Now I look at the Gentoo install documentation and user forums now, and I am just in awe. Likewise for many of the other major distros.
Things have improved drastically there, this is so true.
It pains me to say it, however, but there's still a few (some surprisingly major) OSS applications with mailing lists which your "you've been banned, troll" comment would be an understatement.
All of it backfires eventually. A user who's insulted enough will do something about it. Sooner or later, they all learn.
"The idea that Bill Gates has appeared like a knight in shining armour to lead all customers out of a mire of technological chaos neatly ignores the fact that it was he who, by peddling second-rate technology, led them into it in the first place." - Douglas Adams, 1995.
That was almost 12 years ago, and Adams was talking about Windows '95. Yet with the release of Vista just around the corner, it seems just as appropriate today.
No kidding. I get this every so often from people at work: "How can I stop C: on my PC from being shared?". I don't mind saying "You can't" (straight up, on an NT4/Samba domain you can't do that - don't know if it's still true for Active Directory domains), what I do mind is having to justify why you can't - after all, the next question is always "Why not?".
Had the same thing happen when we were taking off from San Francisco. The power supply on an aircraft isn't always 100% reliable, and they probably couldn't justify the extra weight a UPS would add. They could have used a journalled filesystem, though - the system stuck part-way through booting and I had to go an 11 hour flight without any films or anything. Not exactly the end of the world, but nevertheless annoying.
TBH, I can't see many businesses upgrading any time soon. Which is not to say that they won't upgrade eventually, just not immediately.
Sure, there may be the odd adventurous soul in the IT department who feels like having a play with Vista when the first pre-loaded OEM PC arrives, but I don't think they'll be rolling it out to every PC. And let's be honest here, there's probably very little money in upgrade copies in boxes in your local store anyhow. I suspect 90%+ of Vista installs will fall into one of two categories:
1. Installed by the OEM. (This will form the bulk of the home market) 2. Installed by the companies IT department as part of a roll out.
Note that there isn't an option 3. Installed by an end user after they bought a boxed upgrade from their local store.
There's nothing wrong with ActiveX, other than the fact that it transfers the burden of trust entirely to the user, and leaves no middle ground there because it is a native executable that runs under your own credentials.
There's nothing wrong with bubonic plague, other than the fact that it kills you.
I'm going out on a wild limb here with speculation, but that's what/. is all about.
Assuming Microsoft's business plan of "achieve monopoly status in computer operating systems at all levels" hasn't changed, there are actually a couple of explanations for this that make sense.
Explanation 1:
The kind of data centre run by a company like WalMart probably doesn't have a great deal of Microsoft software running. Probably does have a fair bit of Unix, and I'm sure WalMart's IT folks have been idly wondering if they can run Linux in its place (if they're not already). But without someone big to back it up - the likes of IBM or Microsoft - it'll never get buy-in from the higher-ups who sign the cheques.
Now from Microsoft's perspective, they get a foot in the door. They roll up to WalMart, announce that they're "happy to support Linux" and at the same time they get some engineers in there to see what they need to do to Windows so it can compete in such a space. A few years later, requirements change and Microsoft announce that they're no longer able to support Linux - "but you could always migrate to something based on SQL server 2012, and we conveniently have all these tools to make migration dead easy". Sure, WalMart could then say "screw you" and go to someone like IBM, but by that time the Linux solution they're using will be so tightly integrated with and tailored to their business processes that the upheaval this would involve is rather more than just letting a bunch of contractors in to maintain the code.
Explanation 2:
Microsoft is growing up. Like IBM before them, they've realised that a 100% monopoly in all aspects of computing isn't going to happen, so instead they're looking to forward the business by offering paid service contracts. Sure, they may not get to write the OS and applications, but at least they're making some money out of these businesses with no interest in their server product, rather than just standing there saying "Use Windows. Please."
