The only way a.gnu TLD would be worth adding is if we, the Open Source community, somehow controlled it, so we could attempt to keep cybersquatters out, without compromising the freedom of it. Perhaps in order to GET a.gnu domain, you must PRODUCE something under the GNU Public License.
Or maybe all.gnu applications could be submitted as a poll on slashdot:
Should Borland/Inprise get the domain name www.borland.gnu
Not me. I'd rather go for Hacking insurance. I don't want no *NIX guru comming in and creatively solving my carefully crafted network problems, puttin me out of a job. Those damn hackers preventing us workin stiffs from keepin a nice little maintenance roll.
"Which means nine months from now (products take roughly the same time to gestate as human babies), the results of this frenzy of post-PC development will begin to emerge in a big way.
Obviously my problem is not that all my products are defective, they're just premature!
btw... how do you change screen resolution in KDE or gnome anyway?? is there some way to do it without reinstalling the entire os??
Actually you have to change the resolution in your X window server (More than likely it'll be XFree86). Most linux distributions come with some sort of utility to do it. A lot of these are currently text mode, but some GUI ones are around. If you get Mandrake 7.1, it's got a GUI based resolution changer (although you still have to restart your X server, as in back up to the login screen, select restart X windows, then log back in. Don't need to restart the whole system, but still a bit peeveie[sic]).
I believe that on the fly resolution changes are one of the "almost here" features that the GUI groups are working on at the mo'.
Hope that helps. (Oh and don't use slash dot to post technical newbie questions, hah, beat ya too it!!!!..................sorry, I'm at work and it's driving me a little nuts!)
I just have to say that I find some of text on the Freedom to Inovate(r) website quite amusing, this quote by Bill Gates in particular:
"Two years ago I said that we would vigorously defend a principle that is critical to both consumers and the future of the high-tech industry - the right of every company to innovate and improve its products. Today we move forward to protect this principle and maintain our commitment to innovation."
I just wonder how Microsoft believes this right applies to companies they have pushed out or absorbed and diffused (like Wordstar et al). I think the hidden message here is actually "the right of every company to innovate and improve its products within the Microsoft development plan."
I have heard this type of discussion before and always end up looking at it in another way. The problem as I see it, is not that Microsoft format is a universal format and other companies have trouble using that mostly undocumented/un-recreatable[sic] (due to COM and other platform specific issues), but that all the other suppliers of office/wordprocessing software try to support that universality.
These other suppliers (Lotus, Sun-Staroffice, Applixware and other opensource projects) all try to offer their own proprietary formats (ok, maybe not the opensource projects, but certainly the big boys) and also offer to support MS formats.
An alternative solution that I believe may be the answer is to create an open community equivalent to the W3C (is that right, the body that maintains the HTML standard, whether or not it is followed, (it's late and my brain is getting foggy)) for office document formats. This way there would be an open, universal specification for document formats that all the main products could conform to and would be available to any newcomers. The bigger suites could support open standards and proprietary if they wished (for advanced formatting that they thought was important), but it would mean that if you wanted to ensure that your documents could be read by anyone, you could use the universal format. Also a document format such as this would (hopefully) be outside the control of any one developer.
It's not a perfect solution by any means, but it could just be a step in the right direction.
Yes that is interesting BUT if we take a "Select all" of this very page, paste just the unformatted text into Work97 and run Autosummerize on THAT we get:
Taking Games Seriously More on Games (User Info) (Score:2) GAMES GOOD! (Score:2) (User Info) (User Info) (Score:2) (User Info) (User Info) (Score:2) (User Info) (User Info) games themselves. (User Info) (User Info) (User Info) (User Info) (User Info) (User Info) (User Info) Gaming as culture (Score:4, Interesting) (User Info) Re:Gaming as culture (Score:2) (User Info) online gaming has developed. Lumping games Mainstream games (Score:4, Insightful) games, etc. Re:Mainstream games (Score:3, Interesting) (User Info) (User Info) (User Info) gaming site.
(Score:2) (Score:2) Gaming != Computer Gaming, folks. /. Games! (Score:2) (Score:2) (Score:2) Computer games and violence (Score:2) games. (Score:2)
Despite all the interesting commentary and discussion (much needed too IMO), a lot of it is a little off topic for this article.
Having read the original linked article the issue at hand is application user interfaces, not installation and/or setup issues. It's a question of "Does that clipboard button copy or paste?" not "Can I configure this program without a text editor?".
There are a lot of users that will never have the motivation, desire, inclination or whatever to even think of trying to install a new software package themselves, let alone try to configure it. But these self-same people can often (as another post pointed out) become macro wizards and formatting gurus. I have quite a few friends that use windows and often phone me up to ask question about simple configuration options. It's not that they are dumb, but that computers are not their field. (I actually know someone who brought their Win98 system back to the shop to get them to install Real Player).
