to stop progress.
If somebody DID figure out a way to eliminate spam, spammers would come up with alternate "solutions" and so would the anti-spammers.
......Just to name one counter-example, Sun Microsystems makes the Solaris "operating software".......
OK, nitpicker, I should have added the words CONSUMER and SMALL BUSINESS computers. IBM still makes mainframes and Sun's offerings are for servers. You won't find those systems running word processors spreadsheets and games.
....So while some software makers might stop bothering with Mac-specific binaries........
Would such software makers not also shut themselves off from the potentially huge iPhone market? The iPhone is really a small Mac, running OSX. Programmers for OSX, it seems to me should be more in demand than for Windows as the iPhone market grows. Apple seems to be pretty adept at making their software run on different kinds of hardware. They pulled off the PPC->Intelx86 switch fairly well and now run OSX on yet a different processor. It must be that their way of doing things is pretty flexible.
.....Since they started selling x86 pc's, the only way to distinguish them from any other pc out there is with their software.......
They are the ONLY hardware company that makes their own operating software for their own computer, which comprise a COMPLETE computer. Anybody that wants to may also run Windows Linux or who knows what else on their hardware.
Run programs for those who still have a teensy weensy creative spark left in them. There are programs like iPhoto, iMovie, iDvd, Garage band etc which have no counterparts on Windows that come even close. Get a cheap Dell if all you want to do is email, surf the web and play some games along with the usual spyware, adware and other malware rampant on Windows, but largely absent from Apple's OSX..
.....itunes is counter-intuitive and crash-prone on Windows.......
So what program ISN'T crash prone on Windows? Notepad? If you have an iPod, what is a radio for? To listen to commercials? Oh may the news oh yea the news! I can record on the ipod with an inexpensive add on that plugs right in.
.......As in, for a hundred bucks I would have expected something really outstanding here......
You could have carefully studied Apple's website before 10.5 came out and maybe learned that it wasn't up to your demands. I had bought a new Macbook three weeks before and Apple sent me a 10.5 disk for $9.95 postage and handling. I have had no problems with it at all. I did an erase and install, since i had not had much time to set up a lot of extra stuff on it yet. The Finder is faster and the system found the other systems, including Windows and the network printer. So far "It just works" for me.
.....Client-server models make sense for "average" business users and "average" home users.......
Why not go back to the mainframe-terminal model? IT will have come full circle and the PC as will become extinct. Instead of a serial line, we'll have fast fiber links from warehouse sized computer systems with a billion CPUs and 50,000 terabytes storage serving every terminal on earth. Users will only be allowed to see, do and interact has the administrative overlords see fit. It will be a very secure, safe, controlled way of ensuring ironclad control over all information.
......Unless you are fortunate enough to get a fast "sure, go ahead and use it" you will miss your deadline..........
Unless you are fortunate enough to figure out who REALLY wrote that code in the first place...... You might have 10,000th copy of it and no idea whom to ask for permission.
.......Just because it's on the web, even without any particular license, doesn't mean it's free for the taking.........
Yes, that's the current law, which is a shame. Originally copyright was intended to prevent others from making an easy profit from someone's creativity. Simply going back to requiring low cost, easily renewable registration every say 5 years would go a long way toward fixing copyright law. It would mean that any creator of a work who cares about having their work protected would be able to do so. He/she would not have to go to a court to collect royalties. There would be a database, similar to patents that anyone could check, to see if a given work was duly copyrighted. If the creator wanted the world to enjoy the fruits of his/her labor, they would do nothing, otherwise register it. Then everyone would know whom to ask for permission.
.....Second, it's only that if you think animals lower than humans to begin with.........
You may think so, but if you kill a dog or cat, you won't go to prison for murder or manslaughter. Devaluing a human to something less is the first step to justify genocide. It doesn't matter whether you call such a human an infidel, subhuman (untermensch), a piece of tissue or property or some other classification. The purpose of such classifying is to justify doing nasty things to the class of humans thus denigrated.
(.....I don't, humans tend to suck.....)
Does that include yourself? I assume you're human. Dogs, cats and other animals don't post on/. do they? No? Oh, I thought so, of course not you, but all those others that don't agree with you! My dogs and cats don''t always behave the way I'd like, but they never disagree with me, so maybe they are better.
