And Microsoft knows this. Thats why they have a couple of options available to system and network admins. WSUS is already on it's third version. If you don't want to use that, System Center Essentials includes a similar feature.
I read that story the other day, and the biggest problem I had with it, besides that no one is quite sure if it actually happened, is that Stallman never actually asked Xerox for the driver. He tried to get it through back-channels who had signed agreements not to disclose the source of the driver. If he had just gone to Xerox, stated the problem, and said that he wanted to write a patch, it would have never been a problem.
Common Sense: 1, Stallman: 0
While Stallman would like to bully companies into throwing open their source on anything that might touch his precious GNU project, its not realistic. If you want companies to write drivers for their hardware and ensure compatability, you have to give them the option to keep their secrets secret. Otherwise you'll just scare them off and hurt yourself in the process.
The thing is, Linus is as human as Stallman and therefore, prone to opinions. Sometimes, he restricts them to technical subjects. Other times, he makes a humorous and snarky comment about a bunch of smelly hippies.
The key word there is informed. Your average script-kiddie or nationally sponsored hacker may be able to break in, but unless they know the system they're hacking and how to control it, they're next-to-useless in doing any damage. The biggest threat will come from someone inside the company who knows the systems and how to insert malicious codes into them. They won't need remote access because they can load that code from the terminal.
But depending on the size of the facility, a programmer might not be cost effective. Your average IT guy might not have the skill-set to right Linux kernal patches, and even if you're a small facility in a large corporation, you might not have the same software running your SCADA system as any other plant.
That's more creative than the most recent game I played in. We had a half-orc monk and a 3-foot tall 33 pound halfing Ranger in our party. Our DM created a special rule that would allow the Orc to throw the halfling as a weapon. I think they tried to use that combination against some rock creature, and it failed miserably.
That blackberry device that you were using can also make phone calls. Phone calls travel really fast, and can generally inform you whether or not the business is open.
That assumes that my blackberry was set up for voice+data service, and not data only service. In this case, my blackberry was set up for data only.
Google is my first destination for many things, but phone listings aren't among them. I tend to have better luck with phone numbers (both ways: look up a business, or reverse-lookup a number who called me) on other sites. I've never used local.google.com for anything, and I use Google for a lot of stuff. The local aspect doesn't appeal to me, at least not yet. Maybe I'm out of touch with the current generation of web-2.0.71 users, but aside from internet cafes or eBay consignment stores, I can't imagine that "if you don't exist on local.google.com, you don't exist" really rings true in many cases.
I was camping with my family recently and didn't have Internet access during the trip. After a disastrous morning fishing where I lost two lures, I wanted to find a good bait shop to get some advice about the lake we were fishing on. So I pulled out my blackberry, fired up Google maps, and searched for bait shops (and several variations on that term) for that area. Only two local shops came up, and we set out to find them.
After an hour of driving around looking for these shops, it turned out that neither shop was in business any longer, and we had to settle for the sporting goods section at the local Super Walmart. Next time, I'll settle for talking to the person at the campground store.
But the Electoral College serves a valid purpose. It protects against direct popular rule. It also ensures our republic as it allows the majority of the states to choose who is president, not a majority of the people.
Without the electoral college, vast parts of America will be ignored by would-be politicians who would focus solely on the population centers where a majority of the population lives.
But the electoral college has nothing to do with the polarizing campaigns. Those will remain if we eliminate that institution, and would probably get worse as you're seeking to win over vast swaths of people instead of just winning states.
Maybe Novell-Microsoft is a bad move. Maybe it was an attempt to trap Microsoft under GPL v.3 that backfired. Maybe it was Novell trying to bring the Windows and Linux worlds closer together with some attempt at easing patent concerns for some businesses.
Regardless of that, isn't getting users some exposure to linux, even if it is from someone attached to Microsoft, a good thing?
So? The config files are drop-dead easy. Easier than poking your way through a GUI maze, IMHO.