No matter what I think of Microsoft's business practices and software QA, I've got to hand it to them. They've produced a product which lots of people frequently grudgingly put up with or outright dislike, yet those people continue to go out and buy another when the one they had "breaks" - even though there's no sensible reason for it having broken in the first place. I wish I had a product like that.
Great! So I can put it on my finance staff's PCs, and they can continue to run their proprietary accounting and payroll packages (for which no free equivalent exists, which they're quite happy to pay for)?
Maybe OK for the home user who doesn't have such requirements.
I don't know about your part of the world, but here in the UK I've seen only one PC shipped for "business" use which didn't include an OEM Windows CD (a lenovo laptop - had a partition on the hard drive, but the hard drive failed after three weeks. At least they had the good grace to ship me a free set of OEM install disks with the replacement hard drive, but it was 7(!) CDs for just Windows and the OEM crap that gets installed with Lenovo laptops).
The Dell laptops and HP PCs I'm buying are all still shipping with OEM Windows install CDs. But if you buy a PC from somewhere like PC World (UK equivalent of Best Buy, only without the high standard of customer service, knowledgeable staff or reasonable prices) - yeah, then you probably will wind up with something which features a recovery partition on the hard disk.
Microsoft have their own internal bug tracking system. Now I'm not basing this on any real knowledge, as I've never worked there and I don't know anyone who does, but I think it's a fairly safe bet.
If they waited to release Vista until such time as there were zero bugs in the tracking system, it would never get released. What they're doing is prioritising existing bugs for getting fixed in the service pack.
AFAIK it's not been mentioned in anyplace, but it'd be interesting to see what winds up shipping as "business"-oriented versions of Vista, particularly as regards what things can be set up through GPO (ie. nail the computer so it does/doesn't do something).
I'm quite happy to bet on it that there will be some way of locking down Vista so it does not play restricted media - which would have the side effect of preventing it from dropping the display resolution.
Say what? The zune, like more or less every player out there, supports plain ordinary MP3. The problem is that Microsoft are essentially trying to compete with Apple in a market Apple have neatly demonstrated they understand pretty well - make sure your device does one thing and does it well; anything else is just fluff.
Microsoft have tried to add a unique selling point in the form of wireless squirting, but as far as USPs go it's pretty lousy - first you need to meet someone else with similar taste in music and the same MP3 player, and now it's discovered that there's no certainty you'll be able to squirt any particular song. Seeing as Apple have something like 80% of the market, the chances of that happening are fairly slim.
Microsoft could have chosen to manufacture an MP3 player and set up a music store selling MP3s from more enlightened companies and artists.
While this is very true, it completely misses the point of any business like Microsoft's. It's a numbers game - sure, they could have teamed up with someone like Magnatune to offer a deal on downloading tracks, but how many people do you know go out and buy an MP3 player on the strength of its links with an obscure record label that most people have never heard of?
Today they seem to be looking more closely at that -- you still pay a premium for Apple, but it isn't as harsh as before.
I disagree. Take the Apple MacBook. Basic specification for the cheapest model is:
Intel Core Duo 1.83Ghz
512MB RAM
60GB hard drive
DVD/CD-RW combo drive
13-inch screen.
Bluetooth
In the UK, this will cost you £749 including VAT and shipping.
Now go to Dell's website and spec up a similar Inspiron. Looking at the 640M (which is the closest I could find, screen-size wise), getting everything else as near identical as possible (same CPU, same RAM, same disk, same CD/DVD drive, with bluetooth), you're looking at £813.37 including VAT and shipping.
Considering the Dell has a larger screen, I reckon they're as near as dammit identical price-wise.
Comparing the base-model Dell to the base-model Apple is like comparing a base model Ford to a base model BMW - and makes about as much sense.
Slashdot Mirror
Now I look at the Gentoo install documentation and user forums now, and I am just in awe. Likewise for many of the other major distros.
Things have improved drastically there, this is so true.
It pains me to say it, however, but there's still a few (some surprisingly major) OSS applications with mailing lists which your "you've been banned, troll" comment would be an understatement.
