Who here has ever gotten a straight and enlightening answer from a vendor on anything other than a hardware related question?
So true.
As far as I can tell, Dell only supports the hardware anyway. They provide OS drivers for the hardware, but their support stops there.
You don't get Windows support, you get Windows -driver- support.
Linux is the Kernel. People seem to be missing the point, the problem isn't so much supporting multiple distros, the problem is supporting multiple kernel versions. I'm not saying that is an easy thing to do, I'm sure it would be a pain in the ass (ie., costs Dell money).
It's not about that for most people. The sooner you get that through your head, the better off you'll be. Joe Sixpack doesn't care about anything other than "How easy is it for me to 'Do X'?"
Yes, you are correct, all Joe Sixpack cares about is how easy things are. Does getting that through my head really make -me - better off?
For the forseeable future, Windows is going to win that contest.
And lose the security battle.
But what is the contest, really? Market share? What do we really care about market share? We don't have any shareholders who are expecting a quarterly profit.
While it might be nice to see more adoption by Joe Sixpack, it doesn't do anyone any good to compromise the good things about Linux on the altar of "market share". As you pointed out, Joe definitely doesn't care about security or long-term sustainability, but I do, it's the reason I run Debian.
My family and I have been using it for quite a while, and I would say that usability is coming along quite nicely. It is not a race to reach the lowest common denominator, nor should it be. Microsoft will eventually be hung by their own petard, just like IBM was when they were the "bad guy" and Microsoft was the "good guy".
Joe Sixpack cannot manage his dumbed-down Windows system effectively, what reason do we have to believe he is ever going to be able to manage a dumbed-down Linux system effectively?
But the flip side of this is that if something on your system becomes b0rked, with Linux there is -always- a way to fix it. In the Windows world, the lack of transparency makes troubleshooting something of a black art, to say the least. The allure of Linux isn't that it is hard, it's that it is transparent.
Also, can we get over the GIMP thing? It's called the GIMP, it will always be called the GIMP, if what it's called is the biggest problem you have, then I guess you are running out of problems.
How do I install MS Office? You use crossover office if you are really so frigging desperate to run MS Office. But that is a square peg in a round hole...
The bottom line is that Linux is not Windows. Until you get that through your head, you are better off staying with Windows.
Really, your objections are so petty. You completely overlook the real *long-term* advantages of using an OS and a packaging system that is actually maintainable.
You are running Windows securely (wait, hear me out!) in your organization, for instance, by using the NSA guidelines.
Your people need to run an application, but when it runs, it insists on writing to one of its files that it installed in the system32 directory. No real reason for it to be in system32, but that's where it's hard-coded.
Of course, letting users write to system32 is a Bad Idea.
With a closed-source app, you are fscked.
With an open-source app, you change the path to the file, rebuild, and deploy securely, routing around the brain-damaged default.
Yes, I have seen too many apps that do this.
We're not talking about doing a security audit, just changing a simple, brain-dead default to something that allows us to run without throwing out our basic security standards.
How is that hard to grasp at MS? Assuming everything needs admin permissions is just insane, and insisting it isn't a security hole and is a "design choice" is just fucking retarded.
IMO, the problem isn't so much with MS, it is with Windows application developers. As the Windows security model evolved, most of the developers' attitudes got stuck back at Windows95.
The lazy attitudes of developers (or the companies that employ them) have brought this situation to us.
I've lost count of the number of applications that "need" admin rights to install or even run. Most of the time, it's just a matter of rights to a specific directory or reg key (thank goodness for regmon/filemon!), but to play it safe they tell you that you've got to be admin.
The photo editing software that came with my Nikon camera out-and-out states in the "system requirements" that you have to be running as admin to even -use- the application.
That's not a MS issue, that is a lazy/incompetent application developer issue. Well ok, it's also a closed-source software issue, but that's a whole other holy war...
HDMI beats component on todays "digital" LCD and plasma screens when used with digital sources like cable or DVDs, as you're not converting from digital to analog back to a digital matrix.
