Linux is a good solution because it is an efficient use of limited resources; it is the *best* choice to standardize on. The more governments choose to make themselves efficient, the more resources they have to put towards solving their many problems (solving problems will help them get re-elected, and as a side effect, also serves the people). A government that wallows in inefficiency will hurt the economy, hurt the wealthy, hurt the poor, lower the standard of living for everybody, and will end up being forced to raise taxes to compensate for their inefficiency. Linux ANYWHERE will eventually help the poor, if only because it creates efficiency and freedom in its wake due to its licensing.
Linux is an efficient solution financially because of the lower costs of acquisition and licensing; and if the government standardizes on one platform, administration will be no more expensive than on any other platform. It will create jobs "in country", and avoid the massive and ongoing "money drain into Microsoft's pockets" that the rest of the world is suffering from and will continue to suffer from until they break free and force open standards on the world.
Linux encourages freedom in many ways (obviously), but especially because it allows the user to approach future choices from a position of strength rather than one of weakness. Many upgrade purchases are forced on the customer by the vendor. The GPL helps prevent lock-in, which is a real burden on government. Open standards prevent this "forced upgrading". I have a relative who works for the Canadian government, and she tells me about the numerous MS Office upgrades she's gone through because of forced incompatibility between versions and the government's stupid need to always be using the most up-to-date Office suite (which in turn forces others to upgrade, of course).
Widespread piracy negates many of these benefits, but Microsoft and others will make sure piracy won't be around forever; the wise decision is to begin migrating to a more open system now. Even a pirated Office now can force upgrades later.
I had no idea "Google" was a play on the word 'googol'. I always assumed it referred to "google", as in "googly eyes"; you know, LOOKING at something. My Grandma is prior art -- she would tell me "don't be googling" the young ladies.
Heh. Thanks to modern technology, 99.9% of us use the internet to Google for young ladies -- while our grandmas all think we're researching our stock portfolios.
In a recent interview with WinEvil.com, Gates confirmed, "Yeah, it [the NGSCB] just wasn't eeeevil enough for us. We've got a history of setting the evilbar pretty high, and our current efforts were "extremely irritating" at best... We're looking for true unadulterated mindbending evil, and we know our customers won't settle for anything less. Give us a chance -- you won't be disappointed."
Gates then proceeded to use a Windows XP CDRom as a prism to magnify his own inner evil until it was focused enough to melt a cute puppy, drawing appreciative applause from the crowd of evildoers. The crowd then had a huge WindowsXP InstallFest and cut off their own testicles in preparation for the comet Zurg's arrival to take them away.
.... a dual-core CPU running at 4 to 6GHz; a minimum of 2 gigs of RAM; up to a terabyte of storage; a 1 Gbit, built-in, Ethernet-wired port and an 802.11g wireless link; and a graphics processor that runs three times faster than those on the market today.
I'm not trying to start a flamewar, but [see my sig]:
I don't think I actually ever bothered to steal a copy of Photoshop, so for most of my uses when I was largely a Windows guy I would use Irfanview, which kicks ass if you don't have much to do, and crappy old MS-Paint.
When I finally needed to move out of kindergarten and get a "real" graphics program, I started playing with the Gimp - only because it came with a linux distro I was fooling with at the time.
Thus, the Gimp was my first exposure to "real" graphics programs.
On the Gimp, I learned how to use layers. I made my first gradient. I stopped downloading desktop pics from Spymac or wherever and started making my own. I eventually grew into a fairly solid artist. I'm considering making a huge piece and putting it in the local art show next year in the mixed media category. I think I could win.... The Gimp really has done everything I could ask of it.
When I tried my dad's Photoshop, I couldn't find my way around, because I was used to the Gimp. I thought PS was laid out badly, because I was used to the Gimp. I couldn't do much at all, I was stumbling around, spending most of my time searching for things like how to draw a straight line in PS, because I was used to the Gimp. A lot of my time was spent mumbling, "hmm... that's stupid!".
I find that the layout might matter the first little while you're using an app, but once you get used to it, all apps approach the same natural level. My friends who use WindowsMediaPlayer are as fast and efficient in it as I am in iTunes. I struggle with apps my dad zings around in, and he struggles with the ones I'm awesome in. But our effectiveness at getting our various jobs done is roughly the same.
It's like learning a language: I am *fluent* in the Gimp. I barely speak "tourist" Photoshop. And sitting at Photoshop thinking "this would be so damn simple if I was on my OWN computer using the Gimp" is frustrating. It takes me a lot longer to get things done.
The Gimp can do everything I ask of it, and when I think it can't and want to be surprised, I simply....
... I find their Slashdotted error message slightly snooty. As a connoisseur of the fine error messages I sample daily thanks to my friends at Slashdot, I find their error message
The Server Is Too Busy
to be a bit obnoxious for someone who's about to crumble like the British Empire.... it sounds as if they've got more *important* things to do than get Slashdotted, or they're too *good* to host visits from the likes of me... All stuck up and self-important, this prissy little server thinks I'm too much of an uncultured *brute* to enjoy her wares. Well, I'll show her who's boss right now.
