The fact remains that there is no good reason for a store to associate any sales with a particular person. I know that simple aggregate sales per item isn't enough for their marketing desires, but they already have the information for each cash register receipt, so they can tell which items people are buying and in what combinations. Is there any half reasonable marketing justification for knowing WHO bought those particular items in that particular combination?
This looks a lot like the data driven adage, "Save all data, you might need it later." However, when that's applied to people, the result is less privacy. Where privacy is concerned, there is different adage that applies. "Collect and retain only the minimal data required."
Forget the help files. People want an OS that doesn't NEED help files. I'll agree that the review had some glossed over areas that suggested their testing wasn't very rigorous. I've been exclusively using Xandros for my small business for over two years (it's very good), and noticed the following issues with the review of Xandros:
They reviewed Xandros 2.5 even though 3.0 has been out for over a month.
Difficult to view digital photos? You plug the flash card in the reader and drag and drop in Xandros File Manager, which provides little preview thumbnail images, and double clicking the file produces a larger version. There's a dedicated digital photo manager (or three) if you want a dedicated application.
Difficult to burn DVDs? If they had reviewed 3.0, they'd have seen it's drag and drop from the Xandros File Manager, just like burning a CD.
Internet Explorer? You've got to be kidding me. Just because you can run IE (like all big MS aps and most Windows programs) using the included CrossOver (commercial version of Wine), does not mean you should use IE. Mozilla is the default installed browser. FireFox is available from Xandros Networks if you'd prefer it and will ship as the default on future versions of Xandros.
Apparently, the other OS candidates must have been as poorly reviewed, because Xandros still beat all the Linux distros overall and was a very close second to XP and OS X. It received the highest marks for the ease of installation.
My own personal recommendation? If you're sick of Windows BS and want a secure OS that's still easy to use, try Xandros. It's great, and it's getting a lot better. It's THE Linux OS for Windows refugees.
You'll love being able to go to Xandros Networks and install a lot of different software with a couple of mouse clicks. None of the hassles, EULAs and rebooting of Windows. And the package manager automatically tracks all library dependancies. When you uninstall an application, it won't ask you if another program is using a DLL. There's no registry to corrupt either, so there's no Registry Rot. Your Xandros system will remain fast and stable.
In a world where hardware and software is created to work with Windows, Microsoft has a huge advantage. They are the de facto standard. Xandros manages to be easier to use on this unfair playing field, which indicates exactly how much these guys have the Right Stuff. Do yourself and the world a favor and buy a copy of Xandros and let's get away from Windows spam spewing zombies and spyware.
Yes. I had just viewed an annoying Macromedia Flash page and flipped a bit when reading your message. I was also very annoyed by the difficult to read flashing text.
As to your Second Amendment, my understanding is it was the right to bear arms within the context of an organized militia. Now, admitedly the definition of organized militia differed then to how we'd see it now, but I don't think it was an unfettered right, was it?
It was written when weapons were muskets. The framers of the Constitution definitely believed the power should be controlled by the citizens, and government should only exist for the barest essentials. The intent was that the citizens would have weapons equal to any standing army assembled by the government. They had seen governments in Europe using their armies to oppress their own citizens and wanted to guard against that. Of course, that was before there were rocket launchers, grenades, tanks, fighter jets, and chemical / nuclear / biological weapons. But the idea of the militia was to provide regional security AND prevent the government from taking away the citizen's rights. It was a radical idea. It's been watered down a lot in the last 200 years.
If someone else burns their family and I buy lighter fluid using their card, where is the connection? It's not useful evidence.
You're missing my point. The man in the original post was falsely accused, probably because his son bought stuff with his card. It wasn't a matter of him getting caught using valid data obtained from his card. The data was bogus. How much worse will that be if someone is using your card to buy household bomb making supplies and blowing up federal buildings? Even if it's in another state, you will be in for a lot of grief because, contrary to the way our legal system is SUPPOSED to work, you now have the burden to prove you are innocent. In the New World Order, we have the presumption of guilt, not innocence.
Once the police realize that they have the wrong data, over and over and over again, then they won't even try to trace the use of club ID cards anymore.
And exactly how many people will need to be falsely accused of trying to burn their family to death in their sleep before we reach that state of enlightenment?
the last(and should be first) resort is to simply fill out the club membership form with false data, especially the email address.
As I said in a previous post, that's not an option here. Where I live, they require a valid driver's license to issue a club card. Sure, you aren't legally compelled to show your license to a grocery store just because they ask, but when the option is paying 30%-50% more or driving ten miles to buy groceries, most people don't care enough about privacy to tell them where they can shove their club card.
Laziness plus lack of concern for privacy issues results in a loss of privacy. Some solidarity would be nice, but the vast majority of people just hand over their personal data and allow their every purchase to be tracked. That leaves the rest of us with few options, and none that ensure convenience and privacy.
I've read several suggestions to preserve privacy by swapping grocery store club cards with a stranger. I can't wait to read the next Slashdot article about the guy who is accused of attempting to burn his family alive because he traded grocery store club cards with someone and the police got the wrong data.
Just as we have people chanting, "If you're innocent you have nothing to fear from {whatever privacy abuse is being touted today}", you'll also have the implied guilt expressed as, "If you're innocent, why would you exchange cards with a stranger?"
if they'd stop using FLASH in their HTML, I'd enjoy it more
Me too! What's wrong with HTML? Do we really need all this bandware hogging crap that reduces browser interoperability?
We just don't match up quite in the level of violent crime.
Canada is also cleaner and more polite than most areas of the US, from what I've seen. I tend to think the gun control in Canada is getting a lot of the credit for a social phenomenon. I think Canada has had less violent crime than the US because of cultural issues. If the US wants to curb its violent crime, we need to fix the underlying social issues. Unfortunately, education, proper parenting, drug awareness programs, etc. are expensive long term investments. We always want to blame something simple, like guns, and have some ineffective knee jerk response like banning or severely restricting gun ownership.
You've probably heard that the areas of the US where the crime rate is the lowest are the same areas with the least restrictive gun laws. In general, there is a lot of truth to this statement. But just as Canada's relatively low rate of violent crime is not the result of gun control, the lack of gun control in parts of the US is not the reason for low crime rates. Gun control legislation is a result of high crime rate, even though it isn't an effective method of reducing crime. People are scared into voting for gun control, rather than addressing the real causes of violence and crime. The analysis of gun control legislation vs. violent crime usually confuses the cause and effect. As an a priori assumption, the studies start with the conclusion that the legislation or lack thereof is causing the crime and violence, when in fact, the legislation is a largely ineffective response to rising crime rates.
I also think there is some truth to the often repeated adage that gun control isn't very effective at preventing murder, but it does reduce the murders that are committed with a gun. If guns are less available, people then use a knife, a car, poison, etc. But that doesn't prevent the publishing of misleading statistics about the reduction of gun related murders after gun control legislation was passed.
And we rely more on police and less on individual citizens.
In the US, we're increasingly relying on the police to fill out crime reports so we can submit them to our insurance companies. I guess it's a good process, if you're in the crime or insurance business (they're slightly different businesses).
There is far too little emphasis on catching criminals. The activities are still illegal, but there is a passive acceptance of crime in our society. We are sending a subtle message that says it isn't that bad to commit a crime. We tolerate it fairly well.
As a society, we are increasingly specialized. We hire professionals to do everything, even the stuff we could do cheaper and better ourselves. I would include personal security in that list.
I've never been in a situation where I'd even have required a knife... let alone a gun.
Me neither, but if someone breaks into my truck again that is likely to change.
they wouldn't trust me with a Concealed Carry Permit
If you're not a felon and have no history of violent mental illness, a CCL is practically guaranteed in my state, and most others. Two states don't have the CCL because they recognize that right already exists. My brother and several friends have CCLs. I don't, for two reasons. 1) I very seldom feel my security would be substantially improved if I was carrying a handgun. 2) The 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution already recognizes my right to bear arms, and I believe allowing a government to issue a permit for an inalienable right is the first step in having that right removed when the government decides to s
And as usual, the PC crowd chimes in about a HUGE Apple price difference, throws out some incredible percentage, then offers zero proof to back up their claim. Perhaps, Long-EZ, you'd like to rectify your post by including some evidence of comparable laptop hardware from a major PC manufacturer that is 30% less than Apples prices.