I keep hearing this and wondering if it is really better, and if so, in what way better.
IOW, what difference will I see on my screen? What should I look for to recognize signs of degradation?
I can't help but feeling that "it's better because it's -all- digital" is just BS, kind of like "but it goes all the way to 11!".
Please enlighten me. How does the degradation manifest itself?
A thesis will also require a "definition of terms", a list of keywords that must be in italics throughout
the document, a "list of variables", which is a list of mathematical variables, and a set of references. All of these will have to be cross-referenced with references throughtout the thesis.
And all of these are things that MS Word is terrible at doing.
It's like trying to do carpentry with a swiss army knife.
When you cross the line into thesis territory, there really is nothing better than LaTeX (maybe with something like Lyx or Kile to help you get started).
What kind of dumbass assume that glowing lights = bomb?
It's part of what I call the "24" effect (after the Fox Network program 24).
More and more you see people's attitudes toward terrorism and law enforcement being molded by what they see on 24.
On 24, bombs all have blinking lights that count down.
On 24, Jack Bauer -must- torture the terrorist suspect -now- to stop the terrorist attack that is about to happen. No time for legal procedures, they must be stopped now!
People are starting to really believe that shit...
OK, we're -way- off-topic now. Sounds like you are happy with PS and it fits your needs. No problem (as long as you willing to pay for your copy of PS).
But your needs sound pretty specialized.
Like I've said a couple of times, the problem is people who say GIMP is shit and PS is the one true image program, or GIMP is totally a replacement for PS in situations where it isn't.
Most people who either bootleg PS at home or demand that their organization buy PS for their -typical- image manipulation requirements are off-base. And the zealots who claim that GIMP is a replacement for PS in every situation are just as far off-base.
My point is that uninformed advocacy is a big problem on both sides when discussing GNU/Linux as an alternative to proprietary solutions (the original subject, remember?).
Of course it's unreasonable to expect otherwise, but anyone claiming GIMP is suitable for "a majority of people" has probably only used either for cropping and resizing.
I guess I'm proof that you are wrong. I use GIMP for a hell of a lot more than just cropping and resizing.
But you know what, in the places where I have worked (not graphics shops), a majority of the people who claim they "need" PS pretty much only need to crop and resize. But they have been convinced by idiots that they need PS to do this.
Which is my point, unbalanced advocacy. You are a perfect example, you clearly don't know what GIMP can and cannot do vs. what PS can do, yet you blather on.
Can someone please tell me why GIMP doesn't name things, locate things, scale things, and provide the same ranges of values as Photoshop, for the subset of Photoshop functionality that it does provide, so that all that Photoshop material could be helpful to GIMP users?
Probably because GIMP isn't PS.
But GIMP is designed flexibly enough that it can be configured to look a lot like PS. Go back to Google and search for gimpshop...
Pick any task you can accomplish in both and google for a tutorial. A topical turotial, involving multiple tools and techniques, not just a menu-function description. That is, look for a non-trivial example. How do you accomplish a task, not just how do you operate a tool. You will find solutions for Photoshop and not for GIMP.
I just Googled "GIMP tutorial", and I don't know if you are using the same Google as I am, but there are a lot of tutorials "involving multiple tools and techniques", as well as entire books.
Not specific enough? OK, how about we try "GIMP tutorial masks"? Hmmm, a little under half a million hits on that, and the first 10 look pretty useful.
Again, it seems you are a perfect example of the unbalanced advocacy that I was originally talking about.
Is quite often the GNU alternatives proposed aren't even close to being workable replacements. A good example is the classic GIMP/Photoshop thing. Anyone who's actually done prepress and played with both tools quickly finds that GIMP just won't cut it. It's neat, but you aren't going to replace PS. Yet all the time I see GIMP advocated as a replacement. I get the same thing with pro audio. I've asked, in all seriousness, for tools that can replace the expensive commercial tools like Cubase and Sonar. Invariably I get pointed to Audacity and Ardour. When I point out the massive flaws and shortcommings, I get yelled at, told to "fix it yourself the code is open", and so on.
