A lot of Windows-only programs run fine under wine - including such core products as Internet Explorer 7.
But if XP is dropped or is allowed to become unusably insecure (which is what people are trying to protect against in this discussion), then how is running the now-unavailable OS in a VM instead of a real machine going to help?
so Microsoft having just destroyed the international standards organisation to prevent interoperability between word processors, someone manages to write this slashdot summary with a straight face?
I'm buying one (or two - must think of mom) Asus eee PCs. I've never felt so good about buying a computer in many years. I was very close to buying it online the past week but finally I decided I'll buy it locally in Helsinki. Good luck getting one! It's an excellent computer, and having all the linux apps preinstalled (including development tools) and no crapware is very refreshing.
The government just used "state secrets privilege" to prevent the lawsuit from occuring.
Sadly, most other victims of patents can't change the law to suit themselves (like the government with the Blackberry patent) or shut-down the courts (like Lucent in this case)
"What I like: - Boot up time. Mine boots XP in around 60 secs, which includes about 10 background apps (antispyware, antivirus, overclock app, screen res app, virtual desktop app, battery monitor etc...). Some people have reported an NLITE'd install of XP booting in under 30 secs."
This thing boots-up in 20 seconds (being one of its main features), and you just paid hundreds of dollars extra [on XP] to triple the boot time?!?
"Nonetheless, isn't there some kind of an economic argument that if insurance companies paid for people to avoid one big illness, with their longer lifespan they would end up costing the company more in smaller illnesses over time?"
If your insurance premium was per-life rather than per-year, then yes it might...
I predict if they get Photoshop running properly on Linux, the Windows users who were using it as their "one thing that stops me switching" will find even more obscure program that 'prevents' them leaving Windows
"I'd rather have someone who just gets the work done rather than goofing off compiling kernels, installing ReiserFS and doing god knows what else other than things that really matter. Sure, there's a place for all that, but honestly most environments don't require it."
Good luck when your deskop goes blank, explaining to your boss how you don't really care about linux-ideas like uptime;)
"Well one more reason for me to remove the US off possible holiday destinations. Of course the poor guy was on a buisiness trip and had no choice"
Actually his choice (to deny the USA the benefits of his specialised knowledge) is quite interesting, and something I'm investigating for similar reasons.
So you have to encrypt everything and upload it to a server before travelling to the US?* then download your home directory when you arrive and decrypt it?
Sounds like you will also need two hard disks -- one for travelling, one for normal use.
It would be significantly easier to install a fresh OS on your "willing to let the americans tamper with it" disk, and use that one when travelling. So when you return home, you can put your regular disk back in, and have all your settings intact.
* for anyone who actually wants to visit the US that is...
"Can't one of the many Linux organisations try and get a legal injunction barring Microsoft from claiming patents in Linux? A sort of defamation lawsuit?"
Wasn't that why MS are being much quieter about patents in places like germany, where you can get into trouble for making legal threats and not being able to follow them up?
Have there been any stories of this system being "hacked"? All you need to do is create a longwave transmitter that's more powerful than the BBC (and it's on the same frequency as a popular radio channel, so your jammer would be noticed by anyone who listens to the radio). Of course, cryptographic signing has become popular since then and might be used in new systems.
"With 800x480 resolution, this thing can't even show the photos I send my mom"
So plug in a monitor and run 1280x1024 on the Asus.
When someone started discussing "use as a main computer", it was assumed that you'll have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor plugged in (same as you would with any laptop)
"Name a terrorist organization, that US funds and supplies in either Israel or Iraq. I'll wait... Thanks."
Thanks for waiting.
In Iraq, elements of the provisional government and police force: responsible for kidnapping and murder of civilians, not backed by any local laws allowing them to do so. Paid and equipped by the US.
Also, supporting both sides of a civil war inside a major city, would appear to be funding terrorism. The people involved probably don't care that the actors involved weren't on CIA's "official list of terrorists" when the civilian casualties start occurring.