......Propaganda is a means to spread your ideas.........
Most of the time, in order for it to be called propaganda these ideas have nothing or little to do with truth. Goebbels said that if an outrageous lie is told often enough, loud enough and long enough, the majority of people will believe it. Much of modern advertising depends on this tendency.
Most people only believe what they WANT to believe and most often act on their beliefs much more than on their knowledge.
......I haven't had to reinstall windows for all the years XP has been out......
Actually I haven't either on MY computer. However, you and I and the others here on/. would not be on here if we did not at least somewhat LIKE computers and technology and know more about it than the average grandpa and uncle.
Those are the ones who click OK and thereby install all sorts of wonderful crap on their Windows machines. They are the ones who pull the power plug when the system fails to respond, because it is processing spam or looking for that server to which to send that personal information it has gathered.
I have dealt with many such machines which had their registries hosed to the point where the computer became a doorstop. Sometimes I did manage to use regedit and fix it, but most of the time it's a re-install.
Macs do glitch also, such as when the user willy nilly unplugs it. Often though, the repair utility Apple includes with each system will make the system operable again. I have a portable HD which will boot all Intel Macs and another one for all the older PPC versions. These disks contain a number of diagnostic and repair tools.
When I get called to resurrect an un-bootable Mac, those usually enable a quick fix. Too bad that there is no way to make a universal boot disk for all Windows machines. Hard drives are pretty cheap these days.
....service pack rendering a PC non-operation is a big deal......
Indeed it would be a big deal if this were a pure Mac with no Windows within 10,000 miles. However it applies only to mongrel mutt Macs that have been contaminated by Windows. That's what you get for questioning the credibility of someone here, just because they have "mac" in their login name.
.....but I'd dispute that reinstalling an OS is routine....
With Macs, unlike Windows, it is definitely NOT routine. I wonder, does this update only screw up Macs that also have a Windows OS installed? From the article, it seems to be the case. Moral: If you want to run Windows, get a cheap Dell and be happy.
......What if you don't own a computer already?......
Isn't this whole subject about making a PC look and behave as Maclike as possible? Someone then suggested why not get a Mac to begin with.
How many, especially here on/. don't have some sort of computer already? The Mac Mini is for those PC users who would like to try a Mac without spending an arm and a leg. Using the old PC peripherals saves cost and landfill space. It is also possible to run Windows on the mini, either in addition to or in place of the the Mac OSX the mini comes with.
The Mac Mini is intended to those PC people who want to get a Mac without throwing their existing displays, keyboards, mice and printers into the trash.
As for comparing it with Dell, that's like comparing a Yugo with a Honda or a Chevy with a BMW. In computers, as with most things, you get what you pay for.
You can get a brand new Mac Mini for that, including Parallels virtual machine to install your copy of Windows in. That whay you get two computers in an itty bitty little box.
......Without proper evidence nor definition.......
Evidence is never proof. Any jury has to BELIEVE evidence and witnesses presented on either side. They cannot KNOW. You also have to believe the evidence for or against God, you also cannot know. You have elevated your deluded, limited logic above all other evidence that has been or ever could be presented and made up your feeble mind. I'd hate to have you on a jury, because you are severely biased by what your perverted logic has concocted in your little head.
You repeatedly state: "There is no God" as if you know that. You are totally dishonest in making such an assertive statement. More honest would be, "I believe there is nor God". Better yet would be: "I don't know if there is or not. Present me with the evidence you believe you have for God and I'll consider it."
Centuries ago, before Jesus Christ walked on Earth, David wrote about you:
"The fool has said in his heart, There is no God" (Psalm 53:1)
I believe God authored the Bible. He never defends His existence therein, but calls the likes of you a fool. To me, being called a fool by the Creator of the Universe is frightening. It ought to be the same to you.
......if 'God' can be eternally self existant, why can't the universe?......
Because we have measured, observed evidence that the universe had a beginning. This beginning requires a cause. We have no scientific evidence for the cause, that is God. All science can tell us that there was a beginning and that like everything else has a cause. Therefore, by faith only we can attribute the cause to whatever someone tells us. We then have to decide the credibility of that someone. If you don't think that Moses and the other writers of the Bible are credible witnesses who heard God, then don't believe them. I happen to BELIEVE that the are true witnesses. You are free to NOT believe it.
