I see your point....and you're wrong. If what you've stated were the case, I could make you 'dumber' by cutting off appendages. We could perform a labotomy by cutting off an appropriate portion of the subjects legs.
In your world, Christopher Reeves IQ dropped dramatically when his spinal cord was damaged and effectively disconnected his body from his brain.
Watch out, a skin flake just dropped from your shoulder. You can't remember your 7th birthday now? Odd, maybe you're right.
Definately better, though, to teach grandma how to get her syntax exactly right at the command prompt.
Right, 'emerge sync; emerge -u world' is complex syntax. Or, better yet, don't tell grandma anything, make it a cron job. Even better yet, get grandma a PDA capable of sending email and solitaire. Better still ANSWER THE PHONE WHEN SHE CALLS, she won't be around forever and can't type that fast. Shouldn't you spend more time talking to grandma?
I'm praying for the day my data-processing business gains some momentum and I can quit my network admin job. I will truely enjoy telling those who ask for my help "sorry, I don't do windows. Have you contacted the manufacturer?"
That brings me to another beef I have with windows. There are far to many people who consider themselves 'network administrators' just because they know what PC stands for. I can't tell you how disgusted I get when I get a phone call from one of my customers who says "I'm the network administrator and I've got a system with a 169.254.x.x address....what's wrong with your network?" They seem so confused when I tell them their network cable is unplugged and that my responsibility ends where the T1 cable connects to their router.
The problem is idiots at the console. Pure and simple, evil idiots sent from the planet omicron percei 8 to disrupt my harmoneous network and make my phone ring. It is, of course, my fault because my servers run Linux. Nevermind that my servers have been running through their previous 5 system-restores and 300 days before that.
The last time I vented about windows idiots got my message modded to 'troll.' For those of you who successfully run windows and never call tech support because you can handle it yourself, I applaud you. You are far more tolerant than I. For the rest, to hell with you if you can't take ridicule. In real life, I'm better than you. My karma can take anything you think you can dish out.
From his own website (suedbyaspammer.com) he has copies of the messages sent. From the looks of it, there would be a ZERO LEVEL OF DIFFUCULTY configuring a filter for these messages (at least using my spam filter on my server).
Block their IP addresses and move along. Increase scoring for 'cruise.com' and go on about your business. Search for the image names within the email and delete the message and take your girlfriend to dinner. Do something other than complain!!
How pathetic can these liberals get. Oh no, someone sent me an email that I don't want....shall I try to deal with this problem using the tools available to me, or shall I complain to an overburdened uncle sam, or shall I beg for money using a paypal account. Decisions, decisions......I think I'll beg and complain.
How many "R0I3X","R_o_l_e_x", etc... messages were sent a few months back? Those were a burden because there were so many of them....but it only took a few days to wittle those millions of messages down to a few that snuck through. What we have here is a case of an admin that isn't worth his salt. Unfortunately, the world is full of those.
How freaking pathetic. After receiving 2 of these messages, I would have blocked this 'cruse.com' crap and went on about my business. No litigation, no threats, no more cruise.com spam.
That isn't a biased opinion, it is absolutely true. My boss tells me, often, that I should write a paper on each of the functions of the mail server. I reply, "I did that once and it tripled our call volume." Not only are people stupid, but they can't read either. Which part of "Your username is always your entire email address" is so hard to understand? How many times can I receive a call asking "What does '680 - There is no dial tone.' mean?" and still have faith in humanity? 827566 calls ago.
IMHO, there are several types of computer users on the Internet. There are those who create and maintain everything.....tech support will never hear from these people. These people are usually tech support of some form. Then there are above-average users who are fearful of everything and rarely install new applications. Tech support hears from these people when they mess up their password. Typically, these are the people who are considered 'computer guys/gals' in their office, but think that incredimail is a good idea. Finally, there are the rest of them. The 99.9985% that think the mouse is a foot pedal and put their keyboard in the dishwasher are the stupid people that tech support always hear from.
I have ceased being suprised by peoples stupidity. I have seen so much of it that it just doesn't suprise me anymore. I like to expect the worst out of people, so when they do something right I am pleasantly suprised.
P.S. I run all of MS Office in Linux (with the exception of Access) because I read enough to figure it out. With sufficient reading you can be an elitist like me and never call tech support.
by the way, mine is an A31. AFIK, the A, T, R, and X series are all the same in this respect. The only wireless cards that will work are the Cisco and Intel cards.