Sorry, I didn't think documentation was required. I thought everyone, PC and Mac alike, would have agreed that Mac systems are about 30% higher than comparable PC systems.
I won't waste a lot of time trying to find a PC with exactly the same configuration as the 15" PowerBook.
Go to www.shopping.hp.com. Click on the $799 Weekly Special notebook. Click on the Customize button and tweak it to be as close to the 15" PowerBook as possible. Here's what I produced:
Operating System: Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2 (OK, that's definitely inferior, but we are talking PCs. I put Linux on mine.)
Processor: AMD Athlon(TM) 64 3000+ 1.80 GHz
Display: 15.4" WXGA Widescreen (1280x800), slightly nicer than the PowerBook
Graphics Card: 64MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(TM) 4 440 Go + 1394
Memory: 512MB DDR SDRAM (2x256MB)
Hard Drive: 80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
Primary CD/DVD Drive: 8X DVD +/- RW/R & CD-RW Combo Drive
Networking: 54g(TM) Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth
Price: $1,299.00 (as low as $37/mo+)
At $1300, the comparable HP is 35% cheaper, so you're right. My 30% estimate wasn't completely correct.
I think you went off a bit on a knee jerk reaction to my Mac comments. Sort of like me when people start defending Microsoft.
I like Macs. I talked my brother into getting one several years ago, and the next two were completely his idea. Macs have loyal customers for a good reason.
The new Mac Mini looks pretty cool, but then again, I liked the Power Cube and those weren't a very successful Mac product. I think the Mac Mini will be a success though, partially because it offers Mac ease of use and reliability at a more competitive price for a change. I'm glad to see Apple courting the lower end market. Hopefully, that'll win them some entry level customers, which would be good considering the loyalty that Macs engender.
Keep repeating to yourself... "It's a computer, not a religion." :^)
We have a Sam's Club in town. It's owned by WalMart. They have the ultimate in club cards. You pay them $30 a year for the card. It usually takes several minutes to check out because people buy A LOT OF STUFF.
On the plus side, they don't move stuff and the store is actually well organized. Even though it's a huge warehouse it's still no larger than a mega groery store or WalMart Super-Center, and the shopping is a lot easier. They often won't have a lot of selection, but they have deep stocking and good prices on the stuff they carry, and it's usually high quality stuff.
As an example: I needed four two-drawer file cabinets recently. OfficeMax and Office Depot stocked crap that wasn't much better than the way-cheap file cabinet at WalMart. The office supply stores would order good Hon filing cabinets, but they were $120-$130 each and delivery was 2-4 days. I got the same prie and delivery from various online stores as well. Sam's Club had what I wanted. I got beige instead of black, but I wasn't that choosy about the color. They were $90 each, and I bought all four and put them into service that day, rather than putting my office rennovation on hold for several days.
I still hate club cards and the tracking and retention of purchase data by customer, but at least Sam's Club stocks the stuff they sell. Somehow, it doesn't seem as evil as when Kroger does it.
The hardware looks nice, but as usual the cost is about 30% higher than a comparable PC. For many people, the Apple ease of use and panache are worth the cost delta.
However, I wish Apple would restrain their marketing department. They often make obviously incorrect statements. In their exuberance to push their products, the Apple marketing weasels continue to lie. One example from the Apple link provided in the original/. article:
Based on the 802.11g standard, AirPort Extreme delivers -- at 54Mbps -- the fastest wireless connection available.
The fastest available, unless you want to count the Netgear WGT624 I'm using or the comparable offering from Linksys, both of which run at 108 Mbps, twice as fast as the Airport Extreme. And Belkin is currently selling pre-802.11n hardware that *really* pumps up the bandwidth.
Remember when Apple claimed the title of fastest processor and got their ass handed to them for telling such a blatant lie? Apple hardware is very nice, and their products are friendly and innovative. Do they need to lie through their teeth to sell their stuff?
I don't care that much for Longhorn / OSXI / whatever it's gonna be. If it stops me downloading shit, I'll stick to XP, or linux.
A new Linux user is born! See you in a year or so.
My message to Gates & Co.: "The more you tighten your grip, the more PC users will slip through your fingers."
Realistically, Microsoft has been hosing PC users for a couple of decades and by now has a pretty good idea how far they can go and how quickly they can get there. They operate just on this side of a mass defection, abusing customers as much as they can to maximize profits without people deciding it isn't worth it and chucking the whole Windows eXPerience (TM).
The average PC user's tolerance for abuse is apparently very high, or more people would have dropped Windows years ago. I guess it's a matter of "the evil you know", inertia, laziness, proprietary file formats, fear of change, etc.
My fear is that the sheeple herding will continue as we all have our rights sheared away, leaving us naked in the Brave New World.
most consumers don't care about that david vs goliath kind of stuff enough to switch
That's right. I think Linux and open source do offer a lot of the things the average PC user (not the average Slashdot reader) wants in a PC. It's lower cost, easy to use and secure so it doesn't suffer from Outlook worms and spyware. The problem is, people buy what's available, and so far the PC market is a monopoly. Microsoft does whatever they can to increase their profits, and they don't give a damn about what would be best for their customers. Usually the two are at odds, and the customers get hosed.
The Catch 22 is, the average PC purchaser is not going to buy parts, assemble a PC and install their own OS. They want the convenience and piee of mind they get from buying a PC the same way they'd buy a major appliance. They buy from a large, well known, and reputable PC maker. But given the monopoly that Windows has, the only way to be a large PC maker is to sell Windows PCs. The weasel Windows OEM agreement prohibits PC companies from selling a PC without selling a Windows license. That's exactly the sort of anticompetitive situation that anti-trust laws were designed to prevent. Competition is good.
The average PC user doesn't think any more about their PC's operating system than they do the compressor in their refrigerator. To them, it's an integral part of the PC, and most people don't realize there is a choice. Once Linux grows to the point that people understand the choice, it's all over. But that's going to require that a real choice exists. OEMs are going to have to start selling PCs with Linux, or PCs with no OS. Unfortunately, in the current legal climate, the only way that'll happen will be for consumers to create enough demand that high quality PCs are shipped with Linux and the cost reduction is passed on to the customers. None of the big OEMs will do this because they need to protect their Windows licensing agreement. Someone will step up and fill this market niche. It's the way free markets work (even in the face of blatantly non-freemarket practices).
I still believe the average PC user who only wants email, web browsing, digital photos, and maybe some word processing and doesn't want Outlook worms and spyware will prefer a good GUI Linux instead of XP. Xandros costs money, but there will be a free Linux distro with the GUI friendliness that the market needs. There are several that are close. There is a delay because of the lack of financial incentive with a free distro, but progress is steadily being made.
Analyzed another way, Xandros is already a user friendly GUI Linux for the cost most people spend on antivirus and anti-spyware software. Considering the free open source software that's available for Linux, Xandros still looks like a good deal to anyone tired of Outlook worms and other XP BS.
PS - I like your sig. But I think the original phrase was "Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity."
To give away or receive free PC stuff, try searching for freecycle on Yahoo Groups. Most larger cities have a FreeCycle group. There are over 4000 FreeCycle hits at the above address. I signed up just to have a place to donate old PC hardware I no longer need. Make sure you select the "view messages online" option so you don't receive a hundred emails a day from people wanting Cabbage Patch dolls and similar crap.
I gave away an HP series II Laserjet last year, and I'll be delivering a Pentium II PC (less hard drive) today. I posted the OFFER: ad and had a dozen responses in a few hours.
FreeCycling doesn't help developing nations, but the cost of shipping and differences in AC power grid voltage doesn't really work with that model anyway. But the PCs do get a little more life before being landfilled.
I just invented an 89 button mouse. It's an 87 key notebook keyboard that you can roll around on your desk, with an additional scroll wheel and two mouse buttons.
Advantage: Only one cable is needed, instead of separate mouse and keyboard cables.
Or ideally, a.300 WinMag from a very long range...
I have a good handgun and shotgun. All I need now is a good rifle. Many years ago, I was looking at a.300 Weatherby Magnum. The last time I looked, a Remington 300 Short Action Ultra Mag seemed like a good fit for what I wanted. Of course, this is built a few miles away from me and looks like a lot of fun.
up here, all mags are limited to 5 rounds
That's dumber than dirt. What's next? Throw rocks at an assailant? Other than the gun issue, I really like Canada.
