"Twelve years since Bill Gates created 'spam, an article in [...]".
While not within the scope of the article, any implication that Gates is saving us from spam is profane.
If anything, Gates is dragging his users through the "Create-a-sickness-and-present-yourself-as-the-onl y-cure" business method (the heroin and military industries being of similar ilk).
Now we have a high end (and high priced) peice of hardware, that runs an operating system that provides everything you need to be productive, and it's polished as heck. So why would you want to dual boot to anything? You can get the performance out of many other peices of hardware for cheaper if you want to run windows.
Because even after spending alot of time working with OSX many Linux users find it lethargic, and the UI far too much work to be productive. OSX has an expensive upgrade ramp Linux users are not used to dealing with and any equivalent of Linux-like package management (fink) is either broken or barely useable on the platform. OSX also has a crippled bash implementation and makes customisation (eg growing into a computer as opposed to yielding to some useability Ph.D's notion of HCI) extremely difficult. OSX doesn't even ship with virtual desktops as a default (something Linux has had for nearly 10 years and it's 2006 for chrissakes) and where the hell is the OSX equivalent of CTRL-ALT-F1 when you really need it?
Frankly OSX has alot of catching up to do before I'll be giggling with iLife.
There are several fair reasons why many choose to run Linux on their Apple portable. OSX has an awful bash implementation by default, has poor memory management (sluggish to say the least), is pro DRM and is, by and large, extremely inflexible. As a so called UNIX operating system, it's going very much in the wrong direction. From what I've seen of of Ubuntu or Yellow Dog on the PB/iBook it's a breath of life (Apple Airport and lacking w32codec support aside).
Apple is in the business of choking their own machines to drive hardware sales - and why wouldn't they?
That, however, is a consumer treadmill many LinuxPPC users recognise and so have chosen to avoid.
I regularly hear of folk with iBooks or PBs suffering from these mysterious motherboard failures.
Apple's service leaves alot to be desired here in the EU also - a colleague of mine had a 5 week turnaround on repairing such motherboard failure. Another had to have hers shipped out to the U.S with a return date that swelled from 2 to 6 weeks. Her experience was bad enough for her to go out and buy a Thinkpad in the interim. A wise choice - IBM's service and Lenovo's hardware is hard breed to top.
If only Netcraft or the like could produce publically available statistics upon what server OS's are actually used in the field - their "What's that Site Running" as a webcrawler on a daily basis for a random pool of 50,000 target domains. I suggest this as in my world the use of Windows to host a webserver seems very rare - albeit as fileservers they are more common.
Here for instance we see very useful statistics surrounding webserver deployment but not host OS.
PC laptops just suck. PC makers operate on razor thin margins - which means cheap (and often proprietary) parts, gawd-awful, tech support, and an enormous number of models..
What a spectacular load of bollocks.
'PC' laptops, generally speaking, suffer no worse quality componentry or service deals than Apples. Apple does not 'make' hardware. They outsource production to two of the largest laptop and gadget manufacturers in the world, one of which has a much larger stake in the laptop market than Apple, Asustek. Taiwanese companies Asustek and Quanta are pretty much entirely responsible for delivering the Apple line, from iPods to PB's to MiniMacs.
Having worked at a university recently (PB's are quite popular in Humanities departments) I was witness to several PB's being returned for that mysterious 'motherboard failure' that we all keep hearing about, and another for a HDD error. In one case the laptop had to be sent away with a turnaround of five weeks. This has caused two defectors to Thinkpads which, I must say, have a better reputation where hardware is concerned.
This said, The G3's were tanks. A friend of mine's G3 has outlived her PB, and is over three times it's age. The move to Intel at the condition of cost and availability simply puts the Apple laptop within the same production and distribution chain as the rest of the re-branded portables.
Quality of hardware is not Apple's edge anymore; it's just not in their interest to compete on that level, one at the expense of market share.
I have Unbuntu 5.10 running beautifully inside VMware...
Great slogans are often born of the innocent typo. Sad really, that in years to come, when the proverbial tables have turned, your accidental genius will go completely forgotten: "Unbuntu Now with Windows Mista 2008".