This is common of many newer IBM laptops. They will not boot with a mini-pci card other than the Cisco 350 series or Intel installed.
It seems like a dirty trick, but I can understand why IBM would do such a thing. Think of it as certified hardware. IBM doesn't want to answer support calls asking "how do I set up a kwang-dong-fu mini-pci a/b/g card I picked up in china?"
Back in the BBS days nothing was anonymous. As a BBS administrator, I frequently read my users email to ensure that my adult users weren't sending bad stuff to my underage users. There were several people who were banned from using my BBS because of messages they sent to underage users.
Today, I would like to see an Internet License. I just got a phone call from a gentleman (who I'm sure is a nice guy) asking how to view a PDF file... Internet access is TOO AVAILABLE to the uneducated public. Corporate and individual alike, take a test - get the license - get online. If you violate a law or cause a network outage, your license is revoked and you must re-apply.
None of the Cisco Academy/MCSE "We teach you the answers to the test" type crap either. Learn it, Live it.
Re:So why is Gentoo the right choice for this?
on
Embedded Gentoo?
·
· Score: 1
There are many who may disagree with my methods, but using Gentoo throughout my network infrastructure and personal systems has made me acutely aware of the power of Gentoo. That said, while working on an embedded device (wrap.1c with 2 mini-pci slots), I've found that a familliar distro is a very welcome companion.
I don't compile anything on the wrap.1c board, that would be insane (week long bootstrap would drive me nuts...I've done it before on another embedded system and will never do it again). While working with x86 systems, it is very easy to set up a virtual machine (vmware, Xen, virtual pc, take your pick) and compile two kernels (one for the virtual machine and one for the real machine) while using the storage medium of choice (in this case, a 256MB CF card). I get the optimizations and the customization that Gentoo brings to the table and get to compile all of the tools with the exact libraries I want for the architecture I'm using on a fast machine, then test it by shutting down the virtual machine and popping the CF card into my embedded system.
In case any of you are wondering, I'm using a cisco mpi350 mini-pci for wireless connectivity to the 802.11b network that I administer, and an 802.11b/g mini-pci in the other slot for wireless connectivity throughout the customer premise. The wrap.1c comes in several flavors, but I chose the 2 ethernet version because it was only a couple bucks more than the single ethernet.
This option (once complete) will be a welcome replacement for our current hardware kit that accomplishes the same goal at 3 times the price (because cisco workgroup bridges are freaking expensive, and you have to use a commercial broadband router to provide the customer premise networking and wifi connectivity).
Is embedded Gentoo better than any other embedded project? For me it is, I'm comfortable with Gentoo.....this may not be the case for everyone else. This is the beauty of Gentoo and Linux, this is merely another choice.
I personally don't want anyone to be happy unless I've touched their machine. Graphical installer for Gentoo is blasphemy to me. When my customers decide to watch over my shoulder, I'm comfortable doing anything I need without fearing that they'll cut me out of the loop next time they need a machine because they learnt enough to do it themselves. They simply CANNOT understand what I'm doing, even if I explain it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for progress....I have often thought that with all of the other amazing features built into Gentoo, why isn't there a graphical installer? The answer was always plainly, it doesn't need one.
Now, I'll get to repair borked graphical gentoo installations instead of building a system properly from scratch.
Really, how long ago was it that you stopped explaining what swap was for and told your end user "Because you &%#@*! need it!"
Powerful tools don't make good administrators....it works the other way around.
I've been called elitist before.....thank you very much.
I've got about 300 DVDs, and I probably buy at least 1 per week (if not more when I visit the Wal Mart $5 bin). It concerns me that they focus so much attention on the few who download movies. I would prefer that they.....say.....spend that money to develop enhancements to the DVD experience (something that isn't included in an encoded pirate version of any particular movie).
There have been times that I've downloaded a movie from the Internet, enjoyed it, and purchased that movie from a local store so that I could watch it in higher quality and benefit from the additional DVD features (Southpark Movie). Other times, I've realized that the time spent downloading a particular movie (Blair Witch Project) could've been better spent playing solitaire.
Sometime soon, I hope, the MPAA will realize that the money they spend sniffing out pirates (who,like cockroaches, will ALWAYS exist) could be better spent to enhance their own industry....or (more likely to peak the interest of the MPAA) line their own pockets. Litigation isn't cheap, nor is computer/network forensics.
