If you download Rebirth and want to hear what it can do, listen to "A Taste of Haste" in the demo songs folder (because I wrote it and therefore it is good).
I appreciate your comment, and maybe Slackware will be my next attempt:)
If you're happy with Windows, and aren't bothered by the things that bother me (lack of customization, and being beholden to Microsoft's business model), then fair enough.
I would love for Linux to stick it to Microsoft, and one of my points of the comment was to alert Linux supporters about why the monopoly destruction plan isn't going as smoothly as hoped.
I know how to make my own distribution. I agree it's not that hard. The point of my post is that Linux still hasn't, for me anyway, answered the question "Why bother?"
About once a year I install a new flavor of Linux and give it a whirl. Here's why it's never caught on with me.
1. Installing apps sucks on Linux. And don't say "oh, well if you take a couple hours and learn all the commands and how to work out the dependencies, it's really not that bad." It shouldn't be bad at all. It should be a non-issue in 2005. I heard there are some simpler ways that are gaining popularity, but I won't learn about them till next year.
2. It seems that a lot of Linux enthusiasts are very interested in tinkering with their OS and tweaking stuff and getting it all the way they want it. When I was 16, that might have been interesting. I'm a little older now, and now I'm more interested in doing stuff than getting my OS ready for something I haven't even identified yet. For example, I don't want to tweak ASIO drivers for my sound card, I want to make music.
3. Too many distributions, no unity, blah blah blah.
4. Those cursed bootloaders. Moving on...
5. Someone else replied to this article and suggested that Windows users need to strap on a pair and get into Linux. Commercial software (Windows, OSX) has evolved to the point where the act of strapping on pair can be reserved for things that actually require balls. Computing is not one of those things (unless you're in the business of making mind-blowing software or something). Linux still hasn't dug itself out of the user-unfriendliness hole. It's getting better, but it's still a biatch. I'm not going to wrestle with an OS unless there is a compelling reason to do so. I have better things to do.
6. For me, the lack of game support and quality music production software is the nail in the coffin. Without good apps to run, why bother with the learning curve?
Hey, if you like Linux, have fun with it. I'm not criticizing it or the people that dedicate their time to their OS of choice. I'm just trying to point out (once again) why it's just not catching on.
I got one too. While it's definitely nice and light and pleasant sounding (except for the crap Apple earbuds, which quickly got stored away), I wouldn't quite call it heavenly. If another company is willing to sacrifice some profit margins to make a better player for the same retail cost, the Shuffle is definitely not unbeatable. I just don't think Sony will be the ones to do it.
Things to add: screen (even something simple), multiple playlists (would be a huge improvement IMO), EQ, FM/AM (debatable benefit), better battery life, better earbuds (anything is better than Apple's). Clearly there's room for improvement. They key is to try to beat the 2nd generation of the Shuffle, and not focus on the first.
Or does iTunes integration trump all those improvements anyway? Oh yeah, I don't need to worry about this stuff anymore!
It seems like the planning for this is taking forever, especially since it should be a boon to the tech industry. But remember, all government coordination is bad, private enterprise is always more efficient (that's sarcastic folks).
Sarcasm appreciated. And you should see what happens when government and private enterprise work together. It usually ain't quick.
A lot of comments in the pdf were related to Apple's capture of the "cool" factor, and how Intel can get in on the action. It seems that everyone wants to find a way for their company to be as cool as Apple is right now. The problem is that you can't just suddenly become a cool company when you've been, at least from the average consumer's view, pretty dull for the last couple decades. I know that the R&D done at Intel is probably fascinating cutting-edge stuff, but there's a limit to how cool a CPU or southbridge IC can be. Trying to feed off Apple's appeal would be a waste of time for Intel. It would take them years to make progress in this area, and by then the trends will be something completely different.
Note-I make no claims to know anything about being cool!
I've seen many people make lousy decisions, or completely ignore the fact that they face a decision, while driving and talking. For instance, 3 drivers have recently nearly run into me because they failed to look both ways before pulling onto a main road. It seems like such a basic task.
I'm glad you recognize that you don't drive as well when you're talking, and I've come to the same conclusion about myself. But I know many people who are too stubborn to make an objective judgement on their own talking/driving abilities, and that sucks.
