LMDE comes in two flavours - Mate or Cinnamon. It also used to come with KDE and XFCE (I use the XFCE version, haviong installed it when it was available.) You can now get the KDE and XFCE equivalents now from http://solydxk.com/.
Note - there are issues with LMDE. The main one is that the update cycle is infrequent, as in the last "update pack" became available nine months after the previous one. Between update packs there are no security updates. This is what will drive me away from LMDE in the end. I believe Solydxk is better.
I also have Xubuntu LTS on a laptop. Security updates for this every week. At some point I'm going to try (main) Ubuntu in a virtualised environment to see if I can live with it.
Did Microsoft order all glass companies to quit using the word "windows"? Or, to put it another way, "[citation needed]"!
I believe with trademarks context is everything. I can go to a store and buy an apple (the fruit), but if I buy an "Apple" electronic device, if it isn't made by Apple Inc (the computer company), then lawyers will be coming down hard! (There is also Apple Corps Ltd, owned by the Beatles. There have been trademark disputes between Apple Inc and Apple Corp Ltd, none of which will affect you buying apples (the fruit)),
Interestingly, the article itself said that although it believed Shuttleworth was wrong, it didn't believe he meant any malice.
Canonical has already shown it's stripes as the Microsoft of the Linux world,
Well, given that the majority of home computer users are using a Microsoft OS, and of those using Linux, I would imagine a large number (if not most) using a Canonical OS (or derivative), I'm not convinced that this is as much of an insult as you would like it to be.
Oh, and as for the other likely home computing OS, I've heard rumours that Steve Jobs wasn't altogether saintly either!
Agreed, it may be difficult to change directions once employed, but it is possible (I once worked with someone who resigned a programming job because she'd just got a job with the police - something she'd always wanted to do. Someone else gave up a project management job to do a Radiography degree. And others I've known have resigned to travel the world for a year).
In this case, we don't know what the job is with the electronics company. Is is a programming job? If so, it may be easier to switch from industrial programming to games programming if the opportunity arose. If it isn't, then maybe not so easy.
I think the trick (looking at your post) is not to get "locked in". In this case I would possibly advise to take the job that is definitely there, but tread lightly until you get the job you want. Don't buy a house, don't get married, and don't have children, until it is certain that the games programming job isn't going to materialise. In other words, think of the job that is definitely there as an interim job until you get the one that you do want.
In the end, an interim job is better than no job at all (or flipping burgers).
I too see both sides. To be fair, so does the poster of the question (when he asks for contrary experiences).
One of my personal rules is never to tread on the dreams of people I know. To take your example, some people who dream of being rock stars do indeed become rock stars. Then again, if I had a friend who couldn't sing, couldn't play the guitar (or any other instrument) and had no musical ability, then I might suggest them trying an alternative career (you know, in the short term, while they manage to get a band together, etc.!)
What we don't know in this case if the "strength" of the dream, and the likelihood of achieving it. What did the questioner's friend do in college? How is this related to games programming? How many programmers do Blizzard take on each year? What did they do in college? Has the questioner's friend done any games programming before? And so on.
The only observation I'll make is that there are college courses specifically for computer games programming (I've a nephew doing one). If the questioner's friend is doing one of these, then it's almost a no-brainer; try with Blizzard. However, if he isn't, guess who he'll be competing with for any job!
Maybe you should let your friend do what the hell they want and stop being such a busybody? You're not his mom. Maybe the electronics job would suck, maybe the gaming job would suck, you're not in a position to judge.
He's a friend. Do you have friends? Do you care about your friends? Do your friends care about you? If you saw a friend making what you think might be a mistake, wouldn't you perhaps talk to them. If your friends saw you making what to them might be a mistake, wouldn't you want them to talk to you?
Of course, if all you have is acquaintances, then, hey, you're not their mom, what do you care if they make a mistake. (and hey, they're not your mom, what do they care about you if you make a mistake).
Personally, I can understand where the Original Poster is coming from. He's a friend to his friend. It's what friends do.
Honestly, what is their point? Making an open source very very low quality laptop is a waste of time.
Many things are a waste of time. Watching TV is a waste of time. Going to the theatre is a waste of time. Reading a book is a waste of time. Good heavens, reading Slashdot is a waste of time!
Or perhaps not. If it's what you want to do, then, as far as you are concerned, it's not a waste of time. Building an "open source" laptop is no more a waste of time than Linus's initial interest in producing a new (open source) kernel.
I'm not an engineer, but I (for one) am interested in how this project/hobby works out. Certainly I think "open source" hardware is something to be encouraged (like "open source" or "free" (libre) software).