Somewhere, there is an MPAA representitive reading this article who is thinking "Hmmm....he's right...I could get a raise and people like Trey Parker and the/. crowd would stop hating us"
You lack vision. How many people willingly install "Bonzi Buddy" or "Comet Cursors" without reading the license agreement (answer: all of them). They'll be sly and install it along with some system performance booster and WHAM, all those MP3's you searched so hard to find are gone.
Now, I've got several thousand MP3s (and FLACs and OGGs) that I ripped from my own CD collection (really).....Do I get to sue the RIAA for the time it takes me to re-rip them after their application deletes them for me? At my billing rate, I could expect a fairly sizeable check for the time it would take me to rip and encode all of the music that I legally own.
Not that this would happen....I'm far to paranoid to allow it.
What's the point of desktop replacements? I buy them, for one. It's nice to have the same documents at home as at my office desk. I went so far as to purchase 3 docking stations (ok, 2 stations and 1 port replicator) so I can recreate a "Desktop" experience at all of the locations I frequently work.
I've had one of these no name laptops before though. Not nice. It was the first time I strayed from Thinkpads, and also was the last. Be wary of cheap computers.......they're cheap.
bah, I don't care if my post was re-written..... Imitation is the best form of flattery, right? My original post got modded to 5-informative so:P
It doesn't really matter. My statement could've been an ad-lib. <Insert your component here> cannot be copied exactly, but...
I was merely trying to point out that the software drives the board and is the most important IP to the company making the product, and is the only piece they can keep safe. Anyone can buy an X86 board and install Windows on it, but can they get the source code to make it better? The magic 8-ball says "Outlook not good" You can't (much) change what you don't like or add new features... open source wins.
I'll tell you right now, if this card hit the shelves I'd put one in every Linux system I ever built from that day forward. A video card that "just works" in Linux/BSD/whatever? It's a no brainer.
More importantly, it will send a message to the other manufacturers that their Linux business is being taken seriously by a competitor that is willing to play Open-Source ball.
the problem is that once you build hardware, the patent law says that your competitors can't make an exact copy of it. The card you have is no longer "Secret IP" once it's on a storeshelf. Your competitor spends $299 and has a reference board. The card he builds can't be exactly like yours, but he can take good ideas from your board and implement them as long as there isn't a patent against it.
The reason they've got such tight reigns on drivers is that drivers cost a lot of programming hours to write. That is source code that I don't think the world will see. The games released for specific video cards also have some of that driver code (provided to them via NDA) from the cardmaker. their complete source code may contain very secret IP such as chip limitations, workarounds, extra settings, and other things that they may not want their competitors and customers to know about.
Re:The important lines...
on
OQO For Sale
·
· Score: 1
Here's the skinny I got directly from support@oqo.com regarding OS installation:
> Response (Jason Shue) - 10/16/2004 11:43 AM > Thank you for your interest in the OQO. > At this time the OQO only ships with Windows XP home or pro from the > factory. This helps to reduce overhead by making them unifrom. Also please > not that although Linux can be installed we do not support it. Thank you > and I hope this has answered your question. > Jason
(No grammar flames, please, I didn't write that)
And my (final) response
I don't exactly see how inserting a blank hard drive can increase your overhead (no time spent to image the drive, no license paid to Microsoft for the XP image), so I'll just take your word for it. I don't particularly like purchasing inferior software that I don't plan to use, so I'll just wait for one of your units to show up on ebay.
Not meaning to preach, but, the addage "the customer is always right" applies greatly in this case. Adding a third (less expensive/time consuming 3rd assembly model) without operating system would be given a warm welcome by the slashdot (www.slashdot.org) and Linux crowds. I (and other programmers) see so much potential in this small device if it wasn't running windows.
just wait a while, a mobile system will show up sooner or later.
This component particularly interests me because I'm building a mp3/radio/cd/dvd/wardriving system for my truck. My previous option for (only) fm radio was the (discontinued) dlink usb radio. Now I have an option for am/fm and it's entirely USB! (the dlink has usb control and 1/8" stereo jack for output).
My comment was made from experience, don't knock it 'til you've tried it.
I've got at least 3 of my old ps/2 mice still sitting in server rooms in california on old systems that won't boot without a keyboard.