ReloadReloadReloadReloadReloadReloadReloadReload / ReloadReloadReloadReloadReloadReloadReloadReloa d
Oh, man, we're really *hammering* this server. We're unmerciful in our angry onslaught.
Oh, joy! I take it all back; that was just an interim snooty message. When they finally *did* collapse in submission, thanks in part to my incessant pounding of the reload button, I was blessed and treated with this little gem:
Server Error in '/' Application. Invalid object name 'tempdb..ASPStateTempSessions'. Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.
Exception Details: System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: Invalid object name 'tempdb..ASPStateTempSessions'.
Source Error:
An unhandled exception was generated during the execution of the current web request. Information regarding the origin and location of the exception can be identified using the exception stack trace below.
Version Information: Microsoft.NET Framework Version:1.1.4322.573; ASP.NET Version:1.1.4322.573
Ahhh.... complete with.NET message at the bottom. Lovely. So beautiful, and yet so very conquerable. So proud and firm at first, but after a good slapping from the entire Nerds-R-Us football team here at Slashdot, she gave in and admitted her darker inner self.
Ahhh, that's just like the British; they're all prim and proper until you get them in the bedroom, then they spout off dirty talk like "System.Web.SessionState.SessionStateModule. OnReleaseState(Object source, EventArgs eventArgs) +465" until you're done with 'em and, satiated, we Slashdotters are praised with this glorious whimper:
Slashdot Mirror
Updates include the 2.6 kernel, KDE 3.2, Gnome 2.6, X.org replacing Xfree86 and numerous package updates.
I haven't had a chance to try X.org yet, how does it compare performance-wise with "good old" [snicker] XFree86?
(Yes, I run WinXP on my Toshiba laptop -- deal with it.)
Why would anybody have a problem with you running Windows XP on your laptop? I'm a card-carrying Linux Zealot, and I don't have a problem with it.
Hey, thanks for the "Overrated" mod! I love when the Astroturfers try to shut me up, it means I'm right on the money. Thanks for the feedback.
XOXO,
BFG9000
Linux is a good solution because it is an efficient use of limited resources; it is the *best* choice to standardize on. The more governments choose to make themselves efficient, the more resources they have to put towards solving their many problems (solving problems will help them get re-elected, and as a side effect, also serves the people). A government that wallows in inefficiency will hurt the economy, hurt the wealthy, hurt the poor, lower the standard of living for everybody, and will end up being forced to raise taxes to compensate for their inefficiency. Linux ANYWHERE will eventually help the poor, if only because it creates efficiency and freedom in its wake due to its licensing.
Linux is an efficient solution financially because of the lower costs of acquisition and licensing; and if the government standardizes on one platform, administration will be no more expensive than on any other platform. It will create jobs "in country", and avoid the massive and ongoing "money drain into Microsoft's pockets" that the rest of the world is suffering from and will continue to suffer from until they break free and force open standards on the world.
Linux encourages freedom in many ways (obviously), but especially because it allows the user to approach future choices from a position of strength rather than one of weakness. Many upgrade purchases are forced on the customer by the vendor. The GPL helps prevent lock-in, which is a real burden on government. Open standards prevent this "forced upgrading". I have a relative who works for the Canadian government, and she tells me about the numerous MS Office upgrades she's gone through because of forced incompatibility between versions and the government's stupid need to always be using the most up-to-date Office suite (which in turn forces others to upgrade, of course).
Widespread piracy negates many of these benefits, but Microsoft and others will make sure piracy won't be around forever; the wise decision is to begin migrating to a more open system now. Even a pirated Office now can force upgrades later.
I often enjoy sending such things are core dumps or font files
I'm afraid this won't work. I talked to the Echelon guys, and they use THE MIGHTY SLASHDOT LAMENESS FILTER!!!
As a result, they are nearly unstoppable.
I had no idea "Google" was a play on the word 'googol'. I always assumed it referred to "google", as in "googly eyes"; you know, LOOKING at something. My Grandma is prior art -- she would tell me "don't be googling" the young ladies.
Heh. Thanks to modern technology, 99.9% of us use the internet to Google for young ladies -- while our grandmas all think we're researching our stock portfolios.
.... don't actually create a competitive product, fire all your coders and replace them with lawyers, and sue everyone in existence in hopes that somebody will give you money to leave them alone?
Of course, that strategy has yet to be proven, and it seems to have a few holes in it....
sory, my bad.
(btw, thanks France!)
What is you saying? That the French is smarter then us?
... a good Slashdotting is still the deadliest of weapons.
did you have a whole load of pr0n that you'd just downloaded
Pr0n? Yeah, not only did it smoke my hard drive, the trojan also blew my load but good.
Canadian health care quality comparable to other rich countries
'I clicked on the installer file, and to my horror in 10 seconds the attachment had wiped my entire Home folder!'
Whaaaat? TEN FRICKIN' SECONDS!!! Dude, you need to upgrade. My G5 smoked my home directory in TWO.
But what's really impressive here is that they were able to spell Microsoft without the "$". No wonder he was fooled!