Silly. It would seem now that Novell are taking the claims seriously - a bad move on the part of their PR/Marketing department. They would have got far more mileage with a billboard scale "Whatever Bill" campaign, if at all.
Excellent read. The first article I've read that actually covers the investor-patent relation as a trade market independent of the 'inventor'.
It also makes a clear distinction between the right to copy and concepts of ownership without overt use of analogy and metaphor.
The final point, that Intellectual Property is itself an idea that can be manipulated, distributed and copied, also offers fresh perspectives on what is often accepted as an ancient and unnegotiable moral framework; one in fact enforced by laws that are invented to make allow for the idea of IP in the first instance.
.. or the "Fear of being Fearless". I for one wouldn't like to have my principal warning system (imbalanced cognitive patterning (phobias) included) suddenly removed. Fear is an important agent of awareness when used with wisdom. When abused, it is destructive.
So logically you do *NOT* want something like Linux, where a simple deleting of a file or a misplaced semicolon can screw the entire system
Ahah, I see a bizarre yet common mistake. You are actually talking about a Win32, or Windows system, whereby deleting a single DLL from the C:\\Windows\System32 directory (easily done without having special privileges) can result in an very broken or irrecoverable system.
While OSX is far less vulnerable to such breakage (a similar filesystem and privileges configuration as that of Linux), both OSX and Win32 systems typically centralise their technical support, whereas Linux has a lively culture of community driven assistance, encouraging tinkering, sharing of resources and self-administration. This is very much the case in Brazil, which _already_ has a huge Linux community. This equates to local support; on hand, and in a language you already understand. Linux is valuable in this regard, it acts as a transport medium for the distribution, and eventual localisation, of knowledge. For this reason Linux lifts the technical capital of a region simply by being used.
I took his point to be that Computing, through mass-market rationalism, has become a highly modalised activity targeted at the lowest-common-denominator - one whose graphical interfaces (eg OSX, WinXP, KDE/GNOME) are strategically engineered to encourage certain use patterns and types based on theories of predictable action.
There is loss here for the curious user with no prior technical knowledge; s/he is discouraged from learning about, and then engaging with the actual computational processes offered by the powerful machines at their fingertips. OSX and Win32 are examples of these; highly generalised, tactically stupified, rental operating-systems whose product target is that of 'appliance', not 'computer'.
Comitting to a GNU toolchain and free-software operating-system can only encourage learning in directions not ordained within the rationalism of product driven capitalism. Many 30-somethings here grew up with comparitively 'unfriendly' computing machines (ZX84, Amstrad, C64, AppleIIE). We studied them inside and out. Let's not forget what contact with these machines gave us.. and be wary of this so called 'user friendliness'.
"[..]which is based on the GNOME-centric Ubuntu which in turn is based on the GNOME-centric Debian...? Sometimes this stuff works in mysterious ways[..]"
Would you care to elaborate just how Debian is 'GNOME-centric'? I've used Debian since Potato and have never noticed prevalence toward GNOME or KDE on an architectural level, other than there being a comparitively larger proportion of GNOME applications available initially (GNOME once used to be more popular than KDE). Even the Debian install process (via tasksel) offers the option of installing a 'Desktop Environment', which IIRC provides both KDE and GNOME.
Disappointing to see Dapper will still include those awful, tired (6 yrs?) old icons.
Who really thinks of an old life-rescue ring when seeking help? When one wants to engage with an office productivity suite, do we think of an old typewriter? Scissors and Right Angle rule for 'Accessories'?? Nostalgia aside, it's time Ubuntu revisited 'polish' within a contemporary and aesthetic context.
Placement of icons are also still ugly: look at the 'help' and WWW icons in the menubar of this screenshot: they are several pixels closer to the top of the bar than the base. The icon in the middle is faded out to the point of being a waterstain. Why not replace those menubar icons with words and do away with these bizarre, misplaced symbols. Better still, why not draw upon the abilities of those contributing to Art dot Gnome dot Org or better still, the Tango Project.
Ancient. soggy icons that are poorly placed only impoverish the otherwise striking, and singular, visual field of Ubuntu as a whole.