We are told by witnesses that Jesus did all sorts of things which logic tells us are impossible. We call then miracles. Would a first century person call some of our modern technological gadgets "miracles"? They likely would, but we know more or less how they work. Could someone who possesses perfect knowledge about atomic and molecular structure, instantly assemble a pile of atoms into bread? How about rearranging water molecules to bear the weight of a person? Could someone who claims to be the author of life reverse the death process? After Jesus commanded the storm to cease, the witnesses in the boat were even more afraid of that One who could command the forces of nature, than they were in fear of losing their lives a few moments earlier.
Our logic is based upon what we know and have experienced. Unless a person knows all that can be known, it is illogical to use the word IMPOSSIBLE.
You have to make faith decision many times in life. You believe that the airplane you are boarding is safe, but you don't KNOW that. You believe what the doctor tells you, even if you don't understand why. You believe what the teacher or professor tells you even if you never heard of such things before. All of our lives are governed much more by faith than by sure knowledge.
.....This supernova occurred at a distance of ~160,000 light-years......
Whenever distance and time are equated, there again is an assumption (belief) made. It is assumed that whatever is moving, light in this case, travels at a constant rate. So all that was really done was to shift assumptions. There is NO known law of physics that mandates that the speed of light be constant. We KNOW, by experiment, that the speed of light is greatly affected by the medium it traverses. Space itself is not an empty nothing, but has electromagnetic properties. Light, being electromagnetic, therefore is affected. As the Universe expanded, the very nature of space changed dramatically. There is evidence that the speed of light must have been 300 million times faster than today, shortly after the "big bang".
Any clock that uses atomic motion must be corrected for the expansion factor of the universe, because the equations that govern electromagnetic interactions ALL contain a "constant" related to the speed of light. The same is true for the equations that govern radioactivity which is also governed by the electromagnetic interaction, often labelled the "weak interaction".
The gravity equations do no contain such a constant and are therefore not subject to this correction. Planetary motions are governed by gravity and are therefore nor affected by the expansion of the universe.
Because if the Universe created itself, without a cause, then the law of cause and effect has been violated. AFAIK every effect has a cause. We may not alway know the cause, but it is nevertheless there. There is plenty of objective evidence that the universe did not always exist, but had a beginning. The cosmic background radiation is one of these evidences. Science, among other things is the methodical study of causes and effects. It is at the heart of the scientific method.
Quantum physics isn't 'absurd' at all. It's just that that we have discovered that different rules apply in the realm of the ultra small. Einstein's relativity also seems absurd, since we don't experience traveling at relativistic speeds. Since we don't experience these rules in our everyday life, they seem absurd at times. Do you really believe that the time-space reality we experience through our senses is the only reality that can or does exist?
.....If the person is not IMMEDIATELY respectful and obedient.....
Why NOT be respectful and obedient? Is that not a good way to be to everyone, not only the cops who have tasers and guns? An angry, insulting response will only make matters worse and could result in harm to all involved. If the cop wants to arrest you, LET them quietly and then let the judge sort things out.
.....Would he even have been clubbed? Would he even have been clubbed?......
Why not clubbed? Before there were tasers, cops routinely used their billy clubs on unruly people that resisted them. Tasers or clubs are not used by the police when they first encounter a suspect. The usually talk to them first. Maybe tell them him/her that he/she is under arrest. If the suspect then submits, he/she can call a lawyer who will tell their side of the story to the judge. No taser or club gets used. If I had to choose, I'd probably choose the taser rather than getting my skull cracked with a billy club, like they used to do. I've had some rather nasty electric shocks from TVs and other electronics without permanent harm.
Slashdot Mirror
.....I would think Symantec, MacAfee, etc would be pretty upset if viruses miraculously disappeared........
Would the medical profession be upset if someone came up with a 100% certain cure for cancer or other heart disease?
Would the lawyers get upset if for some strange reason everybody got along well with each other?
Would the oil companies get upset if somebody came up with a cheap way to turn water into fuel?
