hear hear! The best thing that my parents did for me in high school was getting me a laptop so i could "take notes." I spent all of my class time programming and based on what I taught myself during those 4 years, I went off to college pursuing a CS degree which I'm expecting will be awarded in a couple of weeks!
But, like many people have said already, the problem is one of initiative. I had the initiative to pull out my TI-82 and fiddle around with it enough so that, when I got the laptop, I had a decent idea of what I was doing. Yet even CS kids, on the whole, don't do any programming that they aren't asked to do. Personally, I "take breaks" from working on programming projects to work on my own projects, yet that's considered a bit weird and over-the-top by most people in the degree in my school!
Personally, I think this is but a small example of the greater apathy that has spread across the country.
i hate to quibble, but an indentured servant is maybe a more "civilized" (whatever that means) form of slavery. the difference is a time-constricted contract that might or might not be honored. at least, that's what i've always thought. please do correct me if i'm wrong.
kinda stating the obvious, isn't he? "OSS is easier to hack because it's OSS, which is easier to hack becuase it's OSS, which is easier to hack...."
one question, just for clarification, when he says: "source is more secure, but leaves you wondering questions if enough people are really interested in securing open source code." what he's saying is that it *could* be more secure, if people would care enough about security? i'm not trying to be a smartass, i'm truly confused.
I actually like that. there's so much crap out there ready to mess up my computer, whether it be an idiotic virus or a "harmless" software update. and, to be perfectly honest, the biggest enemy my computer has is me. i'm constantly "reconfiguring this, or installing that" or whatever. Even if it's legitimate - i'm not talking about the latest freeware-cutsie-hilarious-memoryhogging-virusinfes ted-whatever that my mom and most computer illiterate students are so drawn to - i still manage to screw up here or there. so, knowing that whatever pos i've recently installed cannot do too much damage to my computer because it (usually) needs my password to really mess things up, then i'm ok with it.
and besides, switching to administrator to install something in windows is MUCH more of hassle than in linux. maybe it's cause i'm used to it, and i'm always using the shell, but it's just a matter of su and then my password, which flies off my fingers cause i'm using it so much:).
i'll give you this much though, the very first time i installed linux, oh so many millenia ago, i ran only in root for the first couple of days while i figured out what on earth i was doing. 'su' simply eluded me! it's one of the main reasons why i switched back to windows.
but running in administrator mode is habit people need to get out of. because that habit is coupled with the habit of not using a password for your one and only - administrator - account, because it's annoying to have to type it in when you log in. i'm glad i got out of that habit. it was pretty stupid of me.
It's not about linux users being smarter. it's about Linux being built smarter. Running as root you are constantly reminded that you are doing a bad thing by a few programs here and there. And most distros set it up so that logging in as a regular user is the logical thing to do when faced with the login prompt. Windows, on the other hand, barely even suggests the possibility.
How many of these reports get published every month? So what if Windows is more secure?
I am an amateur at kernel modification, but when I have a problem with some Linux component or another nix OSS app, I dive into the source and fix it, and THAT is why linux is prefered. Because you don't have to wait for MS to relase a patch that might or might not screw up your system.
Windows is a good product. It really is. For all its errors it is capable of handling problems gracefully and that's perfect for my mom. But my mom doesn't run a web server (neither do i, for that matter) and doesn't need to make quick changes to her OS. Even if most sys-admins don't do this, it is still a very convenient aspect of Linux.
--
AP
Slashdot Mirror
But, like many people have said already, the problem is one of initiative. I had the initiative to pull out my TI-82 and fiddle around with it enough so that, when I got the laptop, I had a decent idea of what I was doing. Yet even CS kids, on the whole, don't do any programming that they aren't asked to do. Personally, I "take breaks" from working on programming projects to work on my own projects, yet that's considered a bit weird and over-the-top by most people in the degree in my school!
Personally, I think this is but a small example of the greater apathy that has spread across the country.
i hate to quibble, but an indentured servant is maybe a more "civilized" (whatever that means) form of slavery. the difference is a time-constricted contract that might or might not be honored. at least, that's what i've always thought. please do correct me if i'm wrong.
one question, just for clarification, when he says: "source is more secure, but leaves you wondering questions if enough people are really interested in securing open source code." what he's saying is that it *could* be more secure, if people would care enough about security? i'm not trying to be a smartass, i'm truly confused.
erm, i like having to type in my password, that is
and besides, switching to administrator to install something in windows is MUCH more of hassle than in linux. maybe it's cause i'm used to it, and i'm always using the shell, but it's just a matter of su and then my password, which flies off my fingers cause i'm using it so much :).
i'll give you this much though, the very first time i installed linux, oh so many millenia ago, i ran only in root for the first couple of days while i figured out what on earth i was doing. 'su' simply eluded me! it's one of the main reasons why i switched back to windows.
but running in administrator mode is habit people need to get out of. because that habit is coupled with the habit of not using a password for your one and only - administrator - account, because it's annoying to have to type it in when you log in. i'm glad i got out of that habit. it was pretty stupid of me.
It's not about linux users being smarter. it's about Linux being built smarter. Running as root you are constantly reminded that you are doing a bad thing by a few programs here and there. And most distros set it up so that logging in as a regular user is the logical thing to do when faced with the login prompt. Windows, on the other hand, barely even suggests the possibility.
i love it. i keep cracking up when i say that to myself. thanks!
you think a dupped story is bad? some idiots have dupped this article's first post like 50 times!! what is this world coming to?!
bravo on the racist joke. real classy
Obvious and non-insightful post:
/me bows
Probably has a lot to do with the relationship that geekyhood and SF/SciFi enjoy.
How many of these reports get published every month? So what if Windows is more secure?
I am an amateur at kernel modification, but when I have a problem with some Linux component or another nix OSS app, I dive into the source and fix it, and THAT is why linux is prefered. Because you don't have to wait for MS to relase a patch that might or might not screw up your system.
Windows is a good product. It really is. For all its errors it is capable of handling problems gracefully and that's perfect for my mom. But my mom doesn't run a web server (neither do i, for that matter) and doesn't need to make quick changes to her OS. Even if most sys-admins don't do this, it is still a very convenient aspect of Linux. -- AP