Camera phones must fire a bullet at the person being photographed so that they are aware that their privacy is being invaded. A bullet wound is nothing compared to privacy invasion, right?
You're pretty much agreeing with my point. The Democrats decided to run against a Southern pompous rich jerk using a Northeastern pompous rich jerk. That was the biggest mistake they could have made. It was the DNC's election to lose, and they did exactly that.
Please take the results of this election as a strong hint, and please go meditate in a corner somewhere until you have the following revelation:
Although you and the members of your party are strongly attracted to smarmy candidates who love the camera and the sound of their own voice, you must realize that much of the country detests this kind of person. People do not like being talked down to, and our country is not desperately seeking the next JFK.
You failed to capitalize on the fact that many moderate-conservative people were disappointed with Bush's performance over the last 4 years. You failed to recognize the opportunity to bring these people into your camp, which would have been quite a feat considering many of the people in your camp are hippies that do not bathe. Instead, you nominated another rich, pre-manufactured, pompous character that non-Democrats just didn't want to deal with. You forced a lot of people to hold their nose and vote for Bush because John Kerry represents everything that sucks about the Democratic Party.
If you want to send your pix across the carrier's network, then fine, they should charge you. But you should have the option of downloading and uploading pix and ringtones direct from a PC without paying anyone for it. Verizon is a bitch about this, but I can't comment on the other carriers.
I have an LG VX6000 phone. With Bitpim (http://bitpim.sourceforge.net/) and a $10 cable from ebay, now I can do whatever I want (with my phone, not Elisha Cuthbert, darnit).
For people looking to get "more" from their cell phones, check out these sites:
Cell phone hacks: http://www.cellphonehacks.com/
Howard Forums: http://www.howardforums.com/
Ok article, but not great
on
The Long Tail
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
I'm happy to see this topic addressed, and the author clearly makes a good point. I hope the suits in the leather chairs are starting to understand this. Most of us were already aware of this apparent shift in purchasing patterns.
However, the article did not need to be as long as it was. The same point was repeated over and over, and although there's nothing wrong with presenting evidence, I thought, "Ok, I get it." The article also had that high-school-position-paper feel to it. I would have preferred to see more facts and a little less dissertation.
Slashdot Mirror
Self deprication is so 90's.
If you download Rebirth and want to hear what it can do, listen to "A Taste of Haste" in the demo songs folder (because I wrote it and therefore it is good).
If you're happy with Windows, and aren't bothered by the things that bother me (lack of customization, and being beholden to Microsoft's business model), then fair enough.
I would love for Linux to stick it to Microsoft, and one of my points of the comment was to alert Linux supporters about why the monopoly destruction plan isn't going as smoothly as hoped.
I know how to make my own distribution. I agree it's not that hard. The point of my post is that Linux still hasn't, for me anyway, answered the question "Why bother?"
1. Installing apps sucks on Linux. And don't say "oh, well if you take a couple hours and learn all the commands and how to work out the dependencies, it's really not that bad." It shouldn't be bad at all. It should be a non-issue in 2005. I heard there are some simpler ways that are gaining popularity, but I won't learn about them till next year.
2. It seems that a lot of Linux enthusiasts are very interested in tinkering with their OS and tweaking stuff and getting it all the way they want it. When I was 16, that might have been interesting. I'm a little older now, and now I'm more interested in doing stuff than getting my OS ready for something I haven't even identified yet. For example, I don't want to tweak ASIO drivers for my sound card, I want to make music.
3. Too many distributions, no unity, blah blah blah.
4. Those cursed bootloaders. Moving on...
5. Someone else replied to this article and suggested that Windows users need to strap on a pair and get into Linux. Commercial software (Windows, OSX) has evolved to the point where the act of strapping on pair can be reserved for things that actually require balls. Computing is not one of those things (unless you're in the business of making mind-blowing software or something). Linux still hasn't dug itself out of the user-unfriendliness hole. It's getting better, but it's still a biatch. I'm not going to wrestle with an OS unless there is a compelling reason to do so. I have better things to do.