I find many of the higher vee rounds just too hard to control. The.45 had a smoother break to it when the trigger pulled
The Glock does a great job of taming high velocity and high energy rounds.
Many of the people who like the.45 ACP don't like Glocks. One of the common complaints is the trigger break. I like the feel of the Glock trigger, but I concede that this is a very subjective matter. No doubt anyone accustomed to a.45 ACP trigger pull that was tuned to their specifications by a skilled gunsmith won't like the Glock.
The other complaint I hear is the appearance. If you like polished nickel plating and hand carved cocobolo hand grips, the Glock won't satisfy your sense of aesthetics. The Glock is more of a tool, where form follows function. It was designed for durability, ease of maintenance, reliability and accuracy. Appearance was way down on the list. I like the functional appearance, and it's nearly indestructible so it'll take a lot of abuse and still look about the same.
I have a feeling that a lot of the.45 worshippers complain about subjective matters because there isn't a lot to complain about in the objective column. Compare specifications for muzzle velocity, kinetic energy, out of the box accuracy, and certainly reliability and durability, and the 10 mm Glock model 20 wins every time.
The one point I'd concede as a serious issue is the large grip on the G20. It looks very boxy and squared off, but I find it surprisingly comfortable. The rounded corners coincide with my finger joints. I have large hands, and it's a good fit, but many people, especially those with smaller hands won't be able to hold it comfortably and accurately point it. In that case, I'd get a Glock.40 S&W and shoot some hot loads for self defense. For your lame 5 round magazine restriction, you might also like the Glock model 36. It's a.45 with a single stack 6 shot magazine. There may be a Canadian 5 round magazine. The G36 might appeal more to those who like the slim grip of the 1911, but with all the modern reliability and durability that Glock represents. Of course, real 1911 fans would probably think the G36 is another ugly black plastic gun. :^)
not the feel that most software consumers care about
Did you read the rest on my message, where I commented on the technical and user interface issues that I felt were better in OpenOffice?
Simply wishing that everyone shared the same hatred for MicroSoft is not going to put linux on very many desktops.
Uh, no. But lower total cost of ownership, stability, much better security, less installation hassles, open file formats, and respecting the users instead of viewing them as a captive source of revenue will go a long way toward winning desktop installations for Linux. Based on my positive experience, I'm still surprised people aren't switching any sooner. I guess part of the reason is they already paid about $60-$80 for an OEM Windows license, even though many probably don't know that because the price is well hidden in the cost of their PC. And I guess they don't know that 80% of the spam and virtually all of the worms and viruses they receive are from compromised Windows boxes, and spyware is not an issue on Linux but it royally screws up Windows machines, and.... Oh yeah, did I mention Bill Gates is the Antichrist and the rest of the Microsoft upper management team are the dark lords of the apocalypse? :^)
Word and Excel are very capable, mature office programs. Open Office just doesn't feel right yet
Well, I guess what feels right is very subjective. I've used both, and OpenOffice "feels" a lot better to me. But I generally think that open source software feels better than the big expensive shrink wrapped applications that hassle me with seven page EULAs, install a bunch of copy protection crap and generally assume that I'm guilty of copyright infringement when I'm not. Open source software feels more friendly to me. And OpenOffice applications feel very polished and work very well. At least they don't allow macros to have access to the system files on my PC, send email, etc.
When is a word processor not a word processor? When it's functioning as the kernel for DOC malware.
Like so many others, I'm waiting to find out why Microsoft opening their XML formats is a bad thing. I feel paranoid being so skeptical, but after being consistently dicked over for 20 years, some skepticism seems justified.
The.40 S&W is a watered down 10 mm round because the FBI had some small women who couldn't reliably hold the large grip from a 15 round double stack 10 mm and had trouble taming the recoil in the earlier 10 mm frames. The Glock I shoot is actually fairly tame, at least on the shooter's end. On the shootee's side.... Some people credit the plastic frame for reducing the felt recoil. That may be a part of it, but I think the much larger consideration is the gun's geometry and the dynamics at work when it cycles.
I'm definitely not a dealer, and I have a general dislike for marketing hype. I use the "+P" designation to refer to loads with chamber pressure above the original SAAMI spec. The modern.45 ACP has benefitted a lot from improved metalurgy and machining, and can shoot much hotter loads than the original 1911, which is part of what has kept the.45 as a popular round. The 10 mm was designed much later, so it was specified for the much higher chamber pressures that modern handguns can tolerate, so there really are no +P loads for the 10 mm.
There is no doubt that the.45 is a formidable round, and the modern.45 handguns are every bit as reliable as any other autoloader. The.45 has a bad reputation as a twitchy and unreliable gun because many people's only experience is with old.45s that never worked well because they were built prior to WWII, and many of those have been mangled by unskilled gunsmiths. The bad reputation is not deserved when comparing a modern.45 to any other modern handgun.
I certainly wouldn't want to be shot by a.45 or a 10 mm. However, the 25% higher kinetic energy of the 10 mm is a ballistic fact. The 10 mm is often used for hunting bear, probably because the higher energy and slightly smaller diameter can translate into greater penetration if needed. A good hollow point bullet can be designed to expand as little or as much as needed, but if penetration is needed, a slower and larger diameter will penetrate less. I haven't read nearly as many reports of dangerous animals being hunted with a.45, despite the fact that the.45 has been around a lot longer and there are a lot more of them.
The ballistics of a 10 mm are similar to a.357 magnum, but with a bit more mass and a bit less velocity. My G20 is basically a 16 shot.357 magnum. If that doesn't do it, I recently bought a nice 12 gauge defensive shotgun, the Mossberg 590, #50668. After having shot it, I'd say if that didn't stop whatever I was shooting I'd save the last round for me because I wouldn't want to mess with anything that didn't fall to eight rounds from the 12 gauge!
There is some truth to the often repeated suggestion that malware is written for Windows because it's the dominant OS, and Linux malware will appear when Linux gains popularity.
However, there is also a lot of truth to the counter suggestion that Linux is inherently more secure, by design. Linspire runs the user as root (dumb) but I know of no other Linux distro that does. Windows long ago decided to let spreadsheets, Word documents and email execute code. Linux doesn't do that.
As many people have pointed out, for a Linux user to run a virus they receive via email, the user must save the document, then mark it as executable, then run it. There are Windows worms that can be run by simply receiving the email or visiting a web page. No clicking required! And, even if the Linux user did manually run a virus, only the Linux user's data would be compromised. The operating system remains uneffected.
Even when the majority of PCs are running Linux, and there are clever hackers writing Linux viruses, it may well be that there are too few infected systems to cause the global pandemics we've seen on numerous occasions with Windows.
WINE is a program that runs Windows software on Linux. There was a very funny story a few days ago about a guy who deliberately tried to use WINE to run Windows worms. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't quite produce any malicious behavior. I know that's not the same as a Linux specific worm, but it was a funny article.
At first I thought Xandros was almost perfect. After a few years, I know it isn't, but it's pretty darn good and it's improving a lot every year. As you say, it installs more quickly and easily than Windows. Given that all the hardware manufacturers built their hardware for Windows, so that's fairly amazing.
I'd still recommend that people do a bit of looking on the Xandros user forum, linuxprinting.org, etc., before buying hardware and trying to get it to work. There is still a lot of hardware that is absolutely hostile to Linux. They better get their act together soon, as Linux market share ramps up rapidly in the next couple of years. But I can say that in Xandros 3.0, my Epson Perfection 1650 was plug-n-play, and my monster huge Lexmark Optra T614n laser and Lexmark Z54 inkjet were both simple pick-from-the-menu installs (it already had the drivers). Similarly, my USB SanDisk CompactFlash card reader was plug-n-play as well.
In the past I've done some apt-get and installed unsupported software that broke parts of Xandros by overwriting their customized libraries, but that seems a bit less of an issue now that they're using a more recent version of Debian and other software and libraries. But I'd still recommend picking from the supported applications in their Xandros Networks online repository whenever possible.
I expected Xandros to be a bit of a learning curve, but I didn't mind. I hated Windows and I was already pretty happy with Unix from many years ago. But I didn't really do much of anything at the command line. There was nothing I really needed to do there. Installations and running applications just work without any command line twiddling. I think the typical PC user could hardly tell it wasn't an improved (stable and secure) version of Windows. It's all GUI, with lots of drag and drop features.