If you'd like to know how this works, take a look here http://panda.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu/~achapwes/PICmicro/ PS2/ps2.htm
+5V is applied on pin 4 (5 for AT style) and data is returned on pin 1 (2 for AT style). Upon booting, the bios doesn't care if the peripheral 'speaks' mouse or keyboard, it's looking for a return signal on the data line to determine if something is attached.
You can upgrade from one major release to the next without rebooting
You can do the same with gentoo....my point was that compared to fedora or mandrake.....slackware, debian, and gentoo are (in that order) less automated (and pretty) during install.
Although I'm a pretty sadistic fellow, I wouldn't inflict a gentoo install on a newbie.....it's more likely that a newbie could get slackware or debian installed with little assistance.
Think of yourself as a new-to-linux user being asked to set up a linux system for the first time....what the heck is a swap partition? how big should it be? why should I have more than one system partition? Mountpoints? dmesg? What does e2fsck do? Why do I need to edit/etc/fstab or/etc/resolv.conf or/etc/conf.d/net or/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf? WTF is up with vi, is it really an editor? Compile a kernel....what does this have to do with chicken?
A blind and retarded monkey can set up Fedora or Mandrake (no offense to the Fedora or Mandrake users) because the distributions authors have gone to great lengths to make the install intuitive and greatly automated. That's something that Slack, Debian, and Gentoo can't say.
I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with Slack, Debian, or Gentoo. I used slack from 95 until recently when I switched to Gentoo. I've run Debian before and liked it (just not enough to leave Slack).
It wouldn't be illegal if he was gagged and couldn't talk back, and you included a facility to prevent the message from being recorded and played back or shared with others. Then it would be just a broadcast compliant with RIAA standards.
Slashdot Mirror
I see your point....and you're wrong. If what you've stated were the case, I could make you 'dumber' by cutting off appendages. We could perform a labotomy by cutting off an appropriate portion of the subjects legs.
In your world, Christopher Reeves IQ dropped dramatically when his spinal cord was damaged and effectively disconnected his body from his brain.
Watch out, a skin flake just dropped from your shoulder. You can't remember your 7th birthday now? Odd, maybe you're right.
Definately better, though, to teach grandma how to get her syntax exactly right at the command prompt.
Right, 'emerge sync; emerge -u world' is complex syntax. Or, better yet, don't tell grandma anything, make it a cron job. Even better yet, get grandma a PDA capable of sending email and solitaire. Better still ANSWER THE PHONE WHEN SHE CALLS, she won't be around forever and can't type that fast. Shouldn't you spend more time talking to grandma?
I'm praying for the day my data-processing business gains some momentum and I can quit my network admin job. I will truely enjoy telling those who ask for my help "sorry, I don't do windows. Have you contacted the manufacturer?"
That brings me to another beef I have with windows. There are far to many people who consider themselves 'network administrators' just because they know what PC stands for. I can't tell you how disgusted I get when I get a phone call from one of my customers who says "I'm the network administrator and I've got a system with a 169.254.x.x address....what's wrong with your network?" They seem so confused when I tell them their network cable is unplugged and that my responsibility ends where the T1 cable connects to their router.
The problem is idiots at the console. Pure and simple, evil idiots sent from the planet omicron percei 8 to disrupt my harmoneous network and make my phone ring. It is, of course, my fault because my servers run Linux. Nevermind that my servers have been running through their previous 5 system-restores and 300 days before that.
The last time I vented about windows idiots got my message modded to 'troll.' For those of you who successfully run windows and never call tech support because you can handle it yourself, I applaud you. You are far more tolerant than I. For the rest, to hell with you if you can't take ridicule. In real life, I'm better than you. My karma can take anything you think you can dish out.
From his own website (suedbyaspammer.com) he has copies of the messages sent. From the looks of it, there would be a ZERO LEVEL OF DIFFUCULTY configuring a filter for these messages (at least using my spam filter on my server).
Block their IP addresses and move along. Increase scoring for 'cruise.com' and go on about your business. Search for the image names within the email and delete the message and take your girlfriend to dinner. Do something other than complain!!
How pathetic can these liberals get. Oh no, someone sent me an email that I don't want....shall I try to deal with this problem using the tools available to me, or shall I complain to an overburdened uncle sam, or shall I beg for money using a paypal account. Decisions, decisions......I think I'll beg and complain.
How many "R0I3X","R_o_l_e_x", etc... messages were sent a few months back? Those were a burden because there were so many of them....but it only took a few days to wittle those millions of messages down to a few that snuck through. What we have here is a case of an admin that isn't worth his salt. Unfortunately, the world is full of those.