The problem with the advocacy for and against Free alternatives is the all-or-nothing attitude.
For example let's look at GIMP vs. Photoshop.
For prepress, sure, GIMP is not a replacement for PS (yet) and you would be crazy to advocate GIMP for that. But pre-press is such a tiny piece of the PS pie. In my experience, a majority of the people who think they "need" PS would do fine with GIMP. Typical example, people in my organization who have an occasional need to edit/manipulate images for the web or internal flyers are convinced that they must have PS. No, they would be fine with GIMP. But the PS zealots say that GIMP is so inferior to PS that no sane person would consider GIMP over PS.
Same with Audacity/Ardor vs. Cubase/Sonar. Audacity will do a lot and cover -most- users' needs, but you would be way off-base to think that it is a pro studio app. But Audacity is good enough in most cases, and Cubase would be an over-the-top waste of money for many of those cases. Yet, you mention Ardor or Audacity in one of those situations, and some smart-ass will convince the PHB that nothing less than ProTools will do.
It's been said a million times, right tool for the right job, but it seems that there is always someone in a position of influence that takes their advocacy too far in one direction or the other.
The women in cities which are built on hills tend to be more svelt and.. just generally.. better looking.
I know you were kind of joking, but my wife has been experimenting with a heart monitor while walking/exercising for the last year.
We live in a valley surrounded by mountains that provides plenty of walking opportunities both on the flat and in the hills.
You are definitely on to something with your hill theory. The amount of cardio exercise that you get walking up a hill is significantly more than walking the same pace on the flat. In fact, you have to run on the flat to get your heart rate anywhere near the "zone", while simply walking in the hills puts you in the zone right away.
And market pricing of road use appropriate for peak hours has been tried nowhere.
Does London's Congestion Charge not count?
For all of its faults, London's congestion charge has had a marked effect.
I visit London occasionally (actually as infrequently as possible), and on my most recent visit I was amazed by the change that the the congestion charge has brought about. There are thousands of people on bicycles now. I was amazed and impressed.
Big brother isn't just the government, it's EVERYONE.
This is exactly how the Stasi was able to keep the East German people in a perpetual state of fear/control, back in the bad old days. Lather, rinse, repeat with all "Eastern Bloc" countries.
Now I agree, it is stupid to do -anything- personal on a work laptop.
But "feds on speed-dial"? Judging by the gleeful tone of your post, I would say that you are part of the problem.
Welcome to the gulag comrade, hope you enjoy your stay...
I don't know if you are joking, but it isn't going to hit the sun. It orbits the sun. From our point of view on earth, it will disappear behind the sun, then re-appear on the other side of the sun.
I dislike M$ as much as the next/. poster, but saying W2K is 'broken' in this case is a bit of a stretch. The gov't changed the rules governing daylight savings time; it's not like it *wasn't* right before.
If not broken, then certainly fragile. Why the hell isn't it just *configurable*?
That's the main problem with MS junk, they deliberately make it inflexible, and eventually that leads to breakage.
It used to be that European DST changed a week later than US DST. I was admining Novell 4.x systems at the time, and they <gasp> allowed you to *configure* the DST change to happen whenever you wanted it to.
MS products are designed to force upgrades for the most trivial of reasons...
They allow two songs to download simultaneously at a time so it should be possible to configure any download manager to work under these restrictions.
Actually, they don't restrict the number of simultaneous downloads at all, AFAICT. In moz, you just have to up the number of "persistant connections" and Bob's your uncle. I have mine set to 6 and I can do 6 downloads at once.
The things I really like about emusic:
$0.22 per track. The fact that the RIAA is talking $0.70 wholesale really highlights the fact that they are greedy criminals.
You bought it, you own it. Straight-up q=3 VBR mp3.
As long as you are a subscriber, you can re-download any track you have already purchased at no additional cost.
One free track (of their choice) per day.
Multiple good recommendation systems (emusic dozen, featured album, neighbors, others who liked foo also liked bar, etc.) on their web site.