To be fair, some people have had some problems installing Xandros, especially on Linux-hostile PCs. But most people have little or no issues, and I suspect that the Xandros attempt at attracting Windows refugees may be responsible for some of the problems as many of the Xandros potential customers can write a bit of VB and consider themselves to be computer gods, or are looking for something easier than Windows and often prefer the devil they know (Windows) to the devil they don't know (Xandros).
Next week my wife gets Xandros. I would have a lot less concern about giving my parents a Xandros PC than I would with Windows XP. Both can be easily configured for email, web browsing and word processing, but the Xandros box won't require antivirus software, and it won't get bogged down with spyware and crash. The movement to get Linux on the desktop has largely courted the real PC geeks, but I honestly think the best Xandros market would be people wanting the simple PC applications I mentioned who would benefit from the security and stability of Linux. I think Xandros is more granny-friendly than XP.
From a quick view of the products offered at www.infinadyne.com, it doesn't look like you have much competition from open source software.
There is still a large market for custom software, so independent programmers can make a good living coding one-off apps for their clients, and there is still a large market for niche products that Microsoft isn't going to fill, and Infinadyne can capitalize on that market quite nicely.
I don't really see how open source is a problem for you at all, even if viewed from a very selfish viewpoint instead of the appropriate perspective of what is best for the overall market. Is open source software taking any bread off your table? Can you offer a specific example, or are you just not happy with the concept that some programmers will write quality software and give it to people?
I did some programming in the distant past. In fact, ironic considering your example, I developed a large real estate program under contract. I was paid an hourly wage. The software never quite saw the commercial light of day. I don't program much any more, mostly because Windows came along and turned me into "just another Windoze luser". But I've been exclusively running Linux the last two years, and running my small electrical engineering business very effectively without Windows. I'd like to do some programming again, and I'd be very inclined to give back to the OSS community by contributing some code.
As an end user, I love open source software. Philosophically, I love the idea that the source code is available if I ever want to add features, even though I admit that's rarely done. But on a more practical side, open source software seems a lot better to me in almost every way.
When I want a piece of software, my package manager allows me to search for keywords and quickly locate interesting programs. I read a paragraph description of each. For common applications, there will be many choices and I'll click the best looking three of them and click install. With a cable modem, they usually download and install in a minute or two. No hassles with copy protection schemes, complex EULAs (that nobody reads), or lengthy registration processes. I run the software, evaluate it in a few minutes each, and remove the software I don't want.
Installation and removal are quick and easy. The package manager never asks me anything like the Windows question, "This application uses URscrewd.DLL, which may be shared by other applications. Remove?" How the hell should I know? Shouldn't the Windows uninstaller know that sort of thing? The Debian package manager does a perfect job at managing library dependencies. And of course, there is no registry to be corrupted, so I never suffer from Registry Rot or DLL Hell.
Now, for the biggy. I have been very shocked by the excellent support I receive when using open source software. Logically, I'd assume someone charging a lot of money for a $5 manual and a $1 CD in a shrink wrapped box could offer much better support than what is available with free (as in "free beer") software. But that has not been my experience. I haven't needed any more support on OSS software than I have with the expensive shrink wrapped closed source software, but when I did, the support was actually much better! Much of the support came from a community of users, often on an online forum, but sometimes the program's author provided expert support and seemed genuinely happy to do it.
Clearly, not everyone is motivated purely by money. I'm not sure why that frightens you or angers you, but it seems like a good thing to me. It isn't communism. It's actually quite nice. I hope you can enjoy it some day.
Using open source software just FEELS right, and it isn't because it's free. It's a cop-out to say this, but I don't think people will fully appreciate it until they've tried it.
Imagine, software that doesn't assume you're going to steal it if it doesn't write hidden files all over your hard drive and hassle you with registration keys. Imagine software with the primary goal of meeting the user's needs instead of generating recurring revenue through proprietary data formats and similar customer unfriendly tactics.
In what way does GPL code "devalue everything you do"?
customers can just put in a query and have it spit out "Aisle 12, Rack 10
My local Lowes home improvement store had a rack as people walked in that had a stack of sheets that showed where things were in the store. Low tech, but at least an effort to help the customer. Now, that rack has sale fliers, and they've completely rearranged the store... again. Every time I walk in and see where the store maps were, I consider the electronic solution you proposed. I think about it when I'm trying to find stuff in other stores, too.
And you're completely correct about Home Depot. There are two of them in my town, and there is no similarity in layout. They both have an orange color scheme, but that's about the extent of the similarity. When I stop at my "away" HD store, I wander, and wander, and wander....
McMaster-Carr is only one day away by ground UPS. Their prices are reasonable compared to Lowes or Home Depot, and are even in the ball park of Wal-Mart on some things. The quality is excellent and McMaster-Carr has an unbelievable variety. And their online catalog is very convenient. I do a lot of my shopping on the internet now, even though Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Lowes are each about a mile from my house. For recent purchases such as a water heater, 5 gallons of paint or ceramic floor tile, I'll go to Home Depot or Lowes. For silicone sealant, hardware, plastic, hinges, etc., I'll shop the internet and save a lot of time and aggravation.
I was mostly making a guy joke, primarily based on the idea that bigger is better. With handguns, I think it really is a matter of how you use it that's the most important, and not the size.
The 10 mm round has been downloaded a lot lately so it's more like a beefed up.40 S&W, but full power 10 mm loads are available. A full power 10 mm load has a lot more velocity than a full power.45 ACP, and close to the same mass. The maximum kinetic energy for a.45+P is about 616 ft lbs, with most +P loads in the 500-550 range. For the 10 mm, there is a 767 ft lb round and many in the 750 range. A full power (not +P) 10 mm load is generally in excess of 700 ft lbs. Of course, the +P loads for the.45 should only be used in modern guns that can handle the chamber pressures. Also, my 10 mm can carry 15 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. The.45 ACP round is so fat that a true double stack magazine is not possible for most people's hand, so even the higher capacity.45 handguns have fewer rounds per magazine than those chambered for 10 mm.
The.45 ACP is a good round. In fact, I'd call it outstanding considering it was created in 1911. But modern metalurgy and autoloader design have resulted in technologically better high power rounds, although the disciples of Browning will argue that point with religious conviction. :^)
I've been told that the state police in my state chose the 10 mm because they wanted a round that could reliably shoot through a car door and be effective on the other side. It's probably more likely that the purchasing decision was simply made by a guy. You know... bigger is always better.
Unfortunately, there are no Albertsons in our area.
So far, the best defense against grocery store privacy abuse is the staff of indifferent employees. They generally aren't paid enough to care about hassling a customer and treating them like a suspected terrorist over something as obviously stupid as providing personal information to buy some tampons. Unfortunately, while some Krogers are fairly lax about the enforcement of the Kroger Plus card, in my region they seem to think it's a matter of national defense. They don't accept bogus data. They actually require a driver's license, so unless you want to forge one of those, you either surrender your data and your privacy, pay way too much, or travel a long distance to buy groceries.
A colleague of mine has a small business and is using an Exchange server. I've been trying to talk him into Linux, but he's pretty deep in the belly of the beast. For years he had been telling me that Linux may be theoretically better, but the de facto standard of Microsoft products made up for their insecurity, instability, etc. One example was that someone could email him a DOC file and he could double click it to launch Word. I told him that Linux had matured, and I could double click DOC files in Mozilla to launch OpenOffice. He fell back to the position that OpenOffice isn't 100% compatible. I responded that the formatting in OpenOffice is good, but not quite pixel by pixel compatible, and the biggest incompatibility was the wise choice not to allow macros to send email and other unauthorized execution in OpenOffice, which causes a lot of security problems in Word.
A bit over a year ago, he told me he was mad because, heh heh, he now had to save a DOC file from his email, run Word, and open the DOC file manually. I asked why. He said the latest version of Exchange prevented him from executing DOC files from within Outlook because it was too much of a security risk. I suggested that it was probably just a change in the default settings, and given his paranoid email scanning for malware, he could probably re-enable DOC file launches in Outlook. He said he spent almost a day trying and managed to eventually learn that there was no Exchange option that allowed Word execution from double clicking a DOC file in Outlook. This didn't sound right, but he's fairly technical, and he insisted it was an Exchange security issue. If so, it sure sounds like a stupid security decision was made a long time ago when Microsoft decided they wanted code to automatically execute, ostensibly for user convenience, and that ultimately lead to a lot less security and a lot less convenience.