Whenever a person's or group's livelihood is threatened, they try to eliminate such threat, whether legally or not. When cars (horseless carriages) first appeared, stable operators and others in the horse businesses tried to stop progress.
If somebody DID figure out a way to eliminate spam, spammers would come up with alternate "solutions" and so would the anti-spammers.
......Just to name one counter-example, Sun Microsystems makes the Solaris "operating software" .......
OK, nitpicker, I should have added the words CONSUMER and SMALL BUSINESS computers. IBM still makes mainframes and Sun's offerings are for servers. You won't find those systems running word processors spreadsheets and games.
....So while some software makers might stop bothering with Mac-specific binaries........
Would such software makers not also shut themselves off from the potentially huge iPhone market? The iPhone is really a small Mac, running OSX. Programmers for OSX, it seems to me should be more in demand than for Windows as the iPhone market grows. Apple seems to be pretty adept at making their software run on different kinds of hardware. They pulled off the PPC->Intelx86 switch fairly well and now run OSX on yet a different processor. It must be that their way of doing things is pretty flexible.
.....Since they started selling x86 pc's, the only way to distinguish them from any other pc out there is with their software.......
They are the ONLY hardware company that makes their own operating software for their own computer, which comprise a COMPLETE computer. Anybody that wants to may also run Windows Linux or who knows what else on their hardware.
.....And what would that be?.....
Run programs for those who still have a teensy weensy creative spark left in them. There are programs like iPhoto, iMovie, iDvd, Garage band etc which have no counterparts on Windows that come even close. Get a cheap Dell if all you want to do is email, surf the web and play some games along with the usual spyware, adware and other malware rampant on Windows, but largely absent from Apple's OSX..
.....itunes is counter-intuitive and crash-prone on Windows.......
So what program ISN'T crash prone on Windows? Notepad? If you have an iPod, what is a radio for? To listen to commercials? Oh may the news oh yea the news! I can record on the ipod with an inexpensive add on that plugs right in.
.......As in, for a hundred bucks I would have expected something really outstanding here......
You could have carefully studied Apple's website before 10.5 came out and maybe learned that it wasn't up to your demands. I had bought a new Macbook three weeks before and Apple sent me a 10.5 disk for $9.95 postage and handling. I have had no problems with it at all. I did an erase and install, since i had not had much time to set up a lot of extra stuff on it yet. The Finder is faster and the system found the other systems, including Windows and the network printer. So far "It just works" for me.
.....Client-server models make sense for "average" business users and "average" home users.......
Why not go back to the mainframe-terminal model? IT will have come full circle and the PC as will become extinct. Instead of a serial line, we'll have fast fiber links from warehouse sized computer systems with a billion CPUs and 50,000 terabytes storage serving every terminal on earth. Users will only be allowed to see, do and interact has the administrative overlords see fit. It will be a very secure, safe, controlled way of ensuring ironclad control over all information.
......Unless you are fortunate enough to get a fast "sure, go ahead and use it" you will miss your deadline..........
Unless you are fortunate enough to figure out who REALLY wrote that code in the first place...... You might have 10,000th copy of it and no idea whom to ask for permission.
.......Just because it's on the web, even without any particular license, doesn't mean it's free for the taking.........
Yes, that's the current law, which is a shame. Originally copyright was intended to prevent others from making an easy profit from someone's creativity. Simply going back to requiring low cost, easily renewable registration every say 5 years would go a long way toward fixing copyright law. It would mean that any creator of a work who cares about having their work protected would be able to do so. He/she would not have to go to a court to collect royalties. There would be a database, similar to patents that anyone could check, to see if a given work was duly copyrighted. If the creator wanted the world to enjoy the fruits of his/her labor, they would do nothing, otherwise register it. Then everyone would know whom to ask for permission.
.....Second, it's only that if you think animals lower than humans to begin with.........
/. do they? No? Oh, I thought so, of course not you, but all those others that don't agree with you! My dogs and cats don''t always behave the way I'd like, but they never disagree with me, so maybe they are better.
You may think so, but if you kill a dog or cat, you won't go to prison for murder or manslaughter. Devaluing a human to something less is the first step to justify genocide. It doesn't matter whether you call such a human an infidel, subhuman (untermensch), a piece of tissue or property or some other classification. The purpose of such classifying is to justify doing nasty things to the class of humans thus denigrated.