Different strokes for different folks. Some people love config files and text editors, others find GUIs, even the poor ones, easier to use. That all comes down to personal preference.
Just out of curiosity, what are some of those groupware applications? I know it comes up on Slashdot every now and then, but I can't seem to recall what those packages are.
For me, apps are just part of the problem. In addition to being a network admin (and relatively new in that position), I run (or at least attempt to run) my own photography business. Linux, as a desktop, is not an option for me because it won't run Photoshop or work with RAW files.
That doesn't mean I won't be using any Linux, BSD, or other free software. I have scribus, Kompozer, Thunderbird, and Firefox on my windows laptop. My primary file server will be a Linux box or FreeNAS (once I get it set up). I use Ubuntu Server in a VM as a test server for my website. And I will be building my VPN on openswan. The only thing I am missing is Active Directory and Exchange, but I don't feel like paying $500 bucks for Server 2003 Small Business.
Like anything, its about finding balance. Find the areas you're comfortable using a particular type of software and use it there. You don't have to use it for everything, especially in areas where it doesn't fit.
When trying to make your case, don't make it on some philosophy that you agree with. Put your argument into something managers will understand - dollars and cents. Show how much you save by using Linux, how much it will cost to port your work to.Net. Make your case that it isn't worth transitioning to.Net because it would the company too much money.
What's to say that all those users weren't getting their XBoxes modded so they could turn them into cheap media center PCs? Is it a crime to change *your property* to do something that it wasn't designed to do?
Who cares? If your technology is causing problems with your relationship, you need to ditch the technology. Who cares if you share online calendars, email accounts, and blogs? There are more important things in a relationship than some electrons on a computer.
Sometimes, its best to ditch the technology and use old-fashioned methods to keep track of things. Put a calendar on your wall and use that instead of starting a fight over merging your online calendars. If your SO has a separate email account, let them keep it. You'll never know if they create another one anyway.
I already told my girlfriend, and her friends, that we're registering at Best Buy and Toys 'R Us. Nothing says "Congratulations" like a Lego Mindstorms kit and a Blu-ray player.
Slashdot Mirror
Um....WSUS is free.
And Microsoft knows this. Thats why they have a couple of options available to system and network admins. WSUS is already on it's third version. If you don't want to use that, System Center Essentials includes a similar feature.
I read that story the other day, and the biggest problem I had with it, besides that no one is quite sure if it actually happened, is that Stallman never actually asked Xerox for the driver. He tried to get it through back-channels who had signed agreements not to disclose the source of the driver. If he had just gone to Xerox, stated the problem, and said that he wanted to write a patch, it would have never been a problem.
Common Sense: 1, Stallman: 0
While Stallman would like to bully companies into throwing open their source on anything that might touch his precious GNU project, its not realistic. If you want companies to write drivers for their hardware and ensure compatability, you have to give them the option to keep their secrets secret. Otherwise you'll just scare them off and hurt yourself in the process.
The thing is, Linus is as human as Stallman and therefore, prone to opinions. Sometimes, he restricts them to technical subjects. Other times, he makes a humorous and snarky comment about a bunch of smelly hippies.
Does it ever work that way? Seriously...by circling the wagons, its only making them look guilty as hell.
The key word there is informed. Your average script-kiddie or nationally sponsored hacker may be able to break in, but unless they know the system they're hacking and how to control it, they're next-to-useless in doing any damage. The biggest threat will come from someone inside the company who knows the systems and how to insert malicious codes into them. They won't need remote access because they can load that code from the terminal.
But depending on the size of the facility, a programmer might not be cost effective. Your average IT guy might not have the skill-set to right Linux kernal patches, and even if you're a small facility in a large corporation, you might not have the same software running your SCADA system as any other plant.
That's more creative than the most recent game I played in. We had a half-orc monk and a 3-foot tall 33 pound halfing Ranger in our party. Our DM created a special rule that would allow the Orc to throw the halfling as a weapon. I think they tried to use that combination against some rock creature, and it failed miserably.
So it's like Risk?
