You could always put the PSU circuit board in a 'can', with a couple of insulators on the top to feed the AC power into, fill it with mineral oil and spray paint it gray, then have it 'hang' on the outside of the PC case... just be sure to keep the squirrels away from it.
A better question would be 'Why don't they just go back to using the old foam that didn't break off?' - and tell the EPA and the tree-huggers to go shove the new CFC-free foam somewhere the sun doesn't shine. Perhaps there are some cases where we *need* to use CFC's for something?
This reminds me of something I saw on the local news (Houston, TX) about how things like chewing gum in class are being classified as 'disruption of class', and these kids getting 'tickets' and the parents having to go to court and/or pay fines. I can see a kid getting into 'the system' for something like drugs or bringing a weapon to school, but chewing gum? Talking in class? And of course, it's always the kids whose parents can't afford to fight it that wind up with these kind of 'punishments'. I'm not that old, but 'back in my day' kids got into trouble like that for dealing drugs or trying to burn the school down.
Because people still use those ports. Until the rest of the world throws away all their PS/2 keyboards and mice, and their UPS, RAID box, etc. with RS-232 serial port, these ports are going to keep appearing on motherboards. Would you believe there are still people using ISA cards? ISA cards! Oh, the horror..
Keyboard rules the land of productivity for data entry. The mouse is just a distraction. Imagine a user that needs to enter names and addresses from a stack of those little postcards that you find inside of magazines. That's what the F1..F12 keys are on your keyboard are for:
(F1) add records
...enter data into screen, tab between fields
(ENTER) save and add next record
I've seen some really horrible GUI data-entry stuff - the people that design some of this stuff apparently don't think about how it is going to be used.
Same kind of thinking when it comes to the whole "diesel exhaust is carcinogenic"
"Let's put some rats in an aquarium, pipe the diesel engine's exhaust in there, and run it till it's full of black smoke"
Of course they will develop cancer! They are trying to accelerate their tests by overdosing the rats! "Tylenol will kill you!! I know this! we fed 300 pills to our test subject and he died!"
No diesel cars in CA, you can thank the environmentalists and CARB for that. These people fail to understand that a vehicle that burns less fuel, will emit less pollution, and the more diesels on the road, the less oil we have to refine (even less pollution).
Europe and other countries have relaxed the NOx (oxide of nitrogen) and PM (particulates, the gray 'smoke') emission requirements of their diesels. Not so here in the good 'ol US of A - CARB made the diesel meet the same NOx and PM standards as gas engines, then strong-armed the EPA into making these standards federal law in 2007.
The only hope we have for more diesels is the ultra low-sulphur diesel fuel that will be available in 2006-2007.
For me, the EPA can have my loud, smoky, Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel when they pry it from my cold, dead hands. And no, it does not meet emissions standards. But it gets avg. 23 miles per gallon - not bad for a 12 year old full size pickup truck!
If the EPA would get its head out of its collective a$$, you would see more diesel vehicles here in the US. Diesels here have to meet the same emissions standards as gas engines, but the diesel engine, by nature of its lean combustion, produces more oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulates (PM) than a gas engine of the same size. But it uses much less fuel to produce the same power.
The big picture here is that if you have a country full of diesel-engined vehicles, you have to refine less fuel to run them all. Less refining and burning of fuel = less pollution, overall. But the idiots at the EPA just listen to the enviro-nazi lobbyists, not scientists or people that have brains between their ears instead of empty space.
And don't get me started on the whole "diesel smoke (particulates) cause cancer!" - Of course if I stuffed a bunch of lab rats in the exhaust of a Peterbuilt and let them live there for a year, they'd probably have cancer. But we don't live inside exhaust pipes, do we?
I'll answer this in a second.... Just as soon as I get off my Microsoft Toilet(tm), wash my hands with Microsoft Antibacterial Soap(tm), and finish drinking my Microsoft Cherry Cola(tm).
If all you're doing is posting to Slashdot, then yes, 30 minutes.
For the majority of things, like web browsing, email, writing a letter, spreadsheet, etc., these are ready to go with any recent distribuiton (Fedora, Mandrake, etc.)
I agree that development packages, databases, etc. are harder to install - and work needs to be done to address these problems - but for the average "joe user" that wants to surf the web, write emails to Grandma, and balance their checkbook, present Linux distribuitons do that job just well.
Depends on what your definition of average user is. We have 20 Linux desktops where I work. We went straight from Windows to Linux. These are not tech people, they are customer service and sales reps for a mail order company. These people had no problem learning the new system. That was our definition of the average user.
The focus needs to be on business use - once everyone is using it at work, the home users will follow. Linux is perfect for business - your secretary or sales rep shouldn't be installing hardware or upgrading apps anyway. That should be the responsibility of the IT personnel.
If people want 'streaming' content on the internet to work the same as broadcast television or radio, there must be a standard. I can buy a TV from any manufacturer, and it will receive broadcasts from any TV station. There needs to be a standard format for these kinds of things. Until this happens, we're going to continue to be in the mess we're in now..
Consistent UI layout/behavior is what makes any system, whether GUI or otherwise, easy to learn, use, and understand. The old Wang mainframe is an example of this - the function keys on the keyboard ('PF' keys) almost always had the same meaning, whatever program/menu you were in - PF5 was always next page (or record), etc. Most GUI programs have nine different ways to do things - the same function is on a toolbar, buried in a menu, and has a different shortcut key than the next program.