I had to laugh. His company shells out a lot for MS licenses every year, plus a lot more money and aggravation for antivirus and anti-spyware software, and he still can't double click a DOC file to view it and my company can using Linux.
MS wins on usability? I'm not seeing it.
And you only need to read the weekly news releases of major Microsoft security problems, as well as the thriving market for Windows antivirus software, to know that Windows isn't winning on security.
The fact is, the tide has turned, and Windows is now on its way out. It's still early, but I don't see any possible reversal in the process. It's too much to expect them to go quietly, so we have all this whining and FUD. Good riddance. It can't happen fast enough for me. I'm tired of people I know getting me to support their Windows PCs. I'm very close to offering support only for Linux. My last freebie service call was to resolve an issue with Windows registration preventing operation of a legitimate system. I won't miss that. And I won't miss all the spam from the zombied Windows machines (currently about 80% of all US spam).
If you're on the fence, and looking for a good desktop Linux alternative to Windows, check out Xandros 3.0. It's easy to use and very powerful. It does Windows networking so well that Windows machines can't tell the difference. It has remote administration so you can lock down corporate PCs and remotely push updates any time you like. It has lots of nice convenience features like drag and drop CD and DVD burning. It's very stable. Other than the lack of virus issues, most corporate users probably wouldn't know it isn't XP. It's worth evaluating if you're looking for an alternative. I've been using Xandros for over two years and it's very good and just keeps getting better.
I have not see this mechanical for electronic security trade you speak of...
Some Lexus models and the Prius hybrid from Toyota (and presumably others) allow an RFID keychain pendant to signal the car that the occupant is near. The alarm is disabled and the door is unlocked. The driver gets in and without needing to mess with a key, can start the car. This works great and is very convenient, but only as long as the electronic security is secure. Hopefully they're using something like the KEELOQ chip from Microchip, which hasn't been compromised to my knowledge. I also hope that this electronic-only security can be disabled when whatever code hopping RF security they're using is eventually defeated. Otherwise, there will be A LOT of car thefts before a recall can be issued to install more secure electronics.
TI can end up in a lot of trouble if their RF security devices have been compromised and billions of dollars worth of cars are now much more vulnerable to car thieves.
Slashdot Mirror
This looks a lot like the data driven adage, "Save all data, you might need it later." However, when that's applied to people, the result is less privacy. Where privacy is concerned, there is different adage that applies. "Collect and retain only the minimal data required."
Forget the help files. People want an OS that doesn't NEED help files. I'll agree that the review had some glossed over areas that suggested their testing wasn't very rigorous. I've been exclusively using Xandros for my small business for over two years (it's very good), and noticed the following issues with the review of Xandros: Apparently, the other OS candidates must have been as poorly reviewed, because Xandros still beat all the Linux distros overall and was a very close second to XP and OS X. It received the highest marks for the ease of installation.
My own personal recommendation? If you're sick of Windows BS and want a secure OS that's still easy to use, try Xandros. It's great, and it's getting a lot better. It's THE Linux OS for Windows refugees.
You'll love being able to go to Xandros Networks and install a lot of different software with a couple of mouse clicks. None of the hassles, EULAs and rebooting of Windows. And the package manager automatically tracks all library dependancies. When you uninstall an application, it won't ask you if another program is using a DLL. There's no registry to corrupt either, so there's no Registry Rot. Your Xandros system will remain fast and stable.
In a world where hardware and software is created to work with Windows, Microsoft has a huge advantage. They are the de facto standard. Xandros manages to be easier to use on this unfair playing field, which indicates exactly how much these guys have the Right Stuff. Do yourself and the world a favor and buy a copy of Xandros and let's get away from Windows spam spewing zombies and spyware.
Yes. I had just viewed an annoying Macromedia Flash page and flipped a bit when reading your message. I was also very annoyed by the difficult to read flashing text.
It was written when weapons were muskets. The framers of the Constitution definitely believed the power should be controlled by the citizens, and government should only exist for the barest essentials. The intent was that the citizens would have weapons equal to any standing army assembled by the government. They had seen governments in Europe using their armies to oppress their own citizens and wanted to guard against that. Of course, that was before there were rocket launchers, grenades, tanks, fighter jets, and chemical / nuclear / biological weapons. But the idea of the militia was to provide regional security AND prevent the government from taking away the citizen's rights. It was a radical idea. It's been watered down a lot in the last 200 years.
It's been very nice talking with you. Thank you.
You're missing my point. The man in the original post was falsely accused, probably because his son bought stuff with his card. It wasn't a matter of him getting caught using valid data obtained from his card. The data was bogus. How much worse will that be if someone is using your card to buy household bomb making supplies and blowing up federal buildings? Even if it's in another state, you will be in for a lot of grief because, contrary to the way our legal system is SUPPOSED to work, you now have the burden to prove you are innocent. In the New World Order, we have the presumption of guilt, not innocence.
And exactly how many people will need to be falsely accused of trying to burn their family to death in their sleep before we reach that state of enlightenment?
As I said in a previous post, that's not an option here. Where I live, they require a valid driver's license to issue a club card. Sure, you aren't legally compelled to show your license to a grocery store just because they ask, but when the option is paying 30%-50% more or driving ten miles to buy groceries, most people don't care enough about privacy to tell them where they can shove their club card.
Laziness plus lack of concern for privacy issues results in a loss of privacy. Some solidarity would be nice, but the vast majority of people just hand over their personal data and allow their every purchase to be tracked. That leaves the rest of us with few options, and none that ensure convenience and privacy.
I've read several suggestions to preserve privacy by swapping grocery store club cards with a stranger. I can't wait to read the next Slashdot article about the guy who is accused of attempting to burn his family alive because he traded grocery store club cards with someone and the police got the wrong data.
Just as we have people chanting, "If you're innocent you have nothing to fear from {whatever privacy abuse is being touted today}", you'll also have the implied guilt expressed as, "If you're innocent, why would you exchange cards with a stranger?"
Me too! What's wrong with HTML? Do we really need all this bandware hogging crap that reduces browser interoperability?
Canada is also cleaner and more polite than most areas of the US, from what I've seen. I tend to think the gun control in Canada is getting a lot of the credit for a social phenomenon. I think Canada has had less violent crime than the US because of cultural issues. If the US wants to curb its violent crime, we need to fix the underlying social issues. Unfortunately, education, proper parenting, drug awareness programs, etc. are expensive long term investments. We always want to blame something simple, like guns, and have some ineffective knee jerk response like banning or severely restricting gun ownership.
You've probably heard that the areas of the US where the crime rate is the lowest are the same areas with the least restrictive gun laws. In general, there is a lot of truth to this statement. But just as Canada's relatively low rate of violent crime is not the result of gun control, the lack of gun control in parts of the US is not the reason for low crime rates. Gun control legislation is a result of high crime rate, even though it isn't an effective method of reducing crime. People are scared into voting for gun control, rather than addressing the real causes of violence and crime. The analysis of gun control legislation vs. violent crime usually confuses the cause and effect. As an a priori assumption, the studies start with the conclusion that the legislation or lack thereof is causing the crime and violence, when in fact, the legislation is a largely ineffective response to rising crime rates.
I also think there is some truth to the often repeated adage that gun control isn't very effective at preventing murder, but it does reduce the murders that are committed with a gun. If guns are less available, people then use a knife, a car, poison, etc. But that doesn't prevent the publishing of misleading statistics about the reduction of gun related murders after gun control legislation was passed.
In the US, we're increasingly relying on the police to fill out crime reports so we can submit them to our insurance companies. I guess it's a good process, if you're in the crime or insurance business (they're slightly different businesses).
There is far too little emphasis on catching criminals. The activities are still illegal, but there is a passive acceptance of crime in our society. We are sending a subtle message that says it isn't that bad to commit a crime. We tolerate it fairly well.
As a society, we are increasingly specialized. We hire professionals to do everything, even the stuff we could do cheaper and better ourselves. I would include personal security in that list.
Me neither, but if someone breaks into my truck again that is likely to change.
