Generally speaking, the problem with the windows way is that no one is trying to see if all these programs are going to work together. For instance, you install Microsoft Office, which points.mat to access tables. Fine, who cares. Then you install Matlab, which points.mat to matlab. Ok, everyone's ok I guess (I mean, who uses Microsoft Access Tables?). Now there's an office SP out via windows update, and bam, the user can't double click their matlab files anymore. You've got to log into the pc as administrator, and manually edit the file types (user file associations *just don't work*).
This is a small example, but it's getting to be such a pain that Symantec SVS is trotted out as a solution (application virtulization)... All because every vendor has their own installer, which doesn't care or know about the other software, so you end up occasionally needing different OS installs for each program you want to run.
I'm not saying you can't have dependency hell on Linux, but the whole point of repositories as I understand it is a) the distro tests and certifies these packages choosen from it's repository work together b) you can file bugs against it when they don't.
It's not a solution, because as you point out, not every app can get into a repository. But it seems to work better than basically praying that this latest software install doesn't break Windows.
Maybe it's just my experiance at work, and we've certainly got an eclectic mix of software, but each additional program you want to run on an OS shouldn't be a round of russian rulette! And it just seems to be, even when the software isn't actively in use.
I think that the US and much of the world is going to have to figure this our so that the law of the internet is not the sum of all laws everywhere in the world. I really think that the sane approach is to apply the laws of where the person physically is + the laws of where the server physically is when whatever is in question occurs.
Otherwise we have these sorts of issues - why should the UK, or anyone really get to dictate to the rest of the world what goes on the internet?
I have to wonder though, if you're taking pictures *of your self*, what is the harm that we're trying to prevent by these consequences? Should we also blindfold kids till their 18 because they might see themselves nude? I'm really not following here.
And if it's some sort of harm via someone else eventually seeing these pics on the net, why aren't we taking action against stupid pics in general on myspace? They all can harm the teen's chance of college or a job...
And the only reason these activities are a danger to anyone is because society will ruin everyone's life who stumbles apon the pics. And the only person doing anyone harm is the prosecutor here...
Oddly enough, I actually prefer MagicJack more than Skype. Similar shady company, but so far it a) costs a lot less than Skype (about half compared to subscription plans when I last checked) b) uses SIP underneath, so if you don't worry too much about TOS (I do like to keep to TOS, but hey) you can use with Linux softphones or whatever you like. There's also lots of people who have gotten it working on a ATA.
Of course, MagicJack is definately a best effort service, so I don't think I'd replace my only phone with it (it makes a good Cell backup for me, and a decent calling card replacement for LD).
I don't think it's necessarily that Democrats & Socialists think that people are too stupid to think for themselves, it's more like:
I can't be an expert on everything. I have no idea what a credit default swap is, or what good debt vs bad debt is. I don't know if my doctor is wasting my money or doing a potentially lifesaving test. I have no idea if the ad is true, false, or what. etc.
I also can't afford (and most people I know cannot afford) to hire an expert in every field to be on hand for every decision (So I don't get to have a financial advisor, lawyer, doctor, etc on call or at the bank when I'm taking out a loan or whatever). Not by myself. But collectively we the people can advance the common welfare by setting some ground rules and all chipping in $0.50 a year or some such to have a body who is made up of experts make sure that fraud is reigned in, and that your average citizen has a chance to understand what they're getting into.
Also, you make it sound like somehow the "bills" are going to not be there if you pay for the service yourself... Which is obviously not the case for most people - you'll either pay road tax or pay tolls on the road for instance.
Government is just one other way for people to join together and work collectively, something most people do every day (work in a company, be part of a church etc)...
How big is your family? I mean, if you're an average family of 4, you're buying roughly 2 pairs of shoes each every year? For $100 or so (quick glance at their men's shoes)? I'm probably one of those horrible customers, but I've bought the $120 Nike sneakers, the $300 dress shoes, the $10 Wal-Mart sneakers and the $30 Tom McCans at K-Mart. Every one lasted at least a year, and I've pretty much settled on the Tom McCans for the past few years (I like to have 2-3 pairs of shoes)... now, I haven't found that the Nike Sneakers (or whoever) are actually several times better than the Tom McCans, so are these Zappos shoes actually 2-3 times better than your random discount store shoes @ $30?