The feeling that they trust you to do the right thing.
Millions of tracks to choose from.
I know I sound like a shill, but really I'm just a very satisfied customer...
It's also possible for two different buildings to have a voltage difference between ground (I know sounds weird). The voltage difference can cause current to actually run from one building to another through the neutral wire in the ethernet cable.
Now that you mention it, I saw this happen in the same room.
One workstation, one server (this was back in the Novell 2.x days), and a solid 10 volts of ground difference that kept bringing the "network" down. I guess they were on different circuits, the building was built in WWII.
When I drink my $30 a pound Blue Mountain that I roasted myself, I know where my money went. And it really tasted great.
You do know that the reason Blue Mountain, Kona, etc. are so expensive is not so much that they taste especially great, but that the production is so limited.
Personally, I've tried a lot of beans, and there just isn't a lot of correlation between cost and taste. I've had Ethiopian beans (at $30 a kilo) that tasted like ass, and I've had Kenyan beans (at $10 a kilo) that tasted great.
Don't turn your nose up just because the price is low, you have to sample a lot of varieties and choose the ones that work for you.
But it -is- all about roasting your own and keeping it fresh, I totally agree.
To get back on topic, I think the reason Starbucks espresso tastes so bad is that it is way too hot. They scald the coffee. The best way to judge a coffee shop is to try the espresso straight. Of course if you haven't had real good coffee before, you don't know what you are missing, and might be better off for it.
Slashdot Mirror
So true.
As far as I can tell, Dell only supports the hardware anyway. They provide OS drivers for the hardware, but their support stops there.
You don't get Windows support, you get Windows -driver- support.
Linux is the Kernel. People seem to be missing the point, the problem isn't so much supporting multiple distros, the problem is supporting multiple kernel versions. I'm not saying that is an easy thing to do, I'm sure it would be a pain in the ass (ie., costs Dell money).
About -40 F ....
Yes, you are correct, all Joe Sixpack cares about is how easy things are. Does getting that through my head really make -me - better off?
And lose the security battle.
But what is the contest, really? Market share? What do we really care about market share? We don't have any shareholders who are expecting a quarterly profit.
While it might be nice to see more adoption by Joe Sixpack, it doesn't do anyone any good to compromise the good things about Linux on the altar of "market share". As you pointed out, Joe definitely doesn't care about security or long-term sustainability, but I do, it's the reason I run Debian.
My family and I have been using it for quite a while, and I would say that usability is coming along quite nicely. It is not a race to reach the lowest common denominator, nor should it be. Microsoft will eventually be hung by their own petard, just like IBM was when they were the "bad guy" and Microsoft was the "good guy".
Joe Sixpack cannot manage his dumbed-down Windows system effectively, what reason do we have to believe he is ever going to be able to manage a dumbed-down Linux system effectively?
But the flip side of this is that if something on your system becomes b0rked, with Linux there is -always- a way to fix it. In the Windows world, the lack of transparency makes troubleshooting something of a black art, to say the least. The allure of Linux isn't that it is hard, it's that it is transparent.
Also, can we get over the GIMP thing? It's called the GIMP, it will always be called the GIMP, if what it's called is the biggest problem you have, then I guess you are running out of problems.
How do I install MS Office? You use crossover office if you are really so frigging desperate to run MS Office. But that is a square peg in a round hole...
The bottom line is that Linux is not Windows. Until you get that through your head, you are better off staying with Windows.
Really, your objections are so petty. You completely overlook the real *long-term* advantages of using an OS and a packaging system that is actually maintainable.
Here's a common scenario for you:
You are running Windows securely (wait, hear me out!) in your organization, for instance, by using the NSA guidelines.
Your people need to run an application, but when it runs, it insists on writing to one of its files that it installed in the system32 directory. No real reason for it to be in system32, but that's where it's hard-coded.
Of course, letting users write to system32 is a Bad Idea.
With a closed-source app, you are fscked.