If you're not a felon and have no history of violent mental illness, a CCL is practically guaranteed in my state, and most others. Two states don't have the CCL because they recognize that right already exists. My brother and several friends have CCLs. I don't, for two reasons. 1) I very seldom feel my security would be substantially improved if I was carrying a handgun. 2) The 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution already recognizes my right to bear arms, and I believe allowing a government to issue a permit for an inalienable right is the first step in having that right removed when the government decides to s
Sorry, I didn't think documentation was required. I thought everyone, PC and Mac alike, would have agreed that Mac systems are about 30% higher than comparable PC systems.
I won't waste a lot of time trying to find a PC with exactly the same configuration as the 15" PowerBook.
Go to www.shopping.hp.com. Click on the $799 Weekly Special notebook. Click on the Customize button and tweak it to be as close to the 15" PowerBook as possible. Here's what I produced:
Operating System: Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2 (OK, that's definitely inferior, but we are talking PCs. I put Linux on mine.)
Processor: AMD Athlon(TM) 64 3000+ 1.80 GHz
Display: 15.4" WXGA Widescreen (1280x800), slightly nicer than the PowerBook
Graphics Card: 64MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(TM) 4 440 Go + 1394
Memory: 512MB DDR SDRAM (2x256MB)
Hard Drive: 80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
Primary CD/DVD Drive: 8X DVD +/- RW/R & CD-RW Combo Drive
Networking: 54g(TM) Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth
Price: $1,299.00 (as low as $37/mo+)
At $1300, the comparable HP is 35% cheaper, so you're right. My 30% estimate wasn't completely correct.
I think you went off a bit on a knee jerk reaction to my Mac comments. Sort of like me when people start defending Microsoft.
I like Macs. I talked my brother into getting one several years ago, and the next two were completely his idea. Macs have loyal customers for a good reason.
The new Mac Mini looks pretty cool, but then again, I liked the Power Cube and those weren't a very successful Mac product. I think the Mac Mini will be a success though, partially because it offers Mac ease of use and reliability at a more competitive price for a change. I'm glad to see Apple courting the lower end market. Hopefully, that'll win them some entry level customers, which would be good considering the loyalty that Macs engender.
Keep repeating to yourself... "It's a computer, not a religion."
:^)
On the plus side, they don't move stuff and the store is actually well organized. Even though it's a huge warehouse it's still no larger than a mega groery store or WalMart Super-Center, and the shopping is a lot easier. They often won't have a lot of selection, but they have deep stocking and good prices on the stuff they carry, and it's usually high quality stuff.
As an example: I needed four two-drawer file cabinets recently. OfficeMax and Office Depot stocked crap that wasn't much better than the way-cheap file cabinet at WalMart. The office supply stores would order good Hon filing cabinets, but they were $120-$130 each and delivery was 2-4 days. I got the same prie and delivery from various online stores as well. Sam's Club had what I wanted. I got beige instead of black, but I wasn't that choosy about the color. They were $90 each, and I bought all four and put them into service that day, rather than putting my office rennovation on hold for several days.
I still hate club cards and the tracking and retention of purchase data by customer, but at least Sam's Club stocks the stuff they sell. Somehow, it doesn't seem as evil as when Kroger does it.
The hardware looks nice, but as usual the cost is about 30% higher than a comparable PC. For many people, the Apple ease of use and panache are worth the cost delta.
However, I wish Apple would restrain their marketing department. They often make obviously incorrect statements. In their exuberance to push their products, the Apple marketing weasels continue to lie. One example from the Apple link provided in the original /. article:
The fastest available, unless you want to count the Netgear WGT624 I'm using or the comparable offering from Linksys, both of which run at 108 Mbps, twice as fast as the Airport Extreme. And Belkin is currently selling pre-802.11n hardware that *really* pumps up the bandwidth.
Remember when Apple claimed the title of fastest processor and got their ass handed to them for telling such a blatant lie? Apple hardware is very nice, and their products are friendly and innovative. Do they need to lie through their teeth to sell their stuff?
A new Linux user is born! See you in a year or so.
My message to Gates & Co.: "The more you tighten your grip, the more PC users will slip through your fingers."
Realistically, Microsoft has been hosing PC users for a couple of decades and by now has a pretty good idea how far they can go and how quickly they can get there. They operate just on this side of a mass defection, abusing customers as much as they can to maximize profits without people deciding it isn't worth it and chucking the whole Windows eXPerience (TM).
The average PC user's tolerance for abuse is apparently very high, or more people would have dropped Windows years ago. I guess it's a matter of "the evil you know", inertia, laziness, proprietary file formats, fear of change, etc.
My fear is that the sheeple herding will continue as we all have our rights sheared away, leaving us naked in the Brave New World.
That's right. I think Linux and open source do offer a lot of the things the average PC user (not the average Slashdot reader) wants in a PC. It's lower cost, easy to use and secure so it doesn't suffer from Outlook worms and spyware. The problem is, people buy what's available, and so far the PC market is a monopoly. Microsoft does whatever they can to increase their profits, and they don't give a damn about what would be best for their customers. Usually the two are at odds, and the customers get hosed.
The Catch 22 is, the average PC purchaser is not going to buy parts, assemble a PC and install their own OS. They want the convenience and piee of mind they get from buying a PC the same way they'd buy a major appliance. They buy from a large, well known, and reputable PC maker. But given the monopoly that Windows has, the only way to be a large PC maker is to sell Windows PCs. The weasel Windows OEM agreement prohibits PC companies from selling a PC without selling a Windows license. That's exactly the sort of anticompetitive situation that anti-trust laws were designed to prevent. Competition is good.
The average PC user doesn't think any more about their PC's operating system than they do the compressor in their refrigerator. To them, it's an integral part of the PC, and most people don't realize there is a choice. Once Linux grows to the point that people understand the choice, it's all over. But that's going to require that a real choice exists. OEMs are going to have to start selling PCs with Linux, or PCs with no OS. Unfortunately, in the current legal climate, the only way that'll happen will be for consumers to create enough demand that high quality PCs are shipped with Linux and the cost reduction is passed on to the customers. None of the big OEMs will do this because they need to protect their Windows licensing agreement. Someone will step up and fill this market niche. It's the way free markets work (even in the face of blatantly non-freemarket practices).
I still believe the average PC user who only wants email, web browsing, digital photos, and maybe some word processing and doesn't want Outlook worms and spyware will prefer a good GUI Linux instead of XP. Xandros costs money, but there will be a free Linux distro with the GUI friendliness that the market needs. There are several that are close. There is a delay because of the lack of financial incentive with a free distro, but progress is steadily being made.
Analyzed another way, Xandros is already a user friendly GUI Linux for the cost most people spend on antivirus and anti-spyware software. Considering the free open source software that's available for Linux, Xandros still looks like a good deal to anyone tired of Outlook worms and other XP BS.
PS - I like your sig. But I think the original phrase was "Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity."
I gave away an HP series II Laserjet last year, and I'll be delivering a Pentium II PC (less hard drive) today. I posted the OFFER: ad and had a dozen responses in a few hours.
FreeCycling doesn't help developing nations, but the cost of shipping and differences in AC power grid voltage doesn't really work with that model anyway. But the PCs do get a little more life before being landfilled.
I just invented an 89 button mouse. It's an 87 key notebook keyboard that you can roll around on your desk, with an additional scroll wheel and two mouse buttons.
Advantage: Only one cable is needed, instead of separate mouse and keyboard cables.
Disadvantage: It's a really retarded idea.
I have a good handgun and shotgun. All I need now is a good rifle. Many years ago, I was looking at a .300 Weatherby Magnum. The last time I looked, a Remington 300 Short Action Ultra Mag seemed like a good fit for what I wanted. Of course, this is built a few miles away from me and looks like a lot of fun.
That's dumber than dirt. What's next? Throw rocks at an assailant? Other than the gun issue, I really like Canada.
The Glock does a great job of taming high velocity and high energy rounds.
Many of the people who like the .45 ACP don't like Glocks. One of the common complaints is the trigger break. I like the feel of the Glock trigger, but I concede that this is a very subjective matter. No doubt anyone accustomed to a .45 ACP trigger pull that was tuned to their specifications by a skilled gunsmith won't like the Glock.
The other complaint I hear is the appearance. If you like polished nickel plating and hand carved cocobolo hand grips, the Glock won't satisfy your sense of aesthetics. The Glock is more of a tool, where form follows function. It was designed for durability, ease of maintenance, reliability and accuracy. Appearance was way down on the list. I like the functional appearance, and it's nearly indestructible so it'll take a lot of abuse and still look about the same.