Clothes are one of those things that I haven't found any real benefit in paying more inside the priceranges I'm willing to go - I'm sure if I went custom tailored they'd be better, but I'm not going to spend that kind of money. For a golf shirt, I've found the K-Mart or Haband $14 shirt lasts as long and is as comfortable as the $54 one at Maceys... Dockers aren't actually better in any way I've found than Haband or whatever. Am I just confused? And what sort of customer service do you need that you don't get pretty much everywhere on the web that's decent (Amazon, Haband etc all have accepting return policies)... What is the person at Macey's going to do that you aren't going to get done at K-Mart (I mean, you go get the clothes, go in the changing room to try them on, and get rung up at a cash register...)?
Well, not knowing the timeframe you're talking about I'm going to be a little imprecise, but I've been a Best Buy tech, and let me tell you, IBM systems were no worse on average than many oddball Dell, Compaq's and whiteboxes we saw. Of course your mileage is going to vary, but my experiance has been that Dell likes odd propriatery parts as much as Compaq/HP who likes them as much as IBM did, but IBMs propriatery parts usually were a) actually a useful improvement over what might be standard there rather than say a propriatery DVD ROM or PSU just because and b) tended to work for the life of the machine. The downside was everyone including IBM had PITA drivers to install, but that hasn't changed either.
I'm a fan of the Lenovo stuff today and IBM servers, but it's hit or miss as to whether I can convince management it's worth the 30% premium over Dell. Then again, most of my bad experiances have been with Dell systems. YMMV.
Well, for 2 I suppose you could use something like OCSInventory. For Group Policy I would think you're looking at Likewise Enterprise hooked into Active Directory, or something like CFEngine as listed above.
I'm using OCS and GLPI, but they don't do what the questioner wants. They do inventory and software deployment. They don't do Active Directory style management. If you're using AD elsewhere, so far I've liked likewise, but if you're all linux I think CFEngine is probably the best from what little I know.
Indeed. When most items from Newegg.com arrive the next day with their cheapest shipping option (or even free shipping on some items) or when Amazon Prime gets me stuff in 2 days, then anything longer than today as I exit the store is a Newegg or Amazon purchase. Unless the price is better because its some great sale. Even then, it'd have to be almost free to pay for my gas getting back to the store and my time...
Especially when there are companies that will explicitly at least try to clean up your PC over the net for a similar price, so you'd have some chance of it working (i.e. they're set up for remote support, trained in using those sorts of tools, and not just on a phone connection to a person who doesn't know what they're doing with a piece of software not meant to work like that). Comodo's "Pro" subscription targets that sort of situation for $40 or so, and would be a better chance IMO. Or CrossLoop marketplace... Or even some local person who will spend an hour for that $40 in cash...
Generally I'm against all this copyright hoopla, and haven't been that happy with the current IP laws etc.
But in this case, this is exactly the sort of situation I think the founders and everyone else was thinking about when they crafted copyright law. A person or company can't (under current law, and should not be able to) take someone's book or whatever and endlessly copy it and then make money off of it.
I have to say, living in the same sort of situation, I'd be fine with youtube or various other streaming videos if they just offered a robust way to buffer the entire video before playing when you're on a crappy internet connection like I have. I can download programs or whatever fine, but streaming video is basically unwatchable.
I'm not actually aware of any legal system that lets you do this however.
But aren't you really arguing that everyone has some level of ignorance rather than stupidity? Someone might well be very smart, whatever that means, but have no knowledge of the workings of a particular system. That's different from the general understanding of what "stupid" would mean.
I have to wonder - how much does an average lawyer retainer cost? I can see $1,000 a year vs $20,000 a year making a big difference between what a middle class person would be able to do. Any recommendations for finding lawyers for handling general stuff a normal person would go through (basic contracts, etc)?
The problem I have is finding a lawyer has got to be like finding a doctor - you almost have to be one to do anything better than pin the tail on the lawyer!
I know which one I'd be using, Opera 5.12. That's what I switched to after getting fed up with IE5 infecting my Win98SE install all the fricken time, even with Firewall and AV.
I don't really understand why they wouldn't go with Crossover over Transgaming, certainly for end user purchases it seems to make more sense to go with Crossover Games or Crossover Linux Pro which includes games...
What? Legal documents only apply to citizens? If you come to the US and break a law or have broken a law, even as a non-citizen, you'll go to jail...
As to contracts or some such, anything you have inside the US can be bound by a US legal document, whether you're a citizen or not. What the heck are you thinking here?
Gahh - McAffee is the only "Enterprise" AV I'd want less than Symantec, unless of course, you count things like malware AV2009...