How freaking pathetic. After receiving 2 of these messages, I would have blocked this 'cruse.com' crap and went on about my business. No litigation, no threats, no more cruise.com spam.
That isn't a biased opinion, it is absolutely true. My boss tells me, often, that I should write a paper on each of the functions of the mail server. I reply, "I did that once and it tripled our call volume." Not only are people stupid, but they can't read either. Which part of "Your username is always your entire email address" is so hard to understand? How many times can I receive a call asking "What does '680 - There is no dial tone.' mean?" and still have faith in humanity? 827566 calls ago.
IMHO, there are several types of computer users on the Internet. There are those who create and maintain everything.....tech support will never hear from these people. These people are usually tech support of some form. Then there are above-average users who are fearful of everything and rarely install new applications. Tech support hears from these people when they mess up their password. Typically, these are the people who are considered 'computer guys/gals' in their office, but think that incredimail is a good idea.
Finally, there are the rest of them. The 99.9985% that think the mouse is a foot pedal and put their keyboard in the dishwasher are the stupid people that tech support always hear from.
I have ceased being suprised by peoples stupidity. I have seen so much of it that it just doesn't suprise me anymore. I like to expect the worst out of people, so when they do something right I am pleasantly suprised.
P.S. I run all of MS Office in Linux (with the exception of Access) because I read enough to figure it out. With sufficient reading you can be an elitist like me and never call tech support.
by the way, mine is an A31. AFIK, the A, T, R, and X series are all the same in this respect. The only wireless cards that will work are the Cisco and Intel cards.
I have no idea if this applies to non-wifi cards.
This is common of many newer IBM laptops. They will not boot with a mini-pci card other than the Cisco 350 series or Intel installed.
It seems like a dirty trick, but I can understand why IBM would do such a thing. Think of it as certified hardware. IBM doesn't want to answer support calls asking "how do I set up a kwang-dong-fu mini-pci a/b/g card I picked up in china?"
Back in the BBS days nothing was anonymous. As a BBS administrator, I frequently read my users email to ensure that my adult users weren't sending bad stuff to my underage users. There were several people who were banned from using my BBS because of messages they sent to underage users.
Today, I would like to see an Internet License. I just got a phone call from a gentleman (who I'm sure is a nice guy) asking how to view a PDF file... Internet access is TOO AVAILABLE to the uneducated public. Corporate and individual alike, take a test - get the license - get online. If you violate a law or cause a network outage, your license is revoked and you must re-apply.
None of the Cisco Academy/MCSE "We teach you the answers to the test" type crap either. Learn it, Live it.
There are many who may disagree with my methods, but using Gentoo throughout my network infrastructure and personal systems has made me acutely aware of the power of Gentoo. That said, while working on an embedded device (wrap.1c with 2 mini-pci slots), I've found that a familliar distro is a very welcome companion.
I don't compile anything on the wrap.1c board, that would be insane (week long bootstrap would drive me nuts...I've done it before on another embedded system and will never do it again). While working with x86 systems, it is very easy to set up a virtual machine (vmware, Xen, virtual pc, take your pick) and compile two kernels (one for the virtual machine and one for the real machine) while using the storage medium of choice (in this case, a 256MB CF card). I get the optimizations and the customization that Gentoo brings to the table and get to compile all of the tools with the exact libraries I want for the architecture I'm using on a fast machine, then test it by shutting down the virtual machine and popping the CF card into my embedded system.
In case any of you are wondering, I'm using a cisco mpi350 mini-pci for wireless connectivity to the 802.11b network that I administer, and an 802.11b/g mini-pci in the other slot for wireless connectivity throughout the customer premise. The wrap.1c comes in several flavors, but I chose the 2 ethernet version because it was only a couple bucks more than the single ethernet.
This option (once complete) will be a welcome replacement for our current hardware kit that accomplishes the same goal at 3 times the price (because cisco workgroup bridges are freaking expensive, and you have to use a commercial broadband router to provide the customer premise networking and wifi connectivity).
Is embedded Gentoo better than any other embedded project? For me it is, I'm comfortable with Gentoo.....this may not be the case for everyone else. This is the beauty of Gentoo and Linux, this is merely another choice.