I have a feeling that a lot of the .45 worshippers complain about subjective matters because there isn't a lot to complain about in the objective column. Compare specifications for muzzle velocity, kinetic energy, out of the box accuracy, and certainly reliability and durability, and the 10 mm Glock model 20 wins every time.
The one point I'd concede as a serious issue is the large grip on the G20. It looks very boxy and squared off, but I find it surprisingly comfortable. The rounded corners coincide with my finger joints. I have large hands, and it's a good fit, but many people, especially those with smaller hands won't be able to hold it comfortably and accurately point it. In that case, I'd get a Glock .40 S&W and shoot some hot loads for self defense. For your lame 5 round magazine restriction, you might also like the Glock model 36. It's a .45 with a single stack 6 shot magazine. There may be a Canadian 5 round magazine. The G36 might appeal more to those who like the slim grip of the 1911, but with all the modern reliability and durability that Glock represents. Of course, real 1911 fans would probably think the G36 is another ugly black plastic gun.
:^)
Did you read the rest on my message, where I commented on the technical and user interface issues that I felt were better in OpenOffice?
Uh, no. But lower total cost of ownership, stability, much better security, less installation hassles, open file formats, and respecting the users instead of viewing them as a captive source of revenue will go a long way toward winning desktop installations for Linux. Based on my positive experience, I'm still surprised people aren't switching any sooner. I guess part of the reason is they already paid about $60-$80 for an OEM Windows license, even though many probably don't know that because the price is well hidden in the cost of their PC. And I guess they don't know that 80% of the spam and virtually all of the worms and viruses they receive are from compromised Windows boxes, and spyware is not an issue on Linux but it royally screws up Windows machines, and .... Oh yeah, did I mention Bill Gates is the Antichrist and the rest of the Microsoft upper management team are the dark lords of the apocalypse?
:^)
Well, I guess what feels right is very subjective. I've used both, and OpenOffice "feels" a lot better to me. But I generally think that open source software feels better than the big expensive shrink wrapped applications that hassle me with seven page EULAs, install a bunch of copy protection crap and generally assume that I'm guilty of copyright infringement when I'm not. Open source software feels more friendly to me. And OpenOffice applications feel very polished and work very well. At least they don't allow macros to have access to the system files on my PC, send email, etc.
When is a word processor not a word processor? When it's functioning as the kernel for DOC malware.
Like so many others, I'm waiting to find out why Microsoft opening their XML formats is a bad thing. I feel paranoid being so skeptical, but after being consistently dicked over for 20 years, some skepticism seems justified.
Even on Slashdot there are
The .40 S&W is a watered down 10 mm round because the FBI had some small women who couldn't reliably hold the large grip from a 15 round double stack 10 mm and had trouble taming the recoil in the earlier 10 mm frames. The Glock I shoot is actually fairly tame, at least on the shooter's end. On the shootee's side.... Some people credit the plastic frame for reducing the felt recoil. That may be a part of it, but I think the much larger consideration is the gun's geometry and the dynamics at work when it cycles.
I'm definitely not a dealer, and I have a general dislike for marketing hype. I use the "+P" designation to refer to loads with chamber pressure above the original SAAMI spec. The modern .45 ACP has benefitted a lot from improved metalurgy and machining, and can shoot much hotter loads than the original 1911, which is part of what has kept the .45 as a popular round. The 10 mm was designed much later, so it was specified for the much higher chamber pressures that modern handguns can tolerate, so there really are no +P loads for the 10 mm.
There is no doubt that the .45 is a formidable round, and the modern .45 handguns are every bit as reliable as any other autoloader. The .45 has a bad reputation as a twitchy and unreliable gun because many people's only experience is with old .45s that never worked well because they were built prior to WWII, and many of those have been mangled by unskilled gunsmiths. The bad reputation is not deserved when comparing a modern .45 to any other modern handgun.
I certainly wouldn't want to be shot by a .45 or a 10 mm. However, the 25% higher kinetic energy of the 10 mm is a ballistic fact. The 10 mm is often used for hunting bear, probably because the higher energy and slightly smaller diameter can translate into greater penetration if needed. A good hollow point bullet can be designed to expand as little or as much as needed, but if penetration is needed, a slower and larger diameter will penetrate less. I haven't read nearly as many reports of dangerous animals being hunted with a .45, despite the fact that the .45 has been around a lot longer and there are a lot more of them.
The ballistics of a 10 mm are similar to a .357 magnum, but with a bit more mass and a bit less velocity. My G20 is basically a 16 shot .357 magnum. If that doesn't do it, I recently bought a nice 12 gauge defensive shotgun, the Mossberg 590, #50668. After having shot it, I'd say if that didn't stop whatever I was shooting I'd save the last round for me because I wouldn't want to mess with anything that didn't fall to eight rounds from the 12 gauge!
However, there is also a lot of truth to the counter suggestion that Linux is inherently more secure, by design. Linspire runs the user as root (dumb) but I know of no other Linux distro that does. Windows long ago decided to let spreadsheets, Word documents and email execute code. Linux doesn't do that.
As many people have pointed out, for a Linux user to run a virus they receive via email, the user must save the document, then mark it as executable, then run it. There are Windows worms that can be run by simply receiving the email or visiting a web page. No clicking required! And, even if the Linux user did manually run a virus, only the Linux user's data would be compromised. The operating system remains uneffected.
Even when the majority of PCs are running Linux, and there are clever hackers writing Linux viruses, it may well be that there are too few infected systems to cause the global pandemics we've seen on numerous occasions with Windows.
WINE is a program that runs Windows software on Linux. There was a very funny story a few days ago about a guy who deliberately tried to use WINE to run Windows worms. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't quite produce any malicious behavior. I know that's not the same as a Linux specific worm, but it was a funny article.
I'd still recommend that people do a bit of looking on the Xandros user forum, linuxprinting.org, etc., before buying hardware and trying to get it to work. There is still a lot of hardware that is absolutely hostile to Linux. They better get their act together soon, as Linux market share ramps up rapidly in the next couple of years. But I can say that in Xandros 3.0, my Epson Perfection 1650 was plug-n-play, and my monster huge Lexmark Optra T614n laser and Lexmark Z54 inkjet were both simple pick-from-the-menu installs (it already had the drivers). Similarly, my USB SanDisk CompactFlash card reader was plug-n-play as well.
In the past I've done some apt-get and installed unsupported software that broke parts of Xandros by overwriting their customized libraries, but that seems a bit less of an issue now that they're using a more recent version of Debian and other software and libraries. But I'd still recommend picking from the supported applications in their Xandros Networks online repository whenever possible.
I expected Xandros to be a bit of a learning curve, but I didn't mind. I hated Windows and I was already pretty happy with Unix from many years ago. But I didn't really do much of anything at the command line. There was nothing I really needed to do there. Installations and running applications just work without any command line twiddling. I think the typical PC user could hardly tell it wasn't an improved (stable and secure) version of Windows. It's all GUI, with lots of drag and drop features.
To be fair, some people have had some problems installing Xandros, especially on Linux-hostile PCs. But most people have little or no issues, and I suspect that the Xandros attempt at attracting Windows refugees may be responsible for some of the problems as many of the Xandros potential customers can write a bit of VB and consider themselves to be computer gods, or are looking for something easier than Windows and often prefer the devil they know (Windows) to the devil they don't know (Xandros).
Next week my wife gets Xandros. I would have a lot less concern about giving my parents a Xandros PC than I would with Windows XP. Both can be easily configured for email, web browsing and word processing, but the Xandros box won't require antivirus software, and it won't get bogged down with spyware and crash. The movement to get Linux on the desktop has largely courted the real PC geeks, but I honestly think the best Xandros market would be people wanting the simple PC applications I mentioned who would benefit from the security and stability of Linux. I think Xandros is more granny-friendly than XP.
From a quick view of the products offered at www.infinadyne.com, it doesn't look like you have much competition from open source software.
There is still a large market for custom software, so independent programmers can make a good living coding one-off apps for their clients, and there is still a large market for niche products that Microsoft isn't going to fill, and Infinadyne can capitalize on that market quite nicely.
I don't really see how open source is a problem for you at all, even if viewed from a very selfish viewpoint instead of the appropriate perspective of what is best for the overall market. Is open source software taking any bread off your table? Can you offer a specific example, or are you just not happy with the concept that some programmers will write quality software and give it to people?