Generally speaking, I've been slightly impressed with VIPRE demos, and in single install uses rather impressed with Comodo IS, but Comdo isn't exactly much of an AV, instead being a HIPS and Firewall, though it does have some AV capibility. I will say their Enterprise console isn't much good without AD, so it is really Enterprise targetted, though they were adding some workgroup capibility.
I'd like to see Antivir, their free product is really good at finding baddies - and Bitdefender Linux is ok in their boot CD, so I'd be interested to hear about them as well.
We're currently on the lookout for a new AV over Symantec, so it will be interesting to see how everyone compares. I personally think we all will need HIPS / whitelisting, so something like Comodo, Cisco endpoint security or perhaps drivesentry?
I assume it has to do with which bank. There are decent banks in the US, HSBC in NY and Commerce in PA have been good for several years at least.
HSBC has let me switch my account type to a free interest checking account (only requirement was direct deposit paychecks which I far prefer anyway) and it didn't change my account # or anything. Checks seem to be free though I use my Debit Card or direct debit or my CC for the bonus points anyway. They offer cheap overdraft protection for a $5 fee per ding rather than $35 bounce fee and 18% interest, though who doesn't pay off overdraft that month?
They also offer online savings accounts at 6x the US national average APY (is that the right term for the interest rate?) which seems pretty fair, and not only new customers. You can sign up for additional accounts if you do want the bonus $25 or $50, but that never seemed worth the hassle - you don't have to be a brand new bank customer. Many times, they do offer the bonus just for "new money" that you can deposit into an existing account. Also seems fair.
Hey, I'm all for buying local. But "US" cars are often not made in the USA (whereas Toyotas often are). I'm also not about to throw away money for no gain. At least with GM, my experiances have been poor every time. After 3 tries, I said, NO MORE. I'll pay more for local goods when they are also better value/better made. But I won't pay car prices for crap, I can't afford it.
I think GM anyway also caused their problems with thinking their perception didn't matter because the cars were "American". Well, you make crap long enough, and apparently enough buyers *do* notice, and change their purchases - at least in a competitive market.
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Generally speaking, the problem with the windows way is that no one is trying to see if all these programs are going to work together. For instance, you install Microsoft Office, which points .mat to access tables. Fine, who cares. Then you install Matlab, which points .mat to matlab. Ok, everyone's ok I guess (I mean, who uses Microsoft Access Tables?). Now there's an office SP out via windows update, and bam, the user can't double click their matlab files anymore. You've got to log into the pc as administrator, and manually edit the file types (user file associations *just don't work*).
This is a small example, but it's getting to be such a pain that Symantec SVS is trotted out as a solution (application virtulization)... All because every vendor has their own installer, which doesn't care or know about the other software, so you end up occasionally needing different OS installs for each program you want to run.
I'm not saying you can't have dependency hell on Linux, but the whole point of repositories as I understand it is
a) the distro tests and certifies these packages choosen from it's repository work together
b) you can file bugs against it when they don't.
It's not a solution, because as you point out, not every app can get into a repository. But it seems to work better than basically praying that this latest software install doesn't break Windows.
Maybe it's just my experiance at work, and we've certainly got an eclectic mix of software, but each additional program you want to run on an OS shouldn't be a round of russian rulette! And it just seems to be, even when the software isn't actively in use.
Wait, so how does one "work at home" and not violate their TOS if they won't even offer a business connection?
I think that the US and much of the world is going to have to figure this our so that the law of the internet is not the sum of all laws everywhere in the world. I really think that the sane approach is to apply the laws of where the person physically is + the laws of where the server physically is when whatever is in question occurs.
Otherwise we have these sorts of issues - why should the UK, or anyone really get to dictate to the rest of the world what goes on the internet?
I have to wonder though, if you're taking pictures *of your self*, what is the harm that we're trying to prevent by these consequences? Should we also blindfold kids till their 18 because they might see themselves nude? I'm really not following here.
And if it's some sort of harm via someone else eventually seeing these pics on the net, why aren't we taking action against stupid pics in general on myspace? They all can harm the teen's chance of college or a job...
And the only reason these activities are a danger to anyone is because society will ruin everyone's life who stumbles apon the pics. And the only person doing anyone harm is the prosecutor here...
Oddly enough, I actually prefer MagicJack more than Skype. Similar shady company, but so far it a) costs a lot less than Skype (about half compared to subscription plans when I last checked) b) uses SIP underneath, so if you don't worry too much about TOS (I do like to keep to TOS, but hey) you can use with Linux softphones or whatever you like. There's also lots of people who have gotten it working on a ATA.
