My brother rehabs repossessed homes in Kansas City (another story) and copper theft there is rampant. A deserted home is apt to be stripped of copper in the first 72 hours it is empty with the thieves demolishing walls and anything else that gets in their way. They work fast and ugly. A neighborhood can go down even quicker when homes not only stand empty but are broken into by professionals who can literally tear out most of the copper in less than an hour.
I looked at it and frankly it did not look that bad. For about two dollars you could get some masking tape and white spray paint and make it look more like the ipod. You should probably take care not to gum up the controls.
Or... some third party company could produce a hollow ipod looking shell and you would just slip it in close the hatch and go looking kool as hell.
Robotic research in Japan is proceeding at a feverish pace and they make no excuses for trying to design robots to fill time consuming but supposedly menial tasks (such as caring for the elderly and reception positions). What will the social implications be? Some advantages are that robots can be designed not to steal from the elderly nor abuse them.
By the way, you better reread all that Asimov SciFi because robotics is about to reach a critical level in the United States. I have been seeing advertisements for the robotic vacuum cleaner on television which means robots are now a part of popular culture. Granted the robotic vacuum cleaner is relatively low tech, but my point is that we are rapidly coming to the time where there are moral, ethical, and legal questions about robotics that will have to be answered. Also, there is the DOD contest to design a robotic vehicle that is offering a million dollar prize to the winner... not to mention the robotic Mars rover.
Let's sue SCO. Do Linux users have rights, and have those rights been violated by SCO? I started out thinking about posting this as a joke but now I wonder what the real possibilities might be.
Is it just me or is documentation not as good as it used to be? One of the nice features of Linux used to be the large amount of documentation that was available. Now, I have noticed that documentation seems rather sparse. A lot of what I read is rather outdated. I stumbled onto this problem trying to get wireless to work.
Back when I was trying to get a zip drive to work the HOWTO was most helpful to me but look at it now. It is outdated and refers to some stuff that is not even used now.
This is one of the best discussions I have ever read on Slashdot. I agree with Splendid... and by the way Eric is completely right as well. I had almost an identical experience with CUPS. One time I got it working and one time I did not and I still do not know what made the difference. This kind of stuff is harming Linux and frankly there are things in Linux which are much harder to do than they should be given the current state of GUI design and computers in general.
I love Linux and have used it now for over five years but sometimes I wonder if it is worth the trouble. It always comes down to the same thing: getting hardware to work!
Here is a synopsis of my Linux journey: It took me over a year to get a working X server.It took me over a year to get an external Zip drive to work, it took me over a year to get a CD burner to work. I have been trying now for three months to get a wireless card to work. The average user is not going to mess with that kind of barrier. I am not going to give up on Linux but this kind of experience is very discouraging.
My thanks to everyone out there who has written code for Linux. I love you guys and it is a great thing you are doing. But... Linux is a community and the community needs to grow up to be more inclusive if it is ever going to reach its potential.
I teach at the college level and the high price of text books is a problem. You would be surprised at the number of students who try to get by without buying a book (either because they can not afford it or they think they can get by without them). By the way, if you can not afford a text book it is worth a try to see if the instructor has an extra copy. I often loan books to students. My colleagues and I receive our copies for free so we have to stay aware of how much the book actually cost the student. For example I was about ready to use one text for a class when I discovered that a similar text, actually a bit better, was available for 35% less. I switched books. Also, I think it is the responsibility for the instructor to do their own homework and make sure that the book is relevant and that it will actually be used.
Maybe they will not. Maybe something new is evolving out of Google, and somewhere someone with some power or influence is saying if it ain't broke don't fix it. Google ain't broke (except what is with the news feature being in Beta for loo these many years?).
The real question is if those with "the vision" get ousted and smart young MBAs and crafty ole investors take over. If that happens then all I can say is that Google has had a good run, and the creative spirits that have kept it going so well will land on their feet somewhere else.
I am surprised that Knowppix did not work because it has worked on everything else I have ever tried it on. Did you do the CD burn correctly? Did the software recognize it as an ISO image and correctly make an ISO image on the CD?
Distributions are funny. Sometimes one will work with no problem on a particular computer and at other times it will not. Good luck on the wireless card configuration because that is a REAL bitch. I have had terible luck getting that to work but it might just do the trick for you - wirless card support is getting better.
I have used Linux on the desktop now for over three years with no problems at home. This includes kids and a wife who have only basic computer skills. I really do not understand all the talk that Linux is not ready for the desktop. How hard is it to get on the internet, create and print a document, and look at naked people which is what the average user wants to do? As a matter of fact it is pretty easy now to configure a Linux box (if I can do it then anybody can).
What are the real problems? It has become a self-defeating attitude that Linux is not ready for the desktop and that has turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. The other issue is that most people work in a Windows enviroment.
Linux is ready. We are not. RedHat made a business decesion and I can respect that. However, I think in the long run it will hurt them. The RedHat distribution made all of the other things possible for that company. The other thing is that the line between user side and server side will continue to blurr (web services) and success means having a presence on both sides.