I did some programming in the distant past. In fact, ironic considering your example, I developed a large real estate program under contract. I was paid an hourly wage. The software never quite saw the commercial light of day. I don't program much any more, mostly because Windows came along and turned me into "just another Windoze luser". But I've been exclusively running Linux the last two years, and running my small electrical engineering business very effectively without Windows. I'd like to do some programming again, and I'd be very inclined to give back to the OSS community by contributing some code.
As an end user, I love open source software. Philosophically, I love the idea that the source code is available if I ever want to add features, even though I admit that's rarely done. But on a more practical side, open source software seems a lot better to me in almost every way.
When I want a piece of software, my package manager allows me to search for keywords and quickly locate interesting programs. I read a paragraph description of each. For common applications, there will be many choices and I'll click the best looking three of them and click install. With a cable modem, they usually download and install in a minute or two. No hassles with copy protection schemes, complex EULAs (that nobody reads), or lengthy registration processes. I run the software, evaluate it in a few minutes each, and remove the software I don't want.
Installation and removal are quick and easy. The package manager never asks me anything like the Windows question, "This application uses URscrewd.DLL, which may be shared by other applications. Remove?" How the hell should I know? Shouldn't the Windows uninstaller know that sort of thing? The Debian package manager does a perfect job at managing library dependencies. And of course, there is no registry to be corrupted, so I never suffer from Registry Rot or DLL Hell.
Now, for the biggy. I have been very shocked by the excellent support I receive when using open source software. Logically, I'd assume someone charging a lot of money for a $5 manual and a $1 CD in a shrink wrapped box could offer much better support than what is available with free (as in "free beer") software. But that has not been my experience. I haven't needed any more support on OSS software than I have with the expensive shrink wrapped closed source software, but when I did, the support was actually much better! Much of the support came from a community of users, often on an online forum, but sometimes the program's author provided expert support and seemed genuinely happy to do it.
Clearly, not everyone is motivated purely by money. I'm not sure why that frightens you or angers you, but it seems like a good thing to me. It isn't communism. It's actually quite nice. I hope you can enjoy it some day.
Using open source software just FEELS right, and it isn't because it's free. It's a cop-out to say this, but I don't think people will fully appreciate it until they've tried it.
Imagine, software that doesn't assume you're going to steal it if it doesn't write hidden files all over your hard drive and hassle you with registration keys. Imagine software with the primary goal of meeting the user's needs instead of generating recurring revenue through proprietary data formats and similar customer unfriendly tactics.
In what way does GPL code "devalue everything you do"?
My local Lowes home improvement store had a rack as people walked in that had a stack of sheets that showed where things were in the store. Low tech, but at least an effort to help the customer. Now, that rack has sale fliers, and they've completely rearranged the store... again. Every time I walk in and see where the store maps were, I consider the electronic solution you proposed. I think about it when I'm trying to find stuff in other stores, too.
And you're completely correct about Home Depot. There are two of them in my town, and there is no similarity in layout. They both have an orange color scheme, but that's about the extent of the similarity. When I stop at my "away" HD store, I wander, and wander, and wander....
McMaster-Carr is only one day away by ground UPS. Their prices are reasonable compared to Lowes or Home Depot, and are even in the ball park of Wal-Mart on some things. The quality is excellent and McMaster-Carr has an unbelievable variety. And their online catalog is very convenient. I do a lot of my shopping on the internet now, even though Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Lowes are each about a mile from my house. For recent purchases such as a water heater, 5 gallons of paint or ceramic floor tile, I'll go to Home Depot or Lowes. For silicone sealant, hardware, plastic, hinges, etc., I'll shop the internet and save a lot of time and aggravation.
The 10 mm round has been downloaded a lot lately so it's more like a beefed up .40 S&W, but full power 10 mm loads are available. A full power 10 mm load has a lot more velocity than a full power .45 ACP, and close to the same mass. The maximum kinetic energy for a .45+P is about 616 ft lbs, with most +P loads in the 500-550 range. For the 10 mm, there is a 767 ft lb round and many in the 750 range. A full power (not +P) 10 mm load is generally in excess of 700 ft lbs. Of course, the +P loads for the .45 should only be used in modern guns that can handle the chamber pressures. Also, my 10 mm can carry 15 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. The .45 ACP round is so fat that a true double stack magazine is not possible for most people's hand, so even the higher capacity .45 handguns have fewer rounds per magazine than those chambered for 10 mm.
The .45 ACP is a good round. In fact, I'd call it outstanding considering it was created in 1911. But modern metalurgy and autoloader design have resulted in technologically better high power rounds, although the disciples of Browning will argue that point with religious conviction.
:^)
I've been told that the state police in my state chose the 10 mm because they wanted a round that could reliably shoot through a car door and be effective on the other side. It's probably more likely that the purchasing decision was simply made by a guy. You know... bigger is always better.
Unfortunately, there are no Albertsons in our area.
So far, the best defense against grocery store privacy abuse is the staff of indifferent employees. They generally aren't paid enough to care about hassling a customer and treating them like a suspected terrorist over something as obviously stupid as providing personal information to buy some tampons. Unfortunately, while some Krogers are fairly lax about the enforcement of the Kroger Plus card, in my region they seem to think it's a matter of national defense. They don't accept bogus data. They actually require a driver's license, so unless you want to forge one of those, you either surrender your data and your privacy, pay way too much, or travel a long distance to buy groceries.
A bit over a year ago, he told me he was mad because, heh heh, he now had to save a DOC file from his email, run Word, and open the DOC file manually. I asked why. He said the latest version of Exchange prevented him from executing DOC files from within Outlook because it was too much of a security risk. I suggested that it was probably just a change in the default settings, and given his paranoid email scanning for malware, he could probably re-enable DOC file launches in Outlook. He said he spent almost a day trying and managed to eventually learn that there was no Exchange option that allowed Word execution from double clicking a DOC file in Outlook. This didn't sound right, but he's fairly technical, and he insisted it was an Exchange security issue. If so, it sure sounds like a stupid security decision was made a long time ago when Microsoft decided they wanted code to automatically execute, ostensibly for user convenience, and that ultimately lead to a lot less security and a lot less convenience.
I had to laugh. His company shells out a lot for MS licenses every year, plus a lot more money and aggravation for antivirus and anti-spyware software, and he still can't double click a DOC file to view it and my company can using Linux.
MS wins on usability? I'm not seeing it.
And you only need to read the weekly news releases of major Microsoft security problems, as well as the thriving market for Windows antivirus software, to know that Windows isn't winning on security.
The fact is, the tide has turned, and Windows is now on its way out. It's still early, but I don't see any possible reversal in the process. It's too much to expect them to go quietly, so we have all this whining and FUD. Good riddance. It can't happen fast enough for me. I'm tired of people I know getting me to support their Windows PCs. I'm very close to offering support only for Linux. My last freebie service call was to resolve an issue with Windows registration preventing operation of a legitimate system. I won't miss that. And I won't miss all the spam from the zombied Windows machines (currently about 80% of all US spam).
If you're on the fence, and looking for a good desktop Linux alternative to Windows, check out Xandros 3.0. It's easy to use and very powerful. It does Windows networking so well that Windows machines can't tell the difference. It has remote administration so you can lock down corporate PCs and remotely push updates any time you like. It has lots of nice convenience features like drag and drop CD and DVD burning. It's very stable. Other than the lack of virus issues, most corporate users probably wouldn't know it isn't XP. It's worth evaluating if you're looking for an alternative. I've been using Xandros for over two years and it's very good and just keeps getting better.
Some Lexus models and the Prius hybrid from Toyota (and presumably others) allow an RFID keychain pendant to signal the car that the occupant is near. The alarm is disabled and the door is unlocked. The driver gets in and without needing to mess with a key, can start the car. This works great and is very convenient, but only as long as the electronic security is secure. Hopefully they're using something like the KEELOQ chip from Microchip, which hasn't been compromised to my knowledge. I also hope that this electronic-only security can be disabled when whatever code hopping RF security they're using is eventually defeated. Otherwise, there will be A LOT of car thefts before a recall can be issued to install more secure electronics.
TI can end up in a lot of trouble if their RF security devices have been compromised and billions of dollars worth of cars are now much more vulnerable to car thieves.