Of course, MagicJack is definately a best effort service, so I don't think I'd replace my only phone with it (it makes a good Cell backup for me, and a decent calling card replacement for LD).
I don't think it's necessarily that Democrats & Socialists think that people are too stupid to think for themselves, it's more like:
I can't be an expert on everything. I have no idea what a credit default swap is, or what good debt vs bad debt is. I don't know if my doctor is wasting my money or doing a potentially lifesaving test. I have no idea if the ad is true, false, or what. etc.
I also can't afford (and most people I know cannot afford) to hire an expert in every field to be on hand for every decision (So I don't get to have a financial advisor, lawyer, doctor, etc on call or at the bank when I'm taking out a loan or whatever). Not by myself. But collectively we the people can advance the common welfare by setting some ground rules and all chipping in $0.50 a year or some such to have a body who is made up of experts make sure that fraud is reigned in, and that your average citizen has a chance to understand what they're getting into.
Also, you make it sound like somehow the "bills" are going to not be there if you pay for the service yourself... Which is obviously not the case for most people - you'll either pay road tax or pay tolls on the road for instance.
Government is just one other way for people to join together and work collectively, something most people do every day (work in a company, be part of a church etc)...
How big is your family? I mean, if you're an average family of 4, you're buying roughly 2 pairs of shoes each every year? For $100 or so (quick glance at their men's shoes)? I'm probably one of those horrible customers, but I've bought the $120 Nike sneakers, the $300 dress shoes, the $10 Wal-Mart sneakers and the $30 Tom McCans at K-Mart. Every one lasted at least a year, and I've pretty much settled on the Tom McCans for the past few years (I like to have 2-3 pairs of shoes)... now, I haven't found that the Nike Sneakers (or whoever) are actually several times better than the Tom McCans, so are these Zappos shoes actually 2-3 times better than your random discount store shoes @ $30?
Clothes are one of those things that I haven't found any real benefit in paying more inside the priceranges I'm willing to go - I'm sure if I went custom tailored they'd be better, but I'm not going to spend that kind of money. For a golf shirt, I've found the K-Mart or Haband $14 shirt lasts as long and is as comfortable as the $54 one at Maceys... Dockers aren't actually better in any way I've found than Haband or whatever. Am I just confused? And what sort of customer service do you need that you don't get pretty much everywhere on the web that's decent (Amazon, Haband etc all have accepting return policies)... What is the person at Macey's going to do that you aren't going to get done at K-Mart (I mean, you go get the clothes, go in the changing room to try them on, and get rung up at a cash register...)?
Well, not knowing the timeframe you're talking about I'm going to be a little imprecise, but I've been a Best Buy tech, and let me tell you, IBM systems were no worse on average than many oddball Dell, Compaq's and whiteboxes we saw. Of course your mileage is going to vary, but my experiance has been that Dell likes odd propriatery parts as much as Compaq/HP who likes them as much as IBM did, but IBMs propriatery parts usually were a) actually a useful improvement over what might be standard there rather than say a propriatery DVD ROM or PSU just because and b) tended to work for the life of the machine. The downside was everyone including IBM had PITA drivers to install, but that hasn't changed either.
I'm a fan of the Lenovo stuff today and IBM servers, but it's hit or miss as to whether I can convince management it's worth the 30% premium over Dell. Then again, most of my bad experiances have been with Dell systems. YMMV.
Well, for 2 I suppose you could use something like OCSInventory. For Group Policy I would think you're looking at Likewise Enterprise hooked into Active Directory, or something like CFEngine as listed above.
I'm using OCS and GLPI, but they don't do what the questioner wants. They do inventory and software deployment. They don't do Active Directory style management. If you're using AD elsewhere, so far I've liked likewise, but if you're all linux I think CFEngine is probably the best from what little I know.
Indeed. When most items from Newegg.com arrive the next day with their cheapest shipping option (or even free shipping on some items) or when Amazon Prime gets me stuff in 2 days, then anything longer than today as I exit the store is a Newegg or Amazon purchase. Unless the price is better because its some great sale. Even then, it'd have to be almost free to pay for my gas getting back to the store and my time...
Gateway tried this around 1999. It failed miserably as far as I can tell.
Especially when there are companies that will explicitly at least try to clean up your PC over the net for a similar price, so you'd have some chance of it working (i.e. they're set up for remote support, trained in using those sorts of tools, and not just on a phone connection to a person who doesn't know what they're doing with a piece of software not meant to work like that). Comodo's "Pro" subscription targets that sort of situation for $40 or so, and would be a better chance IMO. Or CrossLoop marketplace... Or even some local person who will spend an hour for that $40 in cash...