As to usefulness, who, in 1991, thought a new "open source" kernel would be of any use? Who thinks so now? (Answer - me, for one! I'm typing this in Firefox running under LMDE XFCE!)
I'll consider buying one if it becomes commercially available.
I came across this while reading the article. I stopped reading at this point. He might have something useful to say, but if it is interspersed with comments like this, I'm not going to read it.
Doubly sad as the original "computer programmer" of often considered to be a woman - Lady Ada Lovelace. And I write this as as man!
Yes, I got the warning about being in the UK every time I bought a ticket via the mobile broadband. Fortunately although I was working away from home I was in the UK, so was legit.
And if you play on-line they'll check the number for you and send you an email - so no need to get someone else to check your numbers.
Strangely, the problem of them refusing to pay me the jackpot when I won it because they assumed I wasn't in the UK when I purchased the winning ticket, never arose!
A few years ago I got a Vodafone PAYG mobile "dongle" for internet access while working away from home. Same issue - to enable access to 'blocked' sites I had to verify my age by making a credit card payment.
And the 'adult' site I wanted to visit while away from home? The National Lottery! I assumed that it gets classified as a gambling site, despite the fact that it is government sanctioned.
It'll be intriguing whether certain NHS sites will also get blocked, like Sexually transmitted infections. Unfortunately I won't know as I'll immediately opt-out of all and every filter!
Yet also a fair statement. After all, when you attempt to join a community you either abide by the rules and customs of that community or else you leave and go elsewhere. You do not demand that community change to meet your world view.
It's not a community, it's a software development project. OK, one can talk about a developer "community", but as soon as that "community" starts having rules and customs not directly linked to the development of the software in question, it becomes something else, especially if the rules and customs can be perceived as antithetical to the development process. The Linux kernel development team are not a masonic lodge!
Agreed. Bloody Celts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, Vikings , Normans, et al. They should all bloody well go back to where they came from and leave the UK for us Beaker People, that's what I say!
I've got XP installed under VirtualBox on my Mint LMDE XFCE desktop. I installed XP because I've got a retail license which I bought in 2001. For what I need Windows for (a few work-related websites that need IE and for a work-format CV that needs to be in Word format), it is good enough. I do not feel inclined to buy another copy of Windows that I only need to boot into once a month or so. I especially do not feel inclined to buy a version of windows that has been as comprehensively slated a Windows 8! (I've avoided Gnome 3 and Unity and use XFCE - yes, I'm that sort of guy!) Until XP becomes unusable, or those few sites need a later version of IE than can be installed with XP, I'll keep to XP.
And if I change my main desktop (I'm thinking about either Arch or Xubuntu), I shall again install XP in a virtualised environment. It does the job. If (heaven forfend!) those work-related websites I need to visit cease to be IE only, and I can update my work-format CV using something other than Word, I can then ditch Windows completely.
(Sudden though - Amazon's MP3 downloader only runs under Windows. OK there is an old Linux version but it seems it is no longer supported. I'll need to keep Windows for that as well!)
I used to maintain C (with curses) well over a decade ago, but it's all gone now (rusted away to nothing). However, with the advent of the Raspberry Pi (which I think runs better either headless or without going into X) I'm getting this strange urge to revisit and re-establish some C skills. Back-to-basics, as it were.
In addition to this, I'll probably aim to study for some Java certification, and get a solid handle on design patterns.
If I do need to get to grips with something "modern", it'll probably be Google Web Toolkit (GWT)
OK, I'll be honest, the Java certification and GWT would be for work. The C and nCurses would be for me!
Just curious... what is it about a horse vs a cow that makes the meat wrong?
Nothing, as long as horse meat is labelled as "horse meat", and the paperwork trail can be traced. The problem is when horse meat is labelled as "beef", and their isn't a full paperwork trail.
The paperwork trail is important to show that it is "fit for human consumption". How the animal dies is important - was it put down using a barbiturate for instance. If it was, it shouldn't get into the human food chain.
(As a vegetarian I take a neutral view as to the relative merits of horse meat vs beef - I eat neither!)
Slashdot Mirror
LMDE comes in two flavours - Mate or Cinnamon. It also used to come with KDE and XFCE (I use the XFCE version, haviong installed it when it was available.) You can now get the KDE and XFCE equivalents now from http://solydxk.com/.
Note - there are issues with LMDE. The main one is that the update cycle is infrequent, as in the last "update pack" became available nine months after the previous one. Between update packs there are no security updates. This is what will drive me away from LMDE in the end. I believe Solydxk is better.
I also have Xubuntu LTS on a laptop. Security updates for this every week. At some point I'm going to try (main) Ubuntu in a virtualised environment to see if I can live with it.
I think they believe Canonical was mistaken, not malicious. The issue seems to be over how far you need to defend your trademark before you lose it.