6. For me, the lack of game support and quality music production software is the nail in the coffin. Without good apps to run, why bother with the learning curve?
Hey, if you like Linux, have fun with it. I'm not criticizing it or the people that dedicate their time to their OS of choice. I'm just trying to point out (once again) why it's just not catching on.
I never wanted to fork a browser, till I got ahold of the Noia Extreme Firefox theme. So pretttty...
I got one too. While it's definitely nice and light and pleasant sounding (except for the crap Apple earbuds, which quickly got stored away), I wouldn't quite call it heavenly. If another company is willing to sacrifice some profit margins to make a better player for the same retail cost, the Shuffle is definitely not unbeatable. I just don't think Sony will be the ones to do it.
Things to add: screen (even something simple), multiple playlists (would be a huge improvement IMO), EQ, FM/AM (debatable benefit), better battery life, better earbuds (anything is better than Apple's). Clearly there's room for improvement. They key is to try to beat the 2nd generation of the Shuffle, and not focus on the first.
Or does iTunes integration trump all those improvements anyway? Oh yeah, I don't need to worry about this stuff anymore!
Sarcasm appreciated. And you should see what happens when government and private enterprise work together. It usually ain't quick.
A lot of comments in the pdf were related to Apple's capture of the "cool" factor, and how Intel can get in on the action. It seems that everyone wants to find a way for their company to be as cool as Apple is right now. The problem is that you can't just suddenly become a cool company when you've been, at least from the average consumer's view, pretty dull for the last couple decades. I know that the R&D done at Intel is probably fascinating cutting-edge stuff, but there's a limit to how cool a CPU or southbridge IC can be. Trying to feed off Apple's appeal would be a waste of time for Intel. It would take them years to make progress in this area, and by then the trends will be something completely different.
Note-I make no claims to know anything about being cool!
I'm glad you recognize that you don't drive as well when you're talking, and I've come to the same conclusion about myself. But I know many people who are too stubborn to make an objective judgement on their own talking/driving abilities, and that sucks.
This reminds of of when that crazy search engine Google said they were gonna do webmail. Nice try Google! We all know you're just a search engine!
Camera phones must fire a bullet at the person being photographed so that they are aware that their privacy is being invaded. A bullet wound is nothing compared to privacy invasion, right?
You're pretty much agreeing with my point. The Democrats decided to run against a Southern pompous rich jerk using a Northeastern pompous rich jerk. That was the biggest mistake they could have made. It was the DNC's election to lose, and they did exactly that.
Dear DNC,
Please take the results of this election as a strong hint, and please go meditate in a corner somewhere until you have the following revelation:
Although you and the members of your party are strongly attracted to smarmy candidates who love the camera and the sound of their own voice, you must realize that much of the country detests this kind of person. People do not like being talked down to, and our country is not desperately seeking the next JFK.
You failed to capitalize on the fact that many moderate-conservative people were disappointed with Bush's performance over the last 4 years. You failed to recognize the opportunity to bring these people into your camp, which would have been quite a feat considering many of the people in your camp are hippies that do not bathe. Instead, you nominated another rich, pre-manufactured, pompous character that non-Democrats just didn't want to deal with. You forced a lot of people to hold their nose and vote for Bush because John Kerry represents everything that sucks about the Democratic Party.
I hope you all learned something. See ya in 2008.
Love,
Retrospecter
I have an LG VX6000 phone. With Bitpim (http://bitpim.sourceforge.net/) and a $10 cable from ebay, now I can do whatever I want (with my phone, not Elisha Cuthbert, darnit).
For people looking to get "more" from their cell phones, check out these sites:
Cell phone hacks: http://www.cellphonehacks.com/
Howard Forums: http://www.howardforums.com/
However, the article did not need to be as long as it was. The same point was repeated over and over, and although there's nothing wrong with presenting evidence, I thought, "Ok, I get it." The article also had that high-school-position-paper feel to it. I would have preferred to see more facts and a little less dissertation.
Agreed. I've been holding out on getting a PS2 for years, but November will obviously be the time for people like us to buy one.
Overheard while in the UK:
Why do Americans keep their beer cold?
So they can tell it apart from piss.