No, the equivalent of 'R&D' on the microsoft campus is R&P, or 'Research and Patent'. Like most of their would-be innovations, they are
born into formaldehyde, destined to serve as court room exhibits; the last thing microsoft can afford, is a lively, competitive software industry spurred by brilliant implementations and ideas.
To satisfy your inevitable curiosity, peruse their fine patent collection. Plenty of 'research' and 'innovation' in there.
Why Fedora is so often considered the default target distribution I don't know. Even the project page states it's an unsupported, experimental OS, and one now comparitvely marginal when tallied.
Must be a case of 'brand leakage' from a distant past, one that held Redhat as the most popular desktop Linux distribution.
Shame, I guess IBM is missing out on where the real action is.
Slashdot Mirror
If anything, Gates is dragging his users through the "Create-a-sickness-and-present-yourself-as-the-on
Frankly OSX has alot of catching up to do before I'll be giggling with iLife.
The last thing Symantec can afford is the proliferation of secure operating systems.
They'd do better offering money to Linux/*BSD kernel development or the Mozilla Foundation (for instance).
There are several fair reasons why many choose to run Linux on their Apple portable. OSX has an awful bash implementation by default, has poor memory management (sluggish to say the least), is pro DRM and is, by and large, extremely inflexible. As a so called UNIX operating system, it's going very much in the wrong direction. From what I've seen of of Ubuntu or Yellow Dog on the PB/iBook it's a breath of life (Apple Airport and lacking w32codec support aside).
Apple is in the business of choking their own machines to drive hardware sales - and why wouldn't they?
That, however, is a consumer treadmill many LinuxPPC users recognise and so have chosen to avoid.
I regularly hear of folk with iBooks or PBs suffering from these mysterious motherboard failures.
Apple's service leaves alot to be desired here in the EU also - a colleague of mine had a 5 week turnaround on repairing such motherboard failure. Another had to have hers shipped out to the U.S with a return date that swelled from 2 to 6 weeks. Her experience was bad enough for her to go out and buy a Thinkpad in the interim. A wise choice - IBM's service and Lenovo's hardware is hard breed to top.
.. a once in a lifetime chance to build and bear witness to a Linux rig that spontaneously reboots every 20mins.
excellentcantwait.
If only Netcraft or the like could produce publically available statistics upon what server OS's are actually used in the field - their "What's that Site Running" as a webcrawler on a daily basis for a random pool of 50,000 target domains. I suggest this as in my world the use of Windows to host a webserver seems very rare - albeit as fileservers they are more common.
Here for instance we see very useful statistics surrounding webserver deployment but not host OS.
'PC' laptops, generally speaking, suffer no worse quality componentry or service deals than Apples. Apple does not 'make' hardware. They outsource production to two of the largest laptop and gadget manufacturers in the world, one of which has a much larger stake in the laptop market than Apple, Asustek. Taiwanese companies Asustek and Quanta are pretty much entirely responsible for delivering the Apple line, from iPods to PB's to MiniMacs.
Having worked at a university recently (PB's are quite popular in Humanities departments) I was witness to several PB's being returned for that mysterious 'motherboard failure' that we all keep hearing about, and another for a HDD error. In one case the laptop had to be sent away with a turnaround of five weeks. This has caused two defectors to Thinkpads which, I must say, have a better reputation where hardware is concerned.
This said, The G3's were tanks. A friend of mine's G3 has outlived her PB, and is over three times it's age. The move to Intel at the condition of cost and availability simply puts the Apple laptop within the same production and distribution chain as the rest of the re-branded portables.
Quality of hardware is not Apple's edge anymore; it's just not in their interest to compete on that level, one at the expense of market share.
"Ubuntu: Best Linux Desktop for Business?"
<JEST>Seems Ubuntu is outgrowing even Linux itself!</JEST>
"Unbuntu Now with Windows Mista 2008".
Silly. It would seem now that Novell are taking the claims seriously - a bad move on the part of their PR/Marketing department. They would have got far more mileage with a billboard scale "Whatever Bill" campaign, if at all.
