I like Kubuntu, but its treatment of root is a bit different than what most books describe.
At least in Ubuntu 6.06, sudo su - and then passwd root allows you to set a login password for (and enable) the root user. Same with OS X which treats root in a similar manner.
The only possible way we can ever again expect to be treated as decent people and a nation of law is to try convict and execute every single member of the Bush administration.
But let's throw the people who *voted* for Dubya & Co in the chair before that. After all, he was elected by a clear margin in 2004, well after the fun and games in Iraq were underway. Sadly, a people gets the leader(s) that they deserve.
And, by the way, a lot of the "reforms" (the more egregious provisions of the PATRIOT Act) that Slashdotters complain about have had as many Dems behind them (especially initially) as Repubs.
Nah, executing Bush & Co won't solve anything. Let his go back to his ranch and live out his life in ignominy after 2008.
Let's either win this damn thing or get the hell out of it. We can impeach Bush later if it seems appropriate.
Nah, let's just elect someone better in 2008 and let bygones be bygones. The real danger of Bush is that he'll screw things up for the US so badly that we'll welcome a demagogue in 2008... or 2012. So the next Presidential election is key.
I preferred the pre-1950-or-so names. DoD was the War Department. Short, honest, and to the point. Homeland Security was Civil Defense. That name was better, too, because it implied that civilians had a part in defending their country against the enemy. "Security" sounds like we're to rely on some sort of external force like the police or Guard to keep us "secure."
Unregistered users have to wait 15 seconds between previewing their comment and posting it. This should make it slow enough to spam that spammers will go elsewhere. Registered users that spam should be subject to moderation. If more than n of their posts get modded 'spam', they get booted. Permanently. Sure, they could create another account. But more likely, they'd just move on to easier targets.
The Precision computers are business & professional level computers.
The funny thing is that once you throw in the additional costs of optional features, a Precision doesn't end up costing that much more than a Dimension with a comparable featureset. Dell just advertised "stripped down" computers for the home market and soaks the consumers on the cost of every little upgrade.
Wouldnt the original audio need to be stored as well, for evidential reasons?
Depends what you want to do with it, and assuming that our court system is intact and more or less unchanged in 20 years. Besides, there's always the option of kidnapping and "disappearing" miscreants. I'd hate to see what would happen, with the full consent of the majority of the lumpenproleteriat, if another 9/11-scale (or worse) terrorist attack occurred on US soil.
As if the government doesn't already have legions of translators at the ready.
Assuming that this system can recognize voice well, and then convert it into text in preparation for translation, this is already saying a lot. This means that phone conversations can in theory be automatically logged as text, which requires much less storage space than audio.
Which raises the question of what the qualifications for a judge should be.
Yep. Remember that this was a *county* court judge. At least in New York State, outside of New York City and a few neighboring counties, county judges and magistrates aren't even required to be attorneys nor to have passed a test comparable to the bar exam. And they're often elected in one-candidate elections because no one really wants the job - there's not much pay nor fame in it.
Personally, I think it should be law that all computer hardware is to be priced without software - and the user is given a choice to purchase whatever software he or she wishes.
Yeah. Like we need one more law. The only thing that we *may* need is a court injunction enjoining MS from using coercive practices to prevent vendors from selling "blank" hardware. Apart from that, sales prices should be a vendor's choice. If they feel that supporting a Linux system will cost them more than Windows or if installing Linux will cost them more due to lack of economy of scale, they should feel free to charge more.
Think about this: a Lotus Elise weighs less than a Ford Taurus, doesn't have an automatic transmission, side impact airbags, power steering, or a back seat. Guess which car costs more. Guess which car has an economy of scale behind it.
This applies to everything but the very few 100% linux shops which never have to share a document in a DOC or PPT format with someone outside.
I use.pdf (which comes with its own problems). Why? Because it's more difficult (not impossible I know) to alter after receipt. Also, it's specifically designed to be viewable irrespective of equipment.
And how technically savvy was he/she? Most judges don't have education in technical subjects, you know, so he/she might not have had a full understanding of the technology at hand. Sounds like a bad ruling by an ignorant (but not necessarily malicious per se) judge.
You can also buy cars which have no rear seats to start with.
True, but I don't see very many cars (maybe vans and pickups) that have an *optional* rear seat. Perhaps I should have used a better example - the gas pedal. Would a manufacturer refund your money just because you wanted to put an aftermarket gas pedal in. How about an aftermarket engine control computer (perhaps even more apropos)?
I say bring on the spyware of the default install, I'm just going to reload it as soon as I get it anyways. I'll gladly save 60$ to have a copy of windows pre-installed that I'll never use.