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My brother rehabs repossessed homes in Kansas City (another story) and copper theft there is rampant. A deserted home is apt to be stripped of copper in the first 72 hours it is empty with the thieves demolishing walls and anything else that gets in their way. They work fast and ugly. A neighborhood can go down even quicker when homes not only stand empty but are broken into by professionals who can literally tear out most of the copper in less than an hour.
I looked at it and frankly it did not look that bad. For about two dollars you could get some masking tape and white spray paint and make it look more like the ipod. You should probably take care not to gum up the controls. Or ... some third party company could produce a hollow ipod looking shell and you would just slip it in close the hatch and go looking kool as hell.
Robotic research in Japan is proceeding at a feverish pace and they make no excuses for trying to design robots to fill time consuming but supposedly menial tasks (such as caring for the elderly and reception positions). What will the social implications be? Some advantages are that robots can be designed not to steal from the elderly nor abuse them. By the way, you better reread all that Asimov SciFi because robotics is about to reach a critical level in the United States. I have been seeing advertisements for the robotic vacuum cleaner on television which means robots are now a part of popular culture. Granted the robotic vacuum cleaner is relatively low tech, but my point is that we are rapidly coming to the time where there are moral, ethical, and legal questions about robotics that will have to be answered. Also, there is the DOD contest to design a robotic vehicle that is offering a million dollar prize to the winner... not to mention the robotic Mars rover.
Oh my gosh. Please you guys don't go to jail! Send the burnt money to me and get rid of the evidence ASAP.
Let's sue SCO. Do Linux users have rights, and have those rights been violated by SCO? I started out thinking about posting this as a joke but now I wonder what the real possibilities might be.
Is it just me or is documentation not as good as it used to be? One of the nice features of Linux used to be the large amount of documentation that was available. Now, I have noticed that documentation seems rather sparse. A lot of what I read is rather outdated. I stumbled onto this problem trying to get wireless to work.
Back when I was trying to get a zip drive to work the HOWTO was most helpful to me but look at it now. It is outdated and refers to some stuff that is not even used now.
Hardware is the issue.
This is one of the best discussions I have ever read on Slashdot. I agree with Splendid... and by the way Eric is completely right as well. I had almost an identical experience with CUPS. One time I got it working and one time I did not and I still do not know what made the difference. This kind of stuff is harming Linux and frankly there are things in Linux which are much harder to do than they should be given the current state of GUI design and computers in general.
I love Linux and have used it now for over five years but sometimes I wonder if it is worth the trouble. It always comes down to the same thing: getting hardware to work!
Here is a synopsis of my Linux journey: It took me over a year to get a working X server.It took me over a year to get an external Zip drive to work, it took me over a year to get a CD burner to work. I have been trying now for three months to get a wireless card to work. The average user is not going to mess with that kind of barrier. I am not going to give up on Linux but this kind of experience is very discouraging.
My thanks to everyone out there who has written code for Linux. I love you guys and it is a great thing you are doing. But ... Linux is a community and the community needs to grow up to be more inclusive if it is ever going to reach its potential.
I teach at the college level and the high price of text books is a problem. You would be surprised at the number of students who try to get by without buying a book (either because they can not afford it or they think they can get by without them). By the way, if you can not afford a text book it is worth a try to see if the instructor has an extra copy. I often loan books to students. My colleagues and I receive our copies for free so we have to stay aware of how much the book actually cost the student. For example I was about ready to use one text for a class when I discovered that a similar text, actually a bit better, was available for 35% less. I switched books. Also, I think it is the responsibility for the instructor to do their own homework and make sure that the book is relevant and that it will actually be used.
I don't want to start a rumor here but I heard that it was to be paid in Microsoft Coupons redeemable for software.
Maybe they will not. Maybe something new is evolving out of Google, and somewhere someone with some power or influence is saying if it ain't broke don't fix it. Google ain't broke (except what is with the news feature being in Beta for loo these many years?).
The real question is if those with "the vision" get ousted and smart young MBAs and crafty ole investors take over. If that happens then all I can say is that Google has had a good run, and the creative spirits that have kept it going so well will land on their feet somewhere else.
I am surprised that Knowppix did not work because it has worked on everything else I have ever tried it on. Did you do the CD burn correctly? Did the software recognize it as an ISO image and correctly make an ISO image on the CD? Distributions are funny. Sometimes one will work with no problem on a particular computer and at other times it will not. Good luck on the wireless card configuration because that is a REAL bitch. I have had terible luck getting that to work but it might just do the trick for you - wirless card support is getting better.
I have used Linux on the desktop now for over three years with no problems at home. This includes kids and a wife who have only basic computer skills. I really do not understand all the talk that Linux is not ready for the desktop. How hard is it to get on the internet, create and print a document, and look at naked people which is what the average user wants to do? As a matter of fact it is pretty easy now to configure a Linux box (if I can do it then anybody can). What are the real problems? It has become a self-defeating attitude that Linux is not ready for the desktop and that has turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. The other issue is that most people work in a Windows enviroment. Linux is ready. We are not. RedHat made a business decesion and I can respect that. However, I think in the long run it will hurt them. The RedHat distribution made all of the other things possible for that company. The other thing is that the line between user side and server side will continue to blurr (web services) and success means having a presence on both sides.