(.....I don't, humans tend to suck.....)
Does that include yourself? I assume you're human. Dogs, cats and other animals don't post on
......Propaganda is a means to spread your ideas.........
Most of the time, in order for it to be called propaganda these ideas have nothing or little to do with truth. Goebbels said that if an outrageous lie is told often enough, loud enough and long enough, the majority of people will believe it. Much of modern advertising depends on this tendency.
Most people only believe what they WANT to believe and most often act on their beliefs much more than on their knowledge.
......I haven't had to reinstall windows for all the years XP has been out......
/. would not be on here if we did not at least somewhat LIKE computers and technology and know more about it than the average grandpa and uncle.
Actually I haven't either on MY computer. However, you and I and the others here on
Those are the ones who click OK and thereby install all sorts of wonderful crap on their Windows machines. They are the ones who pull the power plug when the system fails to respond, because it is processing spam or looking for that server to which to send that personal information it has gathered.
I have dealt with many such machines which had their registries hosed to the point where the computer became a doorstop. Sometimes I did manage to use regedit and fix it, but most of the time it's a re-install.
Macs do glitch also, such as when the user willy nilly unplugs it. Often though, the repair utility Apple includes with each system will make the system operable again. I have a portable HD which will boot all Intel Macs and another one for all the older PPC versions. These disks contain a number of diagnostic and repair tools.
When I get called to resurrect an un-bootable Mac, those usually enable a quick fix. Too bad that there is no way to make a universal boot disk for all Windows machines. Hard drives are pretty cheap these days.
....service pack rendering a PC non-operation is a big deal ......
Indeed it would be a big deal if this were a pure Mac with no Windows within 10,000 miles. However it applies only to mongrel mutt Macs that have been contaminated by Windows. That's what you get for questioning the credibility of someone here, just because they have "mac" in their login name.
.....but I'd dispute that reinstalling an OS is routine....
With Macs, unlike Windows, it is definitely NOT routine. I wonder, does this update only screw up Macs that also have a Windows OS installed? From the article, it seems to be the case. Moral: If you want to run Windows, get a cheap Dell and be happy.
.......gaming has always been way better on the PC than on the Mac.....
and gaming has always been way better on most every game console than on a PC -- and WAY cheaper too.
......What if you don't own a computer already?......
/. don't have some sort of computer already? The Mac Mini is for those PC users who would like to try a Mac without spending an arm and a leg. Using the old PC peripherals saves cost and landfill space. It is also possible to run Windows on the mini, either in addition to or in place of the the Mac OSX the mini comes with.
Isn't this whole subject about making a PC look and behave as Maclike as possible? Someone then suggested why not get a Mac to begin with.
How many, especially here on
.....Then another $200-$300 for a display.....
The Mac Mini is intended to those PC people who want to get a Mac without throwing their existing displays, keyboards, mice and printers into the trash.
As for comparing it with Dell, that's like comparing a Yugo with a Honda or a Chevy with a BMW. In computers, as with most things, you get what you pay for.
,,,,Not if you've only got $900 to spend....
You can get a brand new Mac Mini for that, including Parallels virtual machine to install your copy of Windows in. That whay you get two computers in an itty bitty little box.
......Without proper evidence nor definition.......
Evidence is never proof. Any jury has to BELIEVE evidence and witnesses presented on either side. They cannot KNOW. You also have to believe the evidence for or against God, you also cannot know. You have elevated your deluded, limited logic above all other evidence that has been or ever could be presented and made up your feeble mind. I'd hate to have you on a jury, because you are severely biased by what your perverted logic has concocted in your little head.
You repeatedly state: "There is no God" as if you know that. You are totally dishonest in making such an assertive statement. More honest would be, "I believe there is nor God". Better yet would be: "I don't know if there is or not. Present me with the evidence you believe you have for God and I'll consider it."
Centuries ago, before Jesus Christ walked on Earth, David wrote about you:
"The fool has said in his heart, There is no God" (Psalm 53:1)
I believe God authored the Bible. He never defends His existence therein, but calls the likes of you a fool. To me, being called a fool by the Creator of the Universe is frightening. It ought to be the same to you.