That assumes that my blackberry was set up for voice+data service, and not data only service. In this case, my blackberry was set up for data only.
That, combined with traffic and an unfamiliar city means that you go by where the place is supposed to be and don't realize it.
I was camping with my family recently and didn't have Internet access during the trip. After a disastrous morning fishing where I lost two lures, I wanted to find a good bait shop to get some advice about the lake we were fishing on. So I pulled out my blackberry, fired up Google maps, and searched for bait shops (and several variations on that term) for that area. Only two local shops came up, and we set out to find them.
After an hour of driving around looking for these shops, it turned out that neither shop was in business any longer, and we had to settle for the sporting goods section at the local Super Walmart. Next time, I'll settle for talking to the person at the campground store.
We've tried that with copyright. Look what's happening there.
And if this was that other site, Studman_69 would be telling us how her knees are too sharp.
But the Electoral College serves a valid purpose. It protects against direct popular rule. It also ensures our republic as it allows the majority of the states to choose who is president, not a majority of the people.
Without the electoral college, vast parts of America will be ignored by would-be politicians who would focus solely on the population centers where a majority of the population lives.
But the electoral college has nothing to do with the polarizing campaigns. Those will remain if we eliminate that institution, and would probably get worse as you're seeking to win over vast swaths of people instead of just winning states.
But those will just be like blowing up a firecracker on the palm of your hand.
I, for one, then welcome our Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck oil-drilling astronaut overlords.
Maybe Novell-Microsoft is a bad move. Maybe it was an attempt to trap Microsoft under GPL v.3 that backfired. Maybe it was Novell trying to bring the Windows and Linux worlds closer together with some attempt at easing patent concerns for some businesses.
Regardless of that, isn't getting users some exposure to linux, even if it is from someone attached to Microsoft, a good thing?
Last time I checked, there was a way to share photos and videos posted to Facebook with people who didn't have accounts or didn't want to sign up.
Different strokes for different folks. Some people love config files and text editors, others find GUIs, even the poor ones, easier to use. That all comes down to personal preference.
Just out of curiosity, what are some of those groupware applications? I know it comes up on Slashdot every now and then, but I can't seem to recall what those packages are.
For me, apps are just part of the problem. In addition to being a network admin (and relatively new in that position), I run (or at least attempt to run) my own photography business. Linux, as a desktop, is not an option for me because it won't run Photoshop or work with RAW files.
That doesn't mean I won't be using any Linux, BSD, or other free software. I have scribus, Kompozer, Thunderbird, and Firefox on my windows laptop. My primary file server will be a Linux box or FreeNAS (once I get it set up). I use Ubuntu Server in a VM as a test server for my website. And I will be building my VPN on openswan. The only thing I am missing is Active Directory and Exchange, but I don't feel like paying $500 bucks for Server 2003 Small Business.
Like anything, its about finding balance. Find the areas you're comfortable using a particular type of software and use it there. You don't have to use it for everything, especially in areas where it doesn't fit.
When trying to make your case, don't make it on some philosophy that you agree with. Put your argument into something managers will understand - dollars and cents. Show how much you save by using Linux, how much it will cost to port your work to .Net. Make your case that it isn't worth transitioning to .Net because it would the company too much money.
What's to say that all those users weren't getting their XBoxes modded so they could turn them into cheap media center PCs? Is it a crime to change *your property* to do something that it wasn't designed to do?
Who cares? If your technology is causing problems with your relationship, you need to ditch the technology. Who cares if you share online calendars, email accounts, and blogs? There are more important things in a relationship than some electrons on a computer.
Sometimes, its best to ditch the technology and use old-fashioned methods to keep track of things. Put a calendar on your wall and use that instead of starting a fight over merging your online calendars. If your SO has a separate email account, let them keep it. You'll never know if they create another one anyway.
I already told my girlfriend, and her friends, that we're registering at Best Buy and Toys 'R Us. Nothing says "Congratulations" like a Lego Mindstorms kit and a Blu-ray player.