It'll take at least an hour (of actual time, not just sitting watching progress bars) to get everything working right again. My time's worth as much. Besides, I could be doing something fun or interesting, not sitting in front of a screen fixing something that shouldn't have been broken in the first place.
So instead of staring blankly into the install screen progress bar with a small amount of droll on their lips, they do something else.
Well, except that getting all the drivers, etc, reinstalled for the average person who doesn't know to save the system/system32 directory contents may well take 2-3 hours. Endless screens of clickthroughs, periodic reboots, even freezes if they're installed in the wrong order will keep you sitting in front of the computer with your toes curled. And doing the completely automated install isn't an option since it'll install the same garbage that came from the factory. BTDT on a laptop whose HDD had crashed and it wasn't fun.
If they start selling computers with Linux, they have to made damned sure they can support it - even if that support is a checklist leading upto a full system rebuild.
Depends. If my time is worth $50/hr and I spend three hours reinstalling Windows and/or removing the unneeded scheisse that Dell chose to throw on, I'd much rather pay $150 or even $200 more. After all, I could actually be doing something fun instead of sitting at my laptop reinstalling software.
If they start selling computers with Linux, they have to made damned sure they can support it - even if that support is a checklist leading upto a full system rebuild.
No, those systems would be treated as "blank" systems by Dell. The install of Ubuntu or whatever would just be to placate Microsoft so that they couldn't accuse Dell of encouraging software piracy.
I just recently bought a laptop for my wife and I had to go through hell getting all the pre-installed crap out of it. It had adware and spyware preloaded by the factory.
Dell seems to have gotten better about this, though, at least with their higher-end desktop systems. When we bought a Precision 380, it came with *just* XP Pro and some drivers preloaded. No MS Office (by our option) no Norton Antivirus, no adware, spyware, or unnecessary apps. Shame that we're going to install Linux on it pretty soon because the thing actually runs pretty well. It even came with OS and driver reinstall CDs. I think a lot of the problems that people see with "Windows" can be traced to stupid manufacturers pre-installing everything but the kitchen sink.
As far as Dell, I wonder, if you ask nicely upon purchasing, can you specify exactly what should/shouldn't be installed on their lower-end systems?
-b.
But there comes a time in every transaction that you have to gauge your time versus what you get in return for your time. In this case, the US$100 this guy received was probably worth it for him to spend a few hours going through this process, but is it worth US$100 for most people?
Maybe he was just trying to prove a point? I'd say that he shouldn't have got the refund since the laptop was sold as a turnkey package. I mean, if you buy a car but never use the back seat, can you just give the seat back to the dealer and get a refund for the cost of the part?
I think, instead, the large manufacturers should not be prohibited from selling "empty" computers. IE, OS installation should be purely optional from the factory. Unfortunately, whenever this is tried, MS comes out of the woodwork and makes noises about suing for encouraging software piracy. Maybe if they threw Ubuntu on there it would appease MS and cost basically nothing for them.
Slashdot Mirror
At least in Ubuntu 6.06, sudo su - and then passwd root allows you to set a login password for (and enable) the root user. Same with OS X which treats root in a similar manner.
-b.
You ever notice how similar Outlook is to Groupwise?
-b.
But let's throw the people who *voted* for Dubya & Co in the chair before that. After all, he was elected by a clear margin in 2004, well after the fun and games in Iraq were underway. Sadly, a people gets the leader(s) that they deserve.
And, by the way, a lot of the "reforms" (the more egregious provisions of the PATRIOT Act) that Slashdotters complain about have had as many Dems behind them (especially initially) as Repubs.
Nah, executing Bush & Co won't solve anything. Let his go back to his ranch and live out his life in ignominy after 2008.
-b.
Nah, let's just elect someone better in 2008 and let bygones be bygones. The real danger of Bush is that he'll screw things up for the US so badly that we'll welcome a demagogue in 2008 ... or 2012. So the next Presidential election is key.
-b.
I preferred the pre-1950-or-so names. DoD was the War Department. Short, honest, and to the point. Homeland Security was Civil Defense. That name was better, too, because it implied that civilians had a part in defending their country against the enemy. "Security" sounds like we're to rely on some sort of external force like the police or Guard to keep us "secure."
-b.
-b.
The funny thing is that once you throw in the additional costs of optional features, a Precision doesn't end up costing that much more than a Dimension with a comparable featureset. Dell just advertised "stripped down" computers for the home market and soaks the consumers on the cost of every little upgrade.
-b.