......if 'God' can be eternally self existant, why can't the universe?......
Because we have measured, observed evidence that the universe had a beginning. This beginning requires a cause. We have no scientific evidence for the cause, that is God. All science can tell us that there was a beginning and that like everything else has a cause. Therefore, by faith only we can attribute the cause to whatever someone tells us. We then have to decide the credibility of that someone. If you don't think that Moses and the other writers of the Bible are credible witnesses who heard God, then don't believe them. I happen to BELIEVE that the are true witnesses. You are free to NOT believe it.
We are told by witnesses that Jesus did all sorts of things which logic tells us are impossible. We call then miracles. Would a first century person call some of our modern technological gadgets "miracles"? They likely would, but we know more or less how they work. Could someone who possesses perfect knowledge about atomic and molecular structure, instantly assemble a pile of atoms into bread? How about rearranging water molecules to bear the weight of a person? Could someone who claims to be the author of life reverse the death process? After Jesus commanded the storm to cease, the witnesses in the boat were even more afraid of that One who could command the forces of nature, than they were in fear of losing their lives a few moments earlier.
Our logic is based upon what we know and have experienced. Unless a person knows all that can be known, it is illogical to use the word IMPOSSIBLE.
You have to make faith decision many times in life. You believe that the airplane you are boarding is safe, but you don't KNOW that. You believe what the doctor tells you, even if you don't understand why. You believe what the teacher or professor tells you even if you never heard of such things before. All of our lives are governed much more by faith than by sure knowledge.
.....This supernova occurred at a distance of ~160,000 light-years......
Whenever distance and time are equated, there again is an assumption (belief) made. It is assumed that whatever is moving, light in this case, travels at a constant rate. So all that was really done was to shift assumptions. There is NO known law of physics that mandates that the speed of light be constant. We KNOW, by experiment, that the speed of light is greatly affected by the medium it traverses. Space itself is not an empty nothing, but has electromagnetic properties. Light, being electromagnetic, therefore is affected. As the Universe expanded, the very nature of space changed dramatically. There is evidence that the speed of light must have been 300 million times faster than today, shortly after the "big bang".
Any clock that uses atomic motion must be corrected for the expansion factor of the universe, because the equations that govern electromagnetic interactions ALL contain a "constant" related to the speed of light. The same is true for the equations that govern radioactivity which is also governed by the electromagnetic interaction, often labelled the "weak interaction".
The gravity equations do no contain such a constant and are therefore not subject to this correction. Planetary motions are governed by gravity and are therefore nor affected by the expansion of the universe.
......Why is it absurd?.....
Because if the Universe created itself, without a cause, then the law of cause and effect has been violated. AFAIK every effect has a cause. We may not alway know the cause, but it is nevertheless there. There is plenty of objective evidence that the universe did not always exist, but had a beginning. The cosmic background radiation is one of these evidences. Science, among other things is the methodical study of causes and effects. It is at the heart of the scientific method.
Quantum physics isn't 'absurd' at all. It's just that that we have discovered that different rules apply in the realm of the ultra small. Einstein's relativity also seems absurd, since we don't experience traveling at relativistic speeds. Since we don't experience these rules in our everyday life, they seem absurd at times. Do you really believe that the time-space reality we experience through our senses is the only reality that can or does exist?
.....If the person is not IMMEDIATELY respectful and obedient.....
Why NOT be respectful and obedient? Is that not a good way to be to everyone, not only the cops who have tasers and guns? An angry, insulting response will only make matters worse and could result in harm to all involved. If the cop wants to arrest you, LET them quietly and then let the judge sort things out.
.....Would he even have been clubbed? Would he even have been clubbed?......
Why not clubbed? Before there were tasers, cops routinely used their billy clubs on unruly people that resisted them. Tasers or clubs are not used by the police when they first encounter a suspect. The usually talk to them first. Maybe tell them him/her that he/she is under arrest. If the suspect then submits, he/she can call a lawyer who will tell their side of the story to the judge. No taser or club gets used. If I had to choose, I'd probably choose the taser rather than getting my skull cracked with a billy club, like they used to do. I've had some rather nasty electric shocks from TVs and other electronics without permanent harm.