Going to do business with Apple Inc instead? They would never sue over 'i' (as in 'iPhone').
Did Microsoft order all glass companies to quit using the word "windows"? Or, to put it another way, "[citation needed]"!
I believe with trademarks context is everything. I can go to a store and buy an apple (the fruit), but if I buy an "Apple" electronic device, if it isn't made by Apple Inc (the computer company), then lawyers will be coming down hard! (There is also Apple Corps Ltd, owned by the Beatles. There have been trademark disputes between Apple Inc and Apple Corp Ltd, none of which will affect you buying apples (the fruit)),
Interestingly, the article itself said that although it believed Shuttleworth was wrong, it didn't believe he meant any malice.
The Linux kernel has served us reasonably well, but perhaps it's time for a new generation to create a new generation of kernel.
Hurd?
Canonical has already shown it's stripes as the Microsoft of the Linux world,
Well, given that the majority of home computer users are using a Microsoft OS, and of those using Linux, I would imagine a large number (if not most) using a Canonical OS (or derivative), I'm not convinced that this is as much of an insult as you would like it to be.
Oh, and as for the other likely home computing OS, I've heard rumours that Steve Jobs wasn't altogether saintly either!
Mark Shuttleworth, you go to hell, you rigid, small minded twat.
I always admire how those who take the moral high-ground regarding insults, always manage to avoid using insults themselves!
Oh well, at least Mark Shuttleworth apologised.
And when you find out that this almost certainly is nothing to do with a deliberate external DDOS, come back here and apologise for wasting our time.
Not wasting my time. As a result of the question, I'm reading some very interesting and useful comments here, including yours. Thanks.
Agreed, it may be difficult to change directions once employed, but it is possible (I once worked with someone who resigned a programming job because she'd just got a job with the police - something she'd always wanted to do. Someone else gave up a project management job to do a Radiography degree. And others I've known have resigned to travel the world for a year).
In this case, we don't know what the job is with the electronics company. Is is a programming job? If so, it may be easier to switch from industrial programming to games programming if the opportunity arose. If it isn't, then maybe not so easy.
I think the trick (looking at your post) is not to get "locked in". In this case I would possibly advise to take the job that is definitely there, but tread lightly until you get the job you want. Don't buy a house, don't get married, and don't have children, until it is certain that the games programming job isn't going to materialise. In other words, think of the job that is definitely there as an interim job until you get the one that you do want.
In the end, an interim job is better than no job at all (or flipping burgers).
I too see both sides. To be fair, so does the poster of the question (when he asks for contrary experiences).
One of my personal rules is never to tread on the dreams of people I know. To take your example, some people who dream of being rock stars do indeed become rock stars. Then again, if I had a friend who couldn't sing, couldn't play the guitar (or any other instrument) and had no musical ability, then I might suggest them trying an alternative career (you know, in the short term, while they manage to get a band together, etc.!)
What we don't know in this case if the "strength" of the dream, and the likelihood of achieving it. What did the questioner's friend do in college? How is this related to games programming? How many programmers do Blizzard take on each year? What did they do in college? Has the questioner's friend done any games programming before? And so on.
The only observation I'll make is that there are college courses specifically for computer games programming (I've a nephew doing one). If the questioner's friend is doing one of these, then it's almost a no-brainer; try with Blizzard. However, if he isn't, guess who he'll be competing with for any job!
Maybe you should let your friend do what the hell they want and stop being such a busybody? You're not his mom. Maybe the electronics job would suck, maybe the gaming job would suck, you're not in a position to judge.
He's a friend. Do you have friends? Do you care about your friends? Do your friends care about you? If you saw a friend making what you think might be a mistake, wouldn't you perhaps talk to them. If your friends saw you making what to them might be a mistake, wouldn't you want them to talk to you?
Of course, if all you have is acquaintances, then, hey, you're not their mom, what do you care if they make a mistake. (and hey, they're not your mom, what do they care about you if you make a mistake).
Personally, I can understand where the Original Poster is coming from. He's a friend to his friend. It's what friends do.
Honestly, what is their point? Making an open source very very low quality laptop is a waste of time.
Many things are a waste of time. Watching TV is a waste of time. Going to the theatre is a waste of time. Reading a book is a waste of time. Good heavens, reading Slashdot is a waste of time!
Or perhaps not. If it's what you want to do, then, as far as you are concerned, it's not a waste of time. Building an "open source" laptop is no more a waste of time than Linus's initial interest in producing a new (open source) kernel.
I'm not an engineer, but I (for one) am interested in how this project/hobby works out. Certainly I think "open source" hardware is something to be encouraged (like "open source" or "free" (libre) software).