I personally don't want anyone to be happy unless I've touched their machine. Graphical installer for Gentoo is blasphemy to me. When my customers decide to watch over my shoulder, I'm comfortable doing anything I need without fearing that they'll cut me out of the loop next time they need a machine because they learnt enough to do it themselves. They simply CANNOT understand what I'm doing, even if I explain it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for progress....I have often thought that with all of the other amazing features built into Gentoo, why isn't there a graphical installer? The answer was always plainly, it doesn't need one.
Now, I'll get to repair borked graphical gentoo installations instead of building a system properly from scratch.
Really, how long ago was it that you stopped explaining what swap was for and told your end user "Because you &%#@*! need it!"
Powerful tools don't make good administrators....it works the other way around.
I've been called elitist before.....thank you very much.
pique.....so that's how it's speeled.
I've got about 300 DVDs, and I probably buy at least 1 per week (if not more when I visit the Wal Mart $5 bin). It concerns me that they focus so much attention on the few who download movies. I would prefer that they.....say.....spend that money to develop enhancements to the DVD experience (something that isn't included in an encoded pirate version of any particular movie).
,like cockroaches, will ALWAYS exist) could be better spent to enhance their own industry....or (more likely to peak the interest of the MPAA) line their own pockets. Litigation isn't cheap, nor is computer/network forensics.
/. crowd would stop hating us"
There have been times that I've downloaded a movie from the Internet, enjoyed it, and purchased that movie from a local store so that I could watch it in higher quality and benefit from the additional DVD features (Southpark Movie). Other times, I've realized that the time spent downloading a particular movie (Blair Witch Project) could've been better spent playing solitaire.
Sometime soon, I hope, the MPAA will realize that the money they spend sniffing out pirates (who
Somewhere, there is an MPAA representitive reading this article who is thinking "Hmmm....he's right...I could get a raise and people like Trey Parker and the
I don't know many people with these kind of connectors 'laying around.'
With 6 wireless towers, I use many of these types of connectors frequently. At $3-$14 each, this could very well be a $200+ chess set.
I'll stick with my glass pieces and wooden board. Besides, it's not the type of pieces you play with, but how throughly you can crush your opponent.
You lack vision. How many people willingly install "Bonzi Buddy" or "Comet Cursors" without reading the license agreement (answer: all of them). They'll be sly and install it along with some system performance booster and WHAM, all those MP3's you searched so hard to find are gone.
Now, I've got several thousand MP3s (and FLACs and OGGs) that I ripped from my own CD collection (really).....Do I get to sue the RIAA for the time it takes me to re-rip them after their application deletes them for me? At my billing rate, I could expect a fairly sizeable check for the time it would take me to rip and encode all of the music that I legally own.
Not that this would happen....I'm far to paranoid to allow it.
What's the point of desktop replacements? I buy them, for one. It's nice to have the same documents at home as at my office desk. I went so far as to purchase 3 docking stations (ok, 2 stations and 1 port replicator) so I can recreate a "Desktop" experience at all of the locations I frequently work.
I've had one of these no name laptops before though. Not nice. It was the first time I strayed from Thinkpads, and also was the last. Be wary of cheap computers.......they're cheap.
bah, I don't care if my post was re-written..... Imitation is the best form of flattery, right? My original post got modded to 5-informative so :P
It doesn't really matter. My statement could've been an ad-lib. <Insert your component here> cannot be copied exactly, but...
I was merely trying to point out that the software drives the board and is the most important IP to the company making the product, and is the only piece they can keep safe. Anyone can buy an X86 board and install Windows on it, but can they get the source code to make it better? The magic 8-ball says "Outlook not good" You can't (much) change what you don't like or add new features... open source wins.
I'll tell you right now, if this card hit the shelves I'd put one in every Linux system I ever built from that day forward. A video card that "just works" in Linux/BSD/whatever? It's a no brainer.
More importantly, it will send a message to the other manufacturers that their Linux business is being taken seriously by a competitor that is willing to play Open-Source ball.
the problem is that once you build hardware, the patent law says that your competitors can't make an exact copy of it. The card you have is no longer "Secret IP" once it's on a storeshelf. Your competitor spends $299 and has a reference board. The card he builds can't be exactly like yours, but he can take good ideas from your board and implement them as long as there isn't a patent against it.
The reason they've got such tight reigns on drivers is that drivers cost a lot of programming hours to write. That is source code that I don't think the world will see. The games released for specific video cards also have some of that driver code (provided to them via NDA) from the cardmaker. their complete source code may contain very secret IP such as chip limitations, workarounds, extra settings, and other things that they may not want their competitors and customers to know about.