With an open-source app, you change the path to the file, rebuild, and deploy securely, routing around the brain-damaged default.
Yes, I have seen too many apps that do this.
We're not talking about doing a security audit, just changing a simple, brain-dead default to something that allows us to run without throwing out our basic security standards.
IMO, the problem isn't so much with MS, it is with Windows application developers. As the Windows security model evolved, most of the developers' attitudes got stuck back at Windows95.
The lazy attitudes of developers (or the companies that employ them) have brought this situation to us.
I've lost count of the number of applications that "need" admin rights to install or even run. Most of the time, it's just a matter of rights to a specific directory or reg key (thank goodness for regmon/filemon!), but to play it safe they tell you that you've got to be admin.
The photo editing software that came with my Nikon camera out-and-out states in the "system requirements" that you have to be running as admin to even -use- the application.
That's not a MS issue, that is a lazy/incompetent application developer issue. Well ok, it's also a closed-source software issue, but that's a whole other holy war...
I keep hearing this and wondering if it is really better, and if so, in what way better.
IOW, what difference will I see on my screen? What should I look for to recognize signs of degradation?
I can't help but feeling that "it's better because it's -all- digital" is just BS, kind of like "but it goes all the way to 11!".
Please enlighten me. How does the degradation manifest itself?
And all of these are things that MS Word is terrible at doing.
It's like trying to do carpentry with a swiss army knife.
When you cross the line into thesis territory, there really is nothing better than LaTeX (maybe with something like Lyx or Kile to help you get started).
It's part of what I call the "24" effect (after the Fox Network program 24).
More and more you see people's attitudes toward terrorism and law enforcement being molded by what they see on 24.
On 24, bombs all have blinking lights that count down.
On 24, Jack Bauer -must- torture the terrorist suspect -now- to stop the terrorist attack that is about to happen. No time for legal procedures, they must be stopped now!
People are starting to really believe that shit...
OK, we're -way- off-topic now. Sounds like you are happy with PS and it fits your needs. No problem (as long as you willing to pay for your copy of PS).
But your needs sound pretty specialized.
Like I've said a couple of times, the problem is people who say GIMP is shit and PS is the one true image program, or GIMP is totally a replacement for PS in situations where it isn't.
Most people who either bootleg PS at home or demand that their organization buy PS for their -typical- image manipulation requirements are off-base. And the zealots who claim that GIMP is a replacement for PS in every situation are just as far off-base.
My point is that uninformed advocacy is a big problem on both sides when discussing GNU/Linux as an alternative to proprietary solutions (the original subject, remember?).
I guess I'm proof that you are wrong. I use GIMP for a hell of a lot more than just cropping and resizing.
But you know what, in the places where I have worked (not graphics shops), a majority of the people who claim they "need" PS pretty much only need to crop and resize. But they have been convinced by idiots that they need PS to do this.
Which is my point, unbalanced advocacy. You are a perfect example, you clearly don't know what GIMP can and cannot do vs. what PS can do, yet you blather on.
Probably because GIMP isn't PS.
But GIMP is designed flexibly enough that it can be configured to look a lot like PS. Go back to Google and search for gimpshop...
I just Googled "GIMP tutorial", and I don't know if you are using the same Google as I am, but there are a lot of tutorials "involving multiple tools and techniques", as well as entire books.
Not specific enough? OK, how about we try "GIMP tutorial masks"? Hmmm, a little under half a million hits on that, and the first 10 look pretty useful.
Again, it seems you are a perfect example of the unbalanced advocacy that I was originally talking about.
The problem with the advocacy for and against Free alternatives is the all-or-nothing attitude.
For example let's look at GIMP vs. Photoshop.
For prepress, sure, GIMP is not a replacement for PS (yet) and you would be crazy to advocate GIMP for that. But pre-press is such a tiny piece of the PS pie. In my experience, a majority of the people who think they "need" PS would do fine with GIMP. Typical example, people in my organization who have an occasional need to edit/manipulate images for the web or internal flyers are convinced that they must have PS. No, they would be fine with GIMP. But the PS zealots say that GIMP is so inferior to PS that no sane person would consider GIMP over PS.