Generally I'm against all this copyright hoopla, and haven't been that happy with the current IP laws etc.
But in this case, this is exactly the sort of situation I think the founders and everyone else was thinking about when they crafted copyright law. A person or company can't (under current law, and should not be able to) take someone's book or whatever and endlessly copy it and then make money off of it.
I have to say, living in the same sort of situation, I'd be fine with youtube or various other streaming videos if they just offered a robust way to buffer the entire video before playing when you're on a crappy internet connection like I have. I can download programs or whatever fine, but streaming video is basically unwatchable.
I'm not actually aware of any legal system that lets you do this however.
But aren't you really arguing that everyone has some level of ignorance rather than stupidity? Someone might well be very smart, whatever that means, but have no knowledge of the workings of a particular system. That's different from the general understanding of what "stupid" would mean.
I have to wonder - how much does an average lawyer retainer cost? I can see $1,000 a year vs $20,000 a year making a big difference between what a middle class person would be able to do. Any recommendations for finding lawyers for handling general stuff a normal person would go through (basic contracts, etc)?
The problem I have is finding a lawyer has got to be like finding a doctor - you almost have to be one to do anything better than pin the tail on the lawyer!
What do slashdotters do who have lawyers?
I know which one I'd be using, Opera 5.12. That's what I switched to after getting fed up with IE5 infecting my Win98SE install all the fricken time, even with Firewall and AV.
I don't really understand why they wouldn't go with Crossover over Transgaming, certainly for end user purchases it seems to make more sense to go with Crossover Games or Crossover Linux Pro which includes games...
What? Legal documents only apply to citizens? If you come to the US and break a law or have broken a law, even as a non-citizen, you'll go to jail...
As to contracts or some such, anything you have inside the US can be bound by a US legal document, whether you're a citizen or not. What the heck are you thinking here?
So wait, special forces (who often don't wear uniforms or wear uniforms without insgnia) are excluded from POW statutes?
Gahh - McAffee is the only "Enterprise" AV I'd want less than Symantec, unless of course, you count things like malware AV2009...
Generally speaking, I've been slightly impressed with VIPRE demos, and in single install uses rather impressed with Comodo IS, but Comdo isn't exactly much of an AV, instead being a HIPS and Firewall, though it does have some AV capibility. I will say their Enterprise console isn't much good without AD, so it is really Enterprise targetted, though they were adding some workgroup capibility.
I'd like to see Antivir, their free product is really good at finding baddies - and Bitdefender Linux is ok in their boot CD, so I'd be interested to hear about them as well.
We're currently on the lookout for a new AV over Symantec, so it will be interesting to see how everyone compares. I personally think we all will need HIPS / whitelisting, so something like Comodo, Cisco endpoint security or perhaps drivesentry?
I assume it has to do with which bank. There are decent banks in the US, HSBC in NY and Commerce in PA have been good for several years at least.
HSBC has let me switch my account type to a free interest checking account (only requirement was direct deposit paychecks which I far prefer anyway) and it didn't change my account # or anything. Checks seem to be free though I use my Debit Card or direct debit or my CC for the bonus points anyway. They offer cheap overdraft protection for a $5 fee per ding rather than $35 bounce fee and 18% interest, though who doesn't pay off overdraft that month?
They also offer online savings accounts at 6x the US national average APY (is that the right term for the interest rate?) which seems pretty fair, and not only new customers. You can sign up for additional accounts if you do want the bonus $25 or $50, but that never seemed worth the hassle - you don't have to be a brand new bank customer. Many times, they do offer the bonus just for "new money" that you can deposit into an existing account. Also seems fair.
Maybe you just have a bad bank?
Why do people who present a dogma of faith as somehow superior to a dogma of the lack of faith not creep you out as much?
Hey, I'm all for buying local. But "US" cars are often not made in the USA (whereas Toyotas often are). I'm also not about to throw away money for no gain. At least with GM, my experiances have been poor every time. After 3 tries, I said, NO MORE. I'll pay more for local goods when they are also better value/better made. But I won't pay car prices for crap, I can't afford it.
I think GM anyway also caused their problems with thinking their perception didn't matter because the cars were "American". Well, you make crap long enough, and apparently enough buyers *do* notice, and change their purchases - at least in a competitive market.