Depends what you want to do with it, and assuming that our court system is intact and more or less unchanged in 20 years. Besides, there's always the option of kidnapping and "disappearing" miscreants. I'd hate to see what would happen, with the full consent of the majority of the lumpenproleteriat, if another 9/11-scale (or worse) terrorist attack occurred on US soil.
-b.
Assuming that this system can recognize voice well, and then convert it into text in preparation for translation, this is already saying a lot. This means that phone conversations can in theory be automatically logged as text, which requires much less storage space than audio.
-b.
Yep. Remember that this was a *county* court judge. At least in New York State, outside of New York City and a few neighboring counties, county judges and magistrates aren't even required to be attorneys nor to have passed a test comparable to the bar exam. And they're often elected in one-candidate elections because no one really wants the job - there's not much pay nor fame in it.
-b.
Heh, you made me laugh there. Mod parent up funny. Thanks guys.
-b.
Yeah. Like we need one more law. The only thing that we *may* need is a court injunction enjoining MS from using coercive practices to prevent vendors from selling "blank" hardware. Apart from that, sales prices should be a vendor's choice. If they feel that supporting a Linux system will cost them more than Windows or if installing Linux will cost them more due to lack of economy of scale, they should feel free to charge more.
Think about this: a Lotus Elise weighs less than a Ford Taurus, doesn't have an automatic transmission, side impact airbags, power steering, or a back seat. Guess which car costs more. Guess which car has an economy of scale behind it.
-b.
Good techs in the NJ and NYC area can sell their services for $40-50/hr. At minimum. Some people charge much, MUCH more.
-b.
I use .pdf (which comes with its own problems). Why? Because it's more difficult (not impossible I know) to alter after receipt. Also, it's specifically designed to be viewable irrespective of equipment.
-b.
-b.
True, but I don't see very many cars (maybe vans and pickups) that have an *optional* rear seat. Perhaps I should have used a better example - the gas pedal. Would a manufacturer refund your money just because you wanted to put an aftermarket gas pedal in. How about an aftermarket engine control computer (perhaps even more apropos)?
-b.
It'll take at least an hour (of actual time, not just sitting watching progress bars) to get everything working right again. My time's worth as much. Besides, I could be doing something fun or interesting, not sitting in front of a screen fixing something that shouldn't have been broken in the first place.
-b.
Well, except that getting all the drivers, etc, reinstalled for the average person who doesn't know to save the system/system32 directory contents may well take 2-3 hours. Endless screens of clickthroughs, periodic reboots, even freezes if they're installed in the wrong order will keep you sitting in front of the computer with your toes curled. And doing the completely automated install isn't an option since it'll install the same garbage that came from the factory. BTDT on a laptop whose HDD had crashed and it wasn't fun.
-b.
Depends what the work and purchase is...
-b.
Depends. If my time is worth $50/hr and I spend three hours reinstalling Windows and/or removing the unneeded scheisse that Dell chose to throw on, I'd much rather pay $150 or even $200 more. After all, I could actually be doing something fun instead of sitting at my laptop reinstalling software.
-b.
No, those systems would be treated as "blank" systems by Dell. The install of Ubuntu or whatever would just be to placate Microsoft so that they couldn't accuse Dell of encouraging software piracy.
-b.
Dell seems to have gotten better about this, though, at least with their higher-end desktop systems. When we bought a Precision 380, it came with *just* XP Pro and some drivers preloaded. No MS Office (by our option) no Norton Antivirus, no adware, spyware, or unnecessary apps. Shame that we're going to install Linux on it pretty soon because the thing actually runs pretty well. It even came with OS and driver reinstall CDs. I think a lot of the problems that people see with "Windows" can be traced to stupid manufacturers pre-installing everything but the kitchen sink.
As far as Dell, I wonder, if you ask nicely upon purchasing, can you specify exactly what should/shouldn't be installed on their lower-end systems? -b.
Hey, speak for yourself. I'm a coder by day, carnie by night. But I much prefer biting the heads off of rabid bats.
-b.
Maybe he was just trying to prove a point? I'd say that he shouldn't have got the refund since the laptop was sold as a turnkey package. I mean, if you buy a car but never use the back seat, can you just give the seat back to the dealer and get a refund for the cost of the part?
I think, instead, the large manufacturers should not be prohibited from selling "empty" computers. IE, OS installation should be purely optional from the factory. Unfortunately, whenever this is tried, MS comes out of the woodwork and makes noises about suing for encouraging software piracy. Maybe if they threw Ubuntu on there it would appease MS and cost basically nothing for them.
-b.
-b.