All of it backfires eventually. A user who's insulted enough will do something about it. Sooner or later, they all learn.
"The idea that Bill Gates has appeared like a knight in shining armour to lead all customers out of a mire of technological chaos neatly ignores the fact that it was he who, by peddling second-rate technology, led them into it in the first place." - Douglas Adams, 1995.
That was almost 12 years ago, and Adams was talking about Windows '95. Yet with the release of Vista just around the corner, it seems just as appropriate today.
No kidding. I get this every so often from people at work: "How can I stop C: on my PC from being shared?". I don't mind saying "You can't" (straight up, on an NT4/Samba domain you can't do that - don't know if it's still true for Active Directory domains), what I do mind is having to justify why you can't - after all, the next question is always "Why not?".
Please, sign me off the fing airwaves, AFAIC, hardwired is the only way to fly.
You're going to need one hell of a long wire to get information off the airplane.
Not Virgin Atlantic by any chance?
Had the same thing happen when we were taking off from San Francisco. The power supply on an aircraft isn't always 100% reliable, and they probably couldn't justify the extra weight a UPS would add. They could have used a journalled filesystem, though - the system stuck part-way through booting and I had to go an 11 hour flight without any films or anything. Not exactly the end of the world, but nevertheless annoying.
As soon as you've found a way to get that message through effectively to 100% of the population, do let us know.
Stationary firing position with 360-degree coverage
Wonderful! So you can shoot yourself without turning the gun around.
TBH, I can't see many businesses upgrading any time soon. Which is not to say that they won't upgrade eventually, just not immediately.
Sure, there may be the odd adventurous soul in the IT department who feels like having a play with Vista when the first pre-loaded OEM PC arrives, but I don't think they'll be rolling it out to every PC. And let's be honest here, there's probably very little money in upgrade copies in boxes in your local store anyhow. I suspect 90%+ of Vista installs will fall into one of two categories:
1. Installed by the OEM. (This will form the bulk of the home market)
2. Installed by the companies IT department as part of a roll out.
Note that there isn't an option 3. Installed by an end user after they bought a boxed upgrade from their local store.
There's nothing wrong with ActiveX, other than the fact that it transfers the burden of trust entirely to the user, and leaves no middle ground there because it is a native executable that runs under your own credentials.
There's nothing wrong with bubonic plague, other than the fact that it kills you.
So I can have three PCs or one Mac?
I'll have the Mac, please.
I'm going out on a wild limb here with speculation, but that's what /. is all about.
Assuming Microsoft's business plan of "achieve monopoly status in computer operating systems at all levels" hasn't changed, there are actually a couple of explanations for this that make sense.
Explanation 1:
The kind of data centre run by a company like WalMart probably doesn't have a great deal of Microsoft software running. Probably does have a fair bit of Unix, and I'm sure WalMart's IT folks have been idly wondering if they can run Linux in its place (if they're not already). But without someone big to back it up - the likes of IBM or Microsoft - it'll never get buy-in from the higher-ups who sign the cheques.
Now from Microsoft's perspective, they get a foot in the door. They roll up to WalMart, announce that they're "happy to support Linux" and at the same time they get some engineers in there to see what they need to do to Windows so it can compete in such a space. A few years later, requirements change and Microsoft announce that they're no longer able to support Linux - "but you could always migrate to something based on SQL server 2012, and we conveniently have all these tools to make migration dead easy". Sure, WalMart could then say "screw you" and go to someone like IBM, but by that time the Linux solution they're using will be so tightly integrated with and tailored to their business processes that the upheaval this would involve is rather more than just letting a bunch of contractors in to maintain the code.
Explanation 2:
Microsoft is growing up. Like IBM before them, they've realised that a 100% monopoly in all aspects of computing isn't going to happen, so instead they're looking to forward the business by offering paid service contracts. Sure, they may not get to write the OS and applications, but at least they're making some money out of these businesses with no interest in their server product, rather than just standing there saying "Use Windows. Please."