But that's the problem -- all of us M$ haters who know to use the '$' would have known better than to trust anything remotely Micro$oftian....
Once he gets his paranoid back on, he'll be okay.
You can actually pee in Postal 2. That game is tasteless. And [*ahem*] highly recommended.
In a recent interview with WinEvil.com, Gates confirmed, "Yeah, it [the NGSCB] just wasn't eeeevil enough for us. We've got a history of setting the evilbar pretty high, and our current efforts were "extremely irritating" at best... We're looking for true unadulterated mindbending evil, and we know our customers won't settle for anything less. Give us a chance -- you won't be disappointed."
Gates then proceeded to use a Windows XP CDRom as a prism to magnify his own inner evil until it was focused enough to melt a cute puppy, drawing appreciative applause from the crowd of evildoers. The crowd then had a huge WindowsXP InstallFest and cut off their own testicles in preparation for the comet Zurg's arrival to take them away.
.... a dual-core CPU running at 4 to 6GHz; a minimum of 2 gigs of RAM; up to a terabyte of storage; a 1 Gbit, built-in, Ethernet-wired port and an 802.11g wireless link; and a graphics processor that runs three times faster than those on the market today.
And it STILL won't run Doom3.
Okay, this is sad. We're arguing to see who has the most service packs?
oh, and btw,
kernel 2.6.0.0.1 kernel 2.6.0.0.2 kernel 2.6.0.0.25 kernel 2.6.0.0.3 kernel 2.6.0.0.311 kernel 2.6.0.0.325 kernel 2.6.0.0.3658 kernel 2.6.0.0.542 kernel 2.6.0.0.5687 kernel 2.6.0.0.589 kernel 2.6.0.0.654 kernel 2.6.0.0.658 kernel 2.6.0.0.695 kernel 2.6.0.0.7 kernel 2.6.0.0.725 kernel 2.6.0.0.7526 kernel 2.6.0.0.795 kernel 2.6.0.0.79889 kernel 2.6.0.0.851 kernel 2.6.0.0.91 kernel 2.6.0.0.952 kernel 2.6.0.0.961 kernel 2.6.0.1.125 kernel 2.6.0.1.254
etc.
And that concludes day one before lunch break.
Why not? What's your experience?
I'm not trying to start a flamewar, but [see my sig]:
....
I don't think I actually ever bothered to steal a copy of Photoshop, so for most of my uses when I was largely a Windows guy I would use Irfanview, which kicks ass if you don't have much to do, and crappy old MS-Paint.
When I finally needed to move out of kindergarten and get a "real" graphics program, I started playing with the Gimp - only because it came with a linux distro I was fooling with at the time.
Thus, the Gimp was my first exposure to "real" graphics programs.
On the Gimp, I learned how to use layers. I made my first gradient. I stopped downloading desktop pics from Spymac or wherever and started making my own. I eventually grew into a fairly solid artist. I'm considering making a huge piece and putting it in the local art show next year in the mixed media category. I think I could win.... The Gimp really has done everything I could ask of it.
When I tried my dad's Photoshop, I couldn't find my way around, because I was used to the Gimp. I thought PS was laid out badly, because I was used to the Gimp. I couldn't do much at all, I was stumbling around, spending most of my time searching for things like how to draw a straight line in PS, because I was used to the Gimp. A lot of my time was spent mumbling, "hmm... that's stupid!".
I find that the layout might matter the first little while you're using an app, but once you get used to it, all apps approach the same natural level. My friends who use WindowsMediaPlayer are as fast and efficient in it as I am in iTunes. I struggle with apps my dad zings around in, and he struggles with the ones I'm awesome in. But our effectiveness at getting our various jobs done is roughly the same.
It's like learning a language: I am *fluent* in the Gimp. I barely speak "tourist" Photoshop. And sitting at Photoshop thinking "this would be so damn simple if I was on my OWN computer using the Gimp" is frustrating. It takes me a lot longer to get things done.
The Gimp can do everything I ask of it, and when I think it can't and want to be surprised, I simply
That post really should be modded up....
Here's another good link: | Clevo |
ReloadReloadReloadReloadReloadReloadReloadReloa
ReloadReloadReloadReloadReloadReloadReloadRelo
Oh, man, we're really *hammering* this server. We're unmerciful in our angry onslaught.
Oh, joy! I take it all back; that was just an interim snooty message. When they finally *did* collapse in submission, thanks in part to my incessant pounding of the reload button, I was blessed and treated with this little gem:Ahhh.... complete with
Ahhh, that's just like the British; they're all prim and proper until you get them in the bedroom, then they spout off dirty talk like "System.Web.SessionState.SessionStateModule. OnReleaseState(Object source, EventArgs eventArgs) +465" until you're done with 'em and, satiated, we Slashdotters are praised with this glorious whimper:Jeezus. I need a smoke.
i for one, welcome our new closed source gene modifying software overlords
No, you don't. That's just the chip talking!
It's pronounced like "Zammel".
Zammel? Isn't that a Nazi war criminal?