Same with Audacity/Ardor vs. Cubase/Sonar. Audacity will do a lot and cover -most- users' needs, but you would be way off-base to think that it is a pro studio app. But Audacity is good enough in most cases, and Cubase would be an over-the-top waste of money for many of those cases. Yet, you mention Ardor or Audacity in one of those situations, and some smart-ass will convince the PHB that nothing less than ProTools will do.
It's been said a million times, right tool for the right job, but it seems that there is always someone in a position of influence that takes their advocacy too far in one direction or the other.
s/transferring/transcoding/
There is a difference. You lose quality in the process. That's why Apple allows it.
I know you were kind of joking, but my wife has been experimenting with a heart monitor while walking/exercising for the last year.
We live in a valley surrounded by mountains that provides plenty of walking opportunities both on the flat and in the hills.
You are definitely on to something with your hill theory. The amount of cardio exercise that you get walking up a hill is significantly more than walking the same pace on the flat. In fact, you have to run on the flat to get your heart rate anywhere near the "zone", while simply walking in the hills puts you in the zone right away.
Does London's Congestion Charge not count?
For all of its faults, London's congestion charge has had a marked effect.
I visit London occasionally (actually as infrequently as possible), and on my most recent visit I was amazed by the change that the the congestion charge has brought about. There are thousands of people on bicycles now. I was amazed and impressed.
This is exactly how the Stasi was able to keep the East German people in a perpetual state of fear/control, back in the bad old days. Lather, rinse, repeat with all "Eastern Bloc" countries.
Now I agree, it is stupid to do -anything- personal on a work laptop.
But "feds on speed-dial"? Judging by the gleeful tone of your post, I would say that you are part of the problem.
Welcome to the gulag comrade, hope you enjoy your stay...
I don't know if you are joking, but it isn't going to hit the sun. It orbits the sun. From our point of view on earth, it will disappear behind the sun, then re-appear on the other side of the sun.
Here is a quick 'n dirty animation I threw together from the shots I took last Wednesday...
If not broken, then certainly fragile. Why the hell isn't it just *configurable*?
That's the main problem with MS junk, they deliberately make it inflexible, and eventually that leads to breakage.
It used to be that European DST changed a week later than US DST. I was admining Novell 4.x systems at the time, and they <gasp> allowed you to *configure* the DST change to happen whenever you wanted it to.
MS products are designed to force upgrades for the most trivial of reasons...
But that doesn't change the fundamental (pun intended) fact that they are both whores...
Actually, they don't restrict the number of simultaneous downloads at all, AFAICT. In moz, you just have to up the number of "persistant connections" and Bob's your uncle. I have mine set to 6 and I can do 6 downloads at once.
The things I really like about emusic:
I know I sound like a shill, but really I'm just a very satisfied customer...
Now that you mention it, I saw this happen in the same room.
One workstation, one server (this was back in the Novell 2.x days), and a solid 10 volts of ground difference that kept bringing the "network" down. I guess they were on different circuits, the building was built in WWII.
Shrug and reboot....
This makes a -very- effective lightning distribution system if there happens to be a strike nearby <shudder>
You do know that the reason Blue Mountain, Kona, etc. are so expensive is not so much that they taste especially great, but that the production is so limited.
Personally, I've tried a lot of beans, and there just isn't a lot of correlation between cost and taste. I've had Ethiopian beans (at $30 a kilo) that tasted like ass, and I've had Kenyan beans (at $10 a kilo) that tasted great.
Don't turn your nose up just because the price is low, you have to sample a lot of varieties and choose the ones that work for you.
But it -is- all about roasting your own and keeping it fresh, I totally agree.
To get back on topic, I think the reason Starbucks espresso tastes so bad is that it is way too hot. They scald the coffee. The best way to judge a coffee shop is to try the espresso straight. Of course if you haven't had real good coffee before, you don't know what you are missing, and might be better off for it.