Here's the skinny I got directly from support@oqo.com regarding OS installation:
> Response (Jason Shue) - 10/16/2004 11:43 AM
> Thank you for your interest in the OQO.
> At this time the OQO only ships with Windows XP home or pro from the
> factory. This helps to reduce overhead by making them unifrom. Also please
> not that although Linux can be installed we do not support it. Thank you
> and I hope this has answered your question.
> Jason
(No grammar flames, please, I didn't write that)
And my (final) response
I don't exactly see how inserting a blank hard drive can increase your
overhead (no time spent to image the drive, no license paid to Microsoft for
the XP image), so I'll just take your word for it. I don't particularly like
purchasing inferior software that I don't plan to use, so I'll just wait for
one of your units to show up on ebay.
Not meaning to preach, but, the addage "the customer is always right" applies
greatly in this case. Adding a third (less expensive/time consuming 3rd
assembly model) without operating system would be given a warm welcome by the
slashdot (www.slashdot.org) and Linux crowds. I (and other programmers) see
so much potential in this small device if it wasn't running windows.
That's my 2 cents. Good luck
just wait a while, a mobile system will show up sooner or later.
This component particularly interests me because I'm building a mp3/radio/cd/dvd/wardriving system for my truck. My previous option for (only) fm radio was the (discontinued) dlink usb radio. Now I have an option for am/fm and it's entirely USB! (the dlink has usb control and 1/8" stereo jack for output).
My question is, does it run in Linux?
hey now, I could do a GRP install (binary packages) of Gentoo in less than 3 hours.
I don't.....but I could.
I bought one of these to use in Quake, mine's not belkin, but it does have an impressive range of buttons.
I thought to myself, "self, it would be cool to ditch a full keyboard and use this with my left hand and never taking my hands off mouse or keyboard"
By no means is this product marketed for this purpose. I do agree, it would be cool.
I have a friend from Canada and he used to say 'aboot'..but I think we teased the 'aboot' out of him. He says 'about' now, just like the rest of us.
Next time I see him, I'll be sure to ask where in Canada he's from.......but I'm sure this thread will be ancient history by then.....
My comment was made from experience, don't knock it 'til you've tried it.
/ PS2/ps2.htm
I've got at least 3 of my old ps/2 mice still sitting in server rooms in california on old systems that won't boot without a keyboard.
If you'd like to know how this works, take a look here http://panda.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu/~achapwes/PICmicro
+5V is applied on pin 4 (5 for AT style) and data is returned on pin 1 (2 for AT style). Upon booting, the bios doesn't care if the peripheral 'speaks' mouse or keyboard, it's looking for a return signal on the data line to determine if something is attached.
Like I said......try it, I didn't make this up.
Take an old ps/2 mouse and a ps/2 to AT adapter (if you need that type of connector) and attach it to the keyboard port.
Maybe it's not the answer you were looking for, but at least you get to put that old ball-mouse to use again.
You can upgrade from one major release to the next without rebooting
/etc/fstab or /etc/resolv.conf or /etc/conf.d/net or /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf? WTF is up with vi, is it really an editor? Compile a kernel....what does this have to do with chicken?
You can do the same with gentoo....my point was that compared to fedora or mandrake.....slackware, debian, and gentoo are (in that order) less automated (and pretty) during install.
Although I'm a pretty sadistic fellow, I wouldn't inflict a gentoo install on a newbie.....it's more likely that a newbie could get slackware or debian installed with little assistance.
Think of yourself as a new-to-linux user being asked to set up a linux system for the first time....what the heck is a swap partition? how big should it be? why should I have more than one system partition? Mountpoints? dmesg? What does e2fsck do? Why do I need to edit
A blind and retarded monkey can set up Fedora or Mandrake (no offense to the Fedora or Mandrake users) because the distributions authors have gone to great lengths to make the install intuitive and greatly automated. That's something that Slack, Debian, and Gentoo can't say.
I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with Slack, Debian, or Gentoo. I used slack from 95 until recently when I switched to Gentoo. I've run Debian before and liked it (just not enough to leave Slack).
It wouldn't be illegal if he was gagged and couldn't talk back, and you included a facility to prevent the message from being recorded and played back or shared with others. Then it would be just a broadcast compliant with RIAA standards.