The real issue here is the question of user interfaces for application software. There is a great need for good GUI based software for the users that just want to get their work done and not solve visual puzzles at the same time. This issue will start to go away with the arrival of large commercial companies such as Corel.
Also I would like to point out that when there is more layman friendly software under Linux this should not mean that you couldn't use your good old text based apps. Unlike Windows, Linux should be about flexibility.
Finally, on the topic of installation/configuration, this is an ideal area for a service/support industry. For those users that don't want to be bothered administering/setting up their systems, local companies can do it for them. They could alert customers to new software versions, security patches and the like, and Linux can be administered remotely (telneting in as root). This could actually be a benefit to people that just want to e-mail, surf & write letters.
"Linux is dead... The G4 processor cannot be beat... But I guess you WINTEL Guys never learn..." Hmmm, two points here:
Linux on Intel would be LINTEL (much better IMHO, maybe that coined phrase should be used instead)
Linux is being ported to the PowerPC Platform, (quite successfully from what I can tell) so the potential domination of the G4 et. al. would not spell doom for the Linux community.
Didn't Shakespeare say: "Linux under any other platform would..." If anyone can remember the rest of the quote, I'd appreciate it.
The course of action I would probably take would be to export the data from Access into a format that your favorite SQL database can handle.
Access exports into Some spreadsheet formats, text, rich text format, Foxpro, dBase and even outputs to ODBC databases,(though you'd have to see if you can get a driver for access from the manufacturer).
dBase is probably your best bet as far as real database formats are concerned.
ODBC drivers, would be interesting to see if MS Access would accept PostgreSQL drivers, or if it would revolt. Anyway, the Access help file has some info re. installing ODBC drivers.
If nothing else, most DBMS should import a text format table.
I would just like to make one small comment on part of the article in MSNBC, regarding the letter(s) sent by Kansas public universities eg:
""The argument that teaching evolution will destroy a student's faith in God is no more true today than it was during the Scopes trial in 1925," the letter said."
Assuming that faith in God was one of the main engines in the move to remove Evolution based studies from the official curriculum, I would like to postulate:
Which is more indicative of a supreme, omnipotent and infinitely knowing God:
To appear from the heavens and pop a world of living creatures and sentient, self-aware creatures onto a brand new planet
OR
To create a sea of amino acids, minerals and a single celled organism that over billions of years evolves into same said world of infinite complexity with sentient, self-aware creatures.
I think the theory of evolution denying faith is the wrong way round.
Thank you for allowing me to get that off my chest.
Slashdot Mirror
Or maybe all .gnu applications could be submitted as a poll on slashdot:
Not me. I'd rather go for Hacking insurance. I don't want no *NIX guru comming in and creatively solving my carefully crafted network problems, puttin me out of a job. Those damn hackers preventing us workin stiffs from keepin a nice little maintenance roll.
"Which means nine months from now (products take roughly the same time to gestate as human babies), the results of this frenzy of post-PC development will begin to emerge in a big way.
Obviously my problem is not that all my products are defective, they're just premature!Actually you have to change the resolution in your X window server (More than likely it'll be XFree86). Most linux distributions come with some sort of utility to do it. A lot of these are currently text mode, but some GUI ones are around. If you get Mandrake 7.1, it's got a GUI based resolution changer (although you still have to restart your X server, as in back up to the login screen, select restart X windows, then log back in. Don't need to restart the whole system, but still a bit peeveie[sic]).
I believe that on the fly resolution changes are one of the "almost here" features that the GUI groups are working on at the mo'.
Hope that helps. (Oh and don't use slash dot to post technical newbie questions, hah, beat ya too it!!!!..................sorry, I'm at work and it's driving me a little nuts!)
"Two years ago I said that we would vigorously defend a principle that is critical to both consumers and the future of the high-tech industry - the right of every company to innovate and improve its products. Today we move forward to protect this principle and maintain our commitment to innovation."
I just wonder how Microsoft believes this right applies to companies they have pushed out or absorbed and diffused (like Wordstar et al). I think the hidden message here is actually "the right of every company to innovate and improve its products within the Microsoft development plan."
These other suppliers (Lotus, Sun-Staroffice, Applixware and other opensource projects) all try to offer their own proprietary formats (ok, maybe not the opensource projects, but certainly the big boys) and also offer to support MS formats.
