I must disagree with you there.
Linux will never become mainstream without driver support.
Why didn't I say games or apps?
Simple. Not everybody wants to open up code, that's perfectly understandable, especially when it's code directly dealing with the inner workings of device X. If the Linux kernel people actually cared about adoption they would create a driver standard and adhere to it for a while rather than redoing it every version or so.
People who create a new graphics card or wireless nic wouldn't have to open code for a kernel interface or write new versions for different kernels, they could just do the same thing that they do with windows. Release a driver, and update it only when the need arises.
People can learn how to use linux. The command line (bash at least) is not too different from dos and commands that the average user might mistake could easily be aliased even by the installers and kde and gnome are enough like the windows explorer after a fresh install that anybody with windows experiance could at least go on the internet, browse local files, and play mp3's (pardon, ogg's) without much trouble.
However, if you were to use an 8bit (or higher) color scheme instead of black and white each pixel could be a single byte (or more). Used something like this in a primitive encryption idea I had.
Convert any file to a jpg that made it look like a fractal and still had the ability to revert it.
A minor problem with this however is that if said kid rearranges/deletes files in your 'start menu' this time the programs are gone and not just their links!
Technically, OSX will run on any ppc based machine with a little fiddling from MOL. Apple knew this and specifically put that in their EULA.
As for a specific piece of non-apple hardware that you can buy.
Look into IBM's blade servers. A dual g5 blade is still cheaper than apple's desktop or osx servers.
Apple has a monopoly on ppc-based machines, they used their new Eula to kill off Apple clones (and everybody says Microsoft is bad, but Apple gets results!)
They do however, use their monopolistic position to try to force hardware upgrades down the user's throats (your battery doesn't work anymore, too bad, cough up the dough)(you want better performance, buy our new $3000 g5).
Their licensing schemes are infinitely less rigid than Microsoft's (except for the whole "you can only install them on our machines even if you could find another ppc workstation").
Call me a troll, but risc or not, those are the reasons I stick to x86.
I'll just 'switch' between xp and linux depending on the task at hand.
Perhaps this will convince those spammers, that not everybody is stupid enough to buy their snake-oil.
If they keep losing money from lawsuits, maybe they'll just crawl back in their holes and rot.
Most of the junk (and I mean junk) that's in MS Office is hardly needed by anyone.
OpenOffice includes every single useful feature, and the ability to request one when you register.
Now that sun is offering support on almost all platforms of OOo, I wouldn't be surprized if more organizations switch because its more cost-effective than the bloated MS Office.
actually, I think they are considering the aol media player built into the last aol versions as winamp 4
all of the multimedia features that are advertised in the new aol9 have been present in the winamp betas
a bit bigger than an SD card sure, but with the new portable video players it could be sure to minimize skipping and benefit playback and recording speed in a size thats not much different than current tech
I actually did some work for a doctor's office, his central server where all the patient records were stored was a SCO Unix machine I find it funny to note that as much as SCO has been against Linux and the GPL, more than half of the software that was loaded on it was open
(XFree86, bash, vi, etc)
Slashdot Mirror
Wow, brings back memories of Apple and the clones.
...Xerox
I must disagree with you there. Linux will never become mainstream without driver support. Why didn't I say games or apps? Simple. Not everybody wants to open up code, that's perfectly understandable, especially when it's code directly dealing with the inner workings of device X. If the Linux kernel people actually cared about adoption they would create a driver standard and adhere to it for a while rather than redoing it every version or so. People who create a new graphics card or wireless nic wouldn't have to open code for a kernel interface or write new versions for different kernels, they could just do the same thing that they do with windows. Release a driver, and update it only when the need arises. People can learn how to use linux. The command line (bash at least) is not too different from dos and commands that the average user might mistake could easily be aliased even by the installers and kde and gnome are enough like the windows explorer after a fresh install that anybody with windows experiance could at least go on the internet, browse local files, and play mp3's (pardon, ogg's) without much trouble.
However, if you were to use an 8bit (or higher) color scheme instead of black and white each pixel could be a single byte (or more). Used something like this in a primitive encryption idea I had. Convert any file to a jpg that made it look like a fractal and still had the ability to revert it.
A minor problem with this however is that if said kid rearranges/deletes files in your 'start menu' this time the programs are gone and not just their links!
...and since the .deb's will be supplied by the manufacturer, who says it won't be out on time?
Apt and commercial software... Sounds like the Lindows Click-and-Run
Technically, OSX will run on any ppc based machine with a little fiddling from MOL. Apple knew this and specifically put that in their EULA.
As for a specific piece of non-apple hardware that you can buy.
Look into IBM's blade servers. A dual g5 blade is still cheaper than apple's desktop or osx servers.
Apple has a monopoly on ppc-based machines, they used their new Eula to kill off Apple clones (and everybody says Microsoft is bad, but Apple gets results!)
They found oil in Redmond?
They do however, use their monopolistic position to try to force hardware upgrades down the user's throats (your battery doesn't work anymore, too bad, cough up the dough)(you want better performance, buy our new $3000 g5). Their licensing schemes are infinitely less rigid than Microsoft's (except for the whole "you can only install them on our machines even if you could find another ppc workstation"). Call me a troll, but risc or not, those are the reasons I stick to x86. I'll just 'switch' between xp and linux depending on the task at hand.
shoot no, bedevere.
its bevedere not belveder
and that's still not $400
Perhaps this will convince those spammers, that not everybody is stupid enough to buy their snake-oil. If they keep losing money from lawsuits, maybe they'll just crawl back in their holes and rot.
Simple. We /. google.
Point is, you could build an x86 machine without windows. You can't say that about a G5.
...I just don't even know what to say
Perhaps we need to create a 'great firewall' of our own.
And to think that our tax dollars are being subverted to send spam.
Why not?
Most of the junk (and I mean junk) that's in MS Office is hardly needed by anyone.
OpenOffice includes every single useful feature, and the ability to request one when you register.
Now that sun is offering support on almost all platforms of OOo, I wouldn't be surprized if more organizations switch because its more cost-effective than the bloated MS Office.
actually, I think they are considering the aol media player built into the last aol versions as winamp 4
all of the multimedia features that are advertised in the new aol9 have been present in the winamp betas
and the girls will be amazed at how much you can cram into such a small place
a RAID of these could fit in a camcorder tape
a bit bigger than an SD card sure, but with the new portable video players it could be sure to minimize skipping and benefit playback and recording speed in a size thats not much different than current tech
This reminds me about the article on uber-gadgets.
If only this were available stateside
-drool-
I actually did some work for a doctor's office, his central server where all the patient records were stored was a SCO Unix machine
I find it funny to note that as much as SCO has been against Linux and the GPL, more than half of the software that was loaded on it was open
(XFree86, bash, vi, etc)
I feel sorry for their passengers
I think that if enough people are driving by, it'll happen on its own.