Slashdot Mirror
You could always put the PSU circuit board in a 'can', with a couple of insulators on the top to feed the AC power into, fill it with mineral oil and spray paint it gray, then have it 'hang' on the outside of the PC case... just be sure to keep the squirrels away from it.
A better question would be 'Why don't they just go back to using the old foam that didn't break off?' - and tell the EPA and the tree-huggers to go shove the new CFC-free foam somewhere the sun doesn't shine. Perhaps there are some cases where we *need* to use CFC's for something?
This reminds me of something I saw on the local news (Houston, TX) about how things like chewing gum in class are being classified as 'disruption of class', and these kids getting 'tickets' and the parents having to go to court and/or pay fines. I can see a kid getting into 'the system' for something like drugs or bringing a weapon to school, but chewing gum? Talking in class? And of course, it's always the kids whose parents can't afford to fight it that wind up with these kind of 'punishments'. I'm not that old, but 'back in my day' kids got into trouble like that for dealing drugs or trying to burn the school down.
Because people still use those ports. Until the rest of the world throws away all their PS/2 keyboards and mice, and their UPS, RAID box, etc. with RS-232 serial port, these ports are going to keep appearing on motherboards. Would you believe there are still people using ISA cards? ISA cards! Oh, the horror..
At first glance, I thought it read "Microsoft Research Showcase Exploited"
You have to play it back through equipment full of vacuum tubes in order to get the full effect, though.
- (F1) add records
- ...enter data into screen, tab between fields
- (ENTER) save and add next record
I've seen some really horrible GUI data-entry stuff - the people that design some of this stuff apparently don't think about how it is going to be used.I'm George W Bush, and I approve this message.
"Let's put some rats in an aquarium, pipe the diesel engine's exhaust in there, and run it till it's full of black smoke"
Of course they will develop cancer! They are trying to accelerate their tests by overdosing the rats! "Tylenol will kill you!! I know this! we fed 300 pills to our test subject and he died!"
What a bunch of bull...
That's exactly what happened to auto air conditioner refrigerant (R-12) in the early 1990's. Guess who holds the patent(s) for the new stuff (R-134a).
Europe and other countries have relaxed the NOx (oxide of nitrogen) and PM (particulates, the gray 'smoke') emission requirements of their diesels. Not so here in the good 'ol US of A - CARB made the diesel meet the same NOx and PM standards as gas engines, then strong-armed the EPA into making these standards federal law in 2007. The only hope we have for more diesels is the ultra low-sulphur diesel fuel that will be available in 2006-2007.
For me, the EPA can have my loud, smoky, Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel when they pry it from my cold, dead hands. And no, it does not meet emissions standards. But it gets avg. 23 miles per gallon - not bad for a 12 year old full size pickup truck!
The big picture here is that if you have a country full of diesel-engined vehicles, you have to refine less fuel to run them all. Less refining and burning of fuel = less pollution, overall. But the idiots at the EPA just listen to the enviro-nazi lobbyists, not scientists or people that have brains between their ears instead of empty space.
And don't get me started on the whole "diesel smoke (particulates) cause cancer!" - Of course if I stuffed a bunch of lab rats in the exhaust of a Peterbuilt and let them live there for a year, they'd probably have cancer. But we don't live inside exhaust pipes, do we?
I'll answer this in a second.... Just as soon as I get off my Microsoft Toilet(tm), wash my hands with Microsoft Antibacterial Soap(tm), and finish drinking my Microsoft Cherry Cola(tm).
For the majority of things, like web browsing, email, writing a letter, spreadsheet, etc., these are ready to go with any recent distribuiton (Fedora, Mandrake, etc.)
I agree that development packages, databases, etc. are harder to install - and work needs to be done to address these problems - but for the average "joe user" that wants to surf the web, write emails to Grandma, and balance their checkbook, present Linux distribuitons do that job just well.
Depends on what your definition of average user is. We have 20 Linux desktops where I work. We went straight from Windows to Linux. These are not tech people, they are customer service and sales reps for a mail order company. These people had no problem learning the new system. That was our definition of the average user.
The focus needs to be on business use - once everyone is using it at work, the home users will follow. Linux is perfect for business - your secretary or sales rep shouldn't be installing hardware or upgrading apps anyway. That should be the responsibility of the IT personnel.
I beg to differ. Every Linux box I've set up has been "install-and-go" - no driver downloads or installation required. Even for printers.
Start Linux install, 30 minutes and one reboot later, posting to Slashdot!
If people want 'streaming' content on the internet to work the same as broadcast television or radio, there must be a standard. I can buy a TV from any manufacturer, and it will receive broadcasts from any TV station. There needs to be a standard format for these kinds of things. Until this happens, we're going to continue to be in the mess we're in now..
Consistent UI layout/behavior is what makes any system, whether GUI or otherwise, easy to learn, use, and understand. The old Wang mainframe is an example of this - the function keys on the keyboard ('PF' keys) almost always had the same meaning, whatever program/menu you were in - PF5 was always next page (or record), etc. Most GUI programs have nine different ways to do things - the same function is on a toolbar, buried in a menu, and has a different shortcut key than the next program.