Excellent read. The first article I've read that actually covers the investor-patent relation as a trade market independent of the 'inventor'.
It also makes a clear distinction between the right to copy and concepts of ownership without overt use of analogy and metaphor.
The final point, that Intellectual Property is itself an idea that can be manipulated, distributed and copied, also offers fresh perspectives on what is often accepted as an ancient and unnegotiable moral framework; one in fact enforced by laws that are invented to make allow for the idea of IP in the first instance.
While OSX is far less vulnerable to such breakage (a similar filesystem and privileges configuration as that of Linux), both OSX and Win32 systems typically centralise their technical support, whereas Linux has a lively culture of community driven assistance, encouraging tinkering, sharing of resources and self-administration. This is very much the case in Brazil, which _already_ has a huge Linux community. This equates to local support; on hand, and in a language you already understand. Linux is valuable in this regard, it acts as a transport medium for the distribution, and eventual localisation, of knowledge. For this reason Linux lifts the technical capital of a region simply by being used.
I took his point to be that Computing, through mass-market rationalism, has become a highly modalised activity targeted at the lowest-common-denominator - one whose graphical interfaces (eg OSX, WinXP, KDE/GNOME) are strategically engineered to encourage certain use patterns and types based on theories of predictable action.
There is loss here for the curious user with no prior technical knowledge; s/he is discouraged from learning about, and then engaging with the actual computational processes offered by the powerful machines at their fingertips. OSX and Win32 are examples of these; highly generalised, tactically stupified, rental operating-systems whose product target is that of 'appliance', not 'computer'.
Comitting to a GNU toolchain and free-software operating-system can only encourage learning in directions not ordained within the rationalism of product driven capitalism. Many 30-somethings here grew up with comparitively 'unfriendly' computing machines (ZX84, Amstrad, C64, AppleIIE). We studied them inside and out. Let's not forget what contact with these machines gave us.. and be wary of this so called 'user friendliness'.
"[..]which is based on the GNOME-centric Ubuntu which in turn is based on the GNOME-centric Debian...? Sometimes this stuff works in mysterious ways[..]"
Would you care to elaborate just how Debian is 'GNOME-centric'? I've used Debian since Potato and have never noticed prevalence toward GNOME or KDE on an architectural level, other than there being a comparitively larger proportion of GNOME applications available initially (GNOME once used to be more popular than KDE). Even the Debian install process (via tasksel) offers the option of installing a 'Desktop Environment', which IIRC provides both KDE and GNOME.
No, just once every six years.
Disappointing to see Dapper will still include those awful, tired (6 yrs?) old icons.
Who really thinks of an old life-rescue ring when seeking help? When one wants to engage with an office productivity suite, do we think of an old typewriter? Scissors and Right Angle rule for 'Accessories'?? Nostalgia aside, it's time Ubuntu revisited 'polish' within a contemporary and aesthetic context.
Placement of icons are also still ugly: look at the 'help' and WWW icons in the menubar of this screenshot: they are several pixels closer to the top of the bar than the base. The icon in the middle is faded out to the point of being a waterstain. Why not replace those menubar icons with words and do away with these bizarre, misplaced symbols. Better still, why not draw upon the abilities of those contributing to Art dot Gnome dot Org or better still, the Tango Project.
Ancient. soggy icons that are poorly placed only impoverish the otherwise striking, and singular, visual field of Ubuntu as a whole.
To satisfy your inevitable curiosity, peruse their fine patent collection. Plenty of 'research' and 'innovation' in there.
Taking your logic into the market it's a miracle that Linspire are surviving.. and that HP even dare.
Come to think of it, how do all these guys do it?
Soon enough, a thread will emerge here with a seemingly unlimited supply logical reasoning accounting for the success of $VENDOR's Linux PC/Laptop.
Why Fedora is so often considered the default target distribution I don't know. Even the project page states it's an unsupported, experimental OS, and one now comparitvely marginal when tallied.
Must be a case of 'brand leakage' from a distant past, one that held Redhat as the most popular desktop Linux distribution.
Shame, I guess IBM is missing out on where the real action is.
No wonder the film was so bad.