How about a third time? Fourth?
No matter what I think of Microsoft's business practices and software QA, I've got to hand it to them. They've produced a product which lots of people frequently grudgingly put up with or outright dislike, yet those people continue to go out and buy another when the one they had "breaks" - even though there's no sensible reason for it having broken in the first place. I wish I had a product like that.
Great! So I can put it on my finance staff's PCs, and they can continue to run their proprietary accounting and payroll packages (for which no free equivalent exists, which they're quite happy to pay for)?
Maybe OK for the home user who doesn't have such requirements.
I don't know about your part of the world, but here in the UK I've seen only one PC shipped for "business" use which didn't include an OEM Windows CD (a lenovo laptop - had a partition on the hard drive, but the hard drive failed after three weeks. At least they had the good grace to ship me a free set of OEM install disks with the replacement hard drive, but it was 7(!) CDs for just Windows and the OEM crap that gets installed with Lenovo laptops).
The Dell laptops and HP PCs I'm buying are all still shipping with OEM Windows install CDs. But if you buy a PC from somewhere like PC World (UK equivalent of Best Buy, only without the high standard of customer service, knowledgeable staff or reasonable prices) - yeah, then you probably will wind up with something which features a recovery partition on the hard disk.
It gets even better. 70% of those "reasons to upgrade" are already available as standard on Mac OS, and have been for years.
Every time I see another Vista article, I thank God for my Apple Mac.
Microsoft have their own internal bug tracking system. Now I'm not basing this on any real knowledge, as I've never worked there and I don't know anyone who does, but I think it's a fairly safe bet.
If they waited to release Vista until such time as there were zero bugs in the tracking system, it would never get released. What they're doing is prioritising existing bugs for getting fixed in the service pack.
Welcome to VMS. Welcome to the 1980's.
TBH, I wasn't sure if it was a reference to the song or a genuine question.
Heh ;) I wasn't expecting anyone to get that one.
No, it's a parable.
At least this time it's the politicians rights.
AFAIK it's not been mentioned in anyplace, but it'd be interesting to see what winds up shipping as "business"-oriented versions of Vista, particularly as regards what things can be set up through GPO (ie. nail the computer so it does/doesn't do something).
I'm quite happy to bet on it that there will be some way of locking down Vista so it does not play restricted media - which would have the side effect of preventing it from dropping the display resolution.
Say what? The zune, like more or less every player out there, supports plain ordinary MP3. The problem is that Microsoft are essentially trying to compete with Apple in a market Apple have neatly demonstrated they understand pretty well - make sure your device does one thing and does it well; anything else is just fluff.
Microsoft have tried to add a unique selling point in the form of wireless squirting, but as far as USPs go it's pretty lousy - first you need to meet someone else with similar taste in music and the same MP3 player, and now it's discovered that there's no certainty you'll be able to squirt any particular song. Seeing as Apple have something like 80% of the market, the chances of that happening are fairly slim.
Microsoft could have chosen to manufacture an MP3 player and set up a music store selling MP3s from more enlightened companies and artists.
While this is very true, it completely misses the point of any business like Microsoft's. It's a numbers game - sure, they could have teamed up with someone like Magnatune to offer a deal on downloading tracks, but how many people do you know go out and buy an MP3 player on the strength of its links with an obscure record label that most people have never heard of?
I disagree. Take the Apple MacBook. Basic specification for the cheapest model is:
In the UK, this will cost you £749 including VAT and shipping.
Now go to Dell's website and spec up a similar Inspiron. Looking at the 640M (which is the closest I could find, screen-size wise), getting everything else as near identical as possible (same CPU, same RAM, same disk, same CD/DVD drive, with bluetooth), you're looking at £813.37 including VAT and shipping.
Considering the Dell has a larger screen, I reckon they're as near as dammit identical price-wise.
Comparing the base-model Dell to the base-model Apple is like comparing a base model Ford to a base model BMW - and makes about as much sense.