An alternative solution that I believe may be the answer is to create an open community equivalent to the W3C (is that right, the body that maintains the HTML standard, whether or not it is followed, (it's late and my brain is getting foggy)) for office document formats. This way there would be an open, universal specification for document formats that all the main products could conform to and would be available to any newcomers. The bigger suites could support open standards and proprietary if they wished (for advanced formatting that they thought was important), but it would mean that if you wanted to ensure that your documents could be read by anyone, you could use the universal format. Also a document format such as this would (hopefully) be outside the control of any one developer.
It's not a perfect solution by any means, but it could just be a step in the right direction .
BluePoint Linux can be found:
m
http://www.bluepoint.com.cn/english/info/index.ht
And from their web site are:
BluePoint Linux Software Co., Ltd. (BluePoint) is the leading Chinese Linux operating system provider in China.
(Just incase you're interested)
Cheers
Taking Games Seriously
/.
More on Games
(User Info)
(Score:2)
GAMES GOOD! (Score:2)
(User Info)
(User Info)
(Score:2)
(User Info)
(User Info)
(Score:2)
(User Info)
(User Info)
games themselves. (User Info)
(User Info)
(User Info)
(User Info)
(User Info)
(User Info)
(User Info)
Gaming as culture (Score:4, Interesting)
(User Info)
Re:Gaming as culture (Score:2)
(User Info)
online gaming has developed.
Lumping games
Mainstream games (Score:4, Insightful)
games, etc. Re:Mainstream games (Score:3, Interesting)
(User Info)
(User Info)
(User Info)
gaming site.
(Score:2)
(Score:2)
Gaming != Computer Gaming, folks.
Games! (Score:2)
(Score:2)
(Score:2)
Computer games and violence (Score:2)
games. (Score:2)
Now what does that mean?????????
(Good natured sarcasm follows)
Wasn't the fact that they've had a beta version out for a couple of months a bit of a clue?
Having read the original linked article the issue at hand is application user interfaces, not installation and/or setup issues. It's a question of "Does that clipboard button copy or paste?" not "Can I configure this program without a text editor?".
There are a lot of users that will never have the motivation, desire, inclination or whatever to even think of trying to install a new software package themselves, let alone try to configure it. But these self-same people can often (as another post pointed out) become macro wizards and formatting gurus. I have quite a few friends that use windows and often phone me up to ask question about simple configuration options. It's not that they are dumb, but that computers are not their field. (I actually know someone who brought their Win98 system back to the shop to get them to install Real Player).
The real issue here is the question of user interfaces for application software. There is a great need for good GUI based software for the users that just want to get their work done and not solve visual puzzles at the same time. This issue will start to go away with the arrival of large commercial companies such as Corel.
Also I would like to point out that when there is more layman friendly software under Linux this should not mean that you couldn't use your good old text based apps. Unlike Windows, Linux should be about flexibility.
Finally, on the topic of installation/configuration, this is an ideal area for a service/support industry. For those users that don't want to be bothered administering/setting up their systems, local companies can do it for them. They could alert customers to new software versions, security patches and the like, and Linux can be administered remotely (telneting in as root). This could actually be a benefit to people that just want to e-mail, surf & write letters.
What about the next odd unix time??
That'd be 951111111, right?
Firstly his name was Gordan Freeman.
Secondly that accident was at the Black Mesa facillity not at the Sandia National Laboratories.
... AND I think you need to find a better job.
- Linux on Intel would be LINTEL (much better IMHO, maybe that coined phrase should be used instead)
- Linux is being ported to the PowerPC Platform, (quite successfully from what I can tell) so the potential domination of the G4 et. al. would not spell doom for the Linux community.
Didn't Shakespeare say: "Linux under any other platform would..." If anyone can remember the rest of the quote, I'd appreciate it.The course of action I would probably take would be to export the data from Access into a format that your favorite SQL database can handle.
Access exports into Some spreadsheet formats, text, rich text format, Foxpro, dBase and even outputs to ODBC databases,(though you'd have to see if you can get a driver for access from the manufacturer).
dBase is probably your best bet as far as real database formats are concerned.
ODBC drivers, would be interesting to see if MS Access would accept PostgreSQL drivers, or if it would revolt. Anyway, the Access help file has some info re. installing ODBC drivers.
If nothing else, most DBMS should import a text format table.
Good luck.
Hail the Penguin!
""The argument that teaching evolution will destroy a student's faith in God is no more true today than it was during the Scopes trial in 1925," the letter said."
Assuming that faith in God was one of the main engines in the move to remove Evolution based studies from the official curriculum, I would like to postulate:
Which is more indicative of a supreme, omnipotent and infinitely knowing God:
I think the theory of evolution denying faith is the wrong way round.
Thank you for allowing me to get that off my chest.