As to usefulness, who, in 1991, thought a new "open source" kernel would be of any use? Who thinks so now? (Answer - me, for one! I'm typing this in Firefox running under LMDE XFCE!)
I'll consider buying one if it becomes commercially available.
I came across this while reading the article. I stopped reading at this point. He might have something useful to say, but if it is interspersed with comments like this, I'm not going to read it.
Doubly sad as the original "computer programmer" of often considered to be a woman - Lady Ada Lovelace. And I write this as as man!
Yes, I got the warning about being in the UK every time I bought a ticket via the mobile broadband. Fortunately although I was working away from home I was in the UK, so was legit.
And if you play on-line they'll check the number for you and send you an email - so no need to get someone else to check your numbers.
Strangely, the problem of them refusing to pay me the jackpot when I won it because they assumed I wasn't in the UK when I purchased the winning ticket, never arose!
A few years ago I got a Vodafone PAYG mobile "dongle" for internet access while working away from home. Same issue - to enable access to 'blocked' sites I had to verify my age by making a credit card payment.
And the 'adult' site I wanted to visit while away from home? The National Lottery! I assumed that it gets classified as a gambling site, despite the fact that it is government sanctioned.
It'll be intriguing whether certain NHS sites will also get blocked, like Sexually transmitted infections. Unfortunately I won't know as I'll immediately opt-out of all and every filter!
2990709.
Oooh, we're nearly up to 3 million Slashdot registrations!
Yet also a fair statement. After all, when you attempt to join a community you either abide by the rules and customs of that community or else you leave and go elsewhere. You do not demand that community change to meet your world view.
It's not a community, it's a software development project. OK, one can talk about a developer "community", but as soon as that "community" starts having rules and customs not directly linked to the development of the software in question, it becomes something else, especially if the rules and customs can be perceived as antithetical to the development process. The Linux kernel development team are not a masonic lodge!
So, the position has shifted from "extraction doesn't cause earthquakes" to "OK, extraction causes earthquakes but these are good earthquakes"!
It's how we used to get data into the system, or store data from the system, many (ahem) decades ago!
Seriously, it's a shame these technologies are no longer used, as they would be ideal for this purpose.
Agreed. Bloody Celts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, Vikings , Normans, et al. They should all bloody well go back to where they came from and leave the UK for us Beaker People, that's what I say!
(/sarcasm - in case anyone took this seriously!)
I've got XP installed under VirtualBox on my Mint LMDE XFCE desktop. I installed XP because I've got a retail license which I bought in 2001. For what I need Windows for (a few work-related websites that need IE and for a work-format CV that needs to be in Word format), it is good enough. I do not feel inclined to buy another copy of Windows that I only need to boot into once a month or so. I especially do not feel inclined to buy a version of windows that has been as comprehensively slated a Windows 8! (I've avoided Gnome 3 and Unity and use XFCE - yes, I'm that sort of guy!) Until XP becomes unusable, or those few sites need a later version of IE than can be installed with XP, I'll keep to XP.
And if I change my main desktop (I'm thinking about either Arch or Xubuntu), I shall again install XP in a virtualised environment. It does the job. If (heaven forfend!) those work-related websites I need to visit cease to be IE only, and I can update my work-format CV using something other than Word, I can then ditch Windows completely.
(Sudden though - Amazon's MP3 downloader only runs under Windows. OK there is an old Linux version but it seems it is no longer supported. I'll need to keep Windows for that as well!)
I used to maintain C (with curses) well over a decade ago, but it's all gone now (rusted away to nothing). However, with the advent of the Raspberry Pi (which I think runs better either headless or without going into X) I'm getting this strange urge to revisit and re-establish some C skills. Back-to-basics, as it were.
In addition to this, I'll probably aim to study for some Java certification, and get a solid handle on design patterns.
If I do need to get to grips with something "modern", it'll probably be Google Web Toolkit (GWT)
OK, I'll be honest, the Java certification and GWT would be for work. The C and nCurses would be for me!
I'm not an OSX user. Is this true?
And if it is, people put up with it?
Fascinating!
Just curious... what is it about a horse vs a cow that makes the meat wrong?
Nothing, as long as horse meat is labelled as "horse meat", and the paperwork trail can be traced. The problem is when horse meat is labelled as "beef", and their isn't a full paperwork trail.
The paperwork trail is important to show that it is "fit for human consumption". How the animal dies is important - was it put down using a barbiturate for instance. If it was, it shouldn't get into the human food chain.
(As a vegetarian I take a neutral view as to the relative merits of horse meat vs beef - I eat neither!)
It get's better. For international sporting events (etc.) it's called Chinese Taipei. Confused me when this name cropped up in the London Olympics.