In Israel, we're getting into the "is it terrorism if a government does it" argument, but the US was caught supplying cluster bombs (designed for use against civilian targets, and which *were* later used against civilians, after hostilities had ceased) in the action against Lebanon
Slashdot Mirror
But if XP is dropped or is allowed to become unusably insecure (which is what people are trying to protect against in this discussion), then how is running the now-unavailable OS in a VM instead of a real machine going to help?A lot of Windows-only programs run fine under wine - including such core products as Internet Explorer 7.
BT *did* do this on their side of the connection, which is what makes it an illegal wiretap.
so Microsoft having just destroyed the international standards organisation to prevent interoperability between word processors, someone manages to write this slashdot summary with a straight face?
wow. this is good news! That was news?
There's also the question of how safe this DNA database is from life insurance companies...
"The moment a big gov't contractor (or the gov't itself) gets burned by a patent troll, we have a chance of change."
It already happened:
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2005/09/68894?currentPage=all
The government just used "state secrets privilege" to prevent the lawsuit from occuring.
Sadly, most other victims of patents can't change the law to suit themselves (like the government with the Blackberry patent) or shut-down the courts (like Lucent in this case)
XP Home is $89.99, don't exaggerate
So include the cost of antispyware + antivirus then...
"I am hopeful that mankind can avoid ending up like in 1984"
you sure?
"What I like:
- Boot up time. Mine boots XP in around 60 secs, which includes about 10 background apps (antispyware, antivirus, overclock app, screen res app, virtual desktop app, battery monitor etc...). Some people have reported an NLITE'd install of XP booting in under 30 secs."
This thing boots-up in 20 seconds (being one of its main features), and you just paid hundreds of dollars extra [on XP] to triple the boot time?!?
"Nonetheless, isn't there some kind of an economic argument that if insurance companies paid for people to avoid one big illness, with their longer lifespan they would end up costing the company more in smaller illnesses over time?"
If your insurance premium was per-life rather than per-year, then yes it might...
"I disagree. The reasons we shot it down were:
1) Because the risk to human life was non-zero"
If that were a reason for such drastic action, then nobody would be allowed to sell automobiles...
I predict if they get Photoshop running properly on Linux, the Windows users who were using it as their "one thing that stops me switching" will find even more obscure program that 'prevents' them leaving Windows
"I'd rather have someone who just gets the work done rather than goofing off compiling kernels, installing ReiserFS and doing god knows what else other than things that really matter. Sure, there's a place for all that, but honestly most environments don't require it."
;)
Good luck when your deskop goes blank, explaining to your boss how you don't really care about linux-ideas like uptime
"Well one more reason for me to remove the US off possible holiday destinations. Of course the poor guy was on a buisiness trip and had no choice"
Actually his choice (to deny the USA the benefits of his specialised knowledge) is quite interesting, and something I'm investigating for similar reasons.
So you have to encrypt everything and upload it to a server before travelling to the US?* then download your home directory when you arrive and decrypt it?
Sounds like you will also need two hard disks -- one for travelling, one for normal use.
It would be significantly easier to install a fresh OS on your "willing to let the americans tamper with it" disk, and use that one when travelling. So when you return home, you can put your regular disk back in, and have all your settings intact.
* for anyone who actually wants to visit the US that is...
"What the terrorists want is to disrupt our lives, and cause fear."
Not to leave Saudi Arabia?
"Can't one of the many Linux organisations try and get a legal injunction barring Microsoft from claiming patents in Linux? A sort of defamation lawsuit?"
Wasn't that why MS are being much quieter about patents in places like germany, where you can get into trouble for making legal threats and not being able to follow them up?
It doesn't help when the programming language or library forces you to use incorrect spellings
e.g. "glSetColor"
In the UK, you can already turn on and off peoples' storage-heaters by remote control.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_teleswitch
Have there been any stories of this system being "hacked"? All you need to do is create a longwave transmitter that's more powerful than the BBC (and it's on the same frequency as a popular radio channel, so your jammer would be noticed by anyone who listens to the radio). Of course, cryptographic signing has become popular since then and might be used in new systems.
"almost all Asus laptops come pre-loaded with Vista"
emphasis on the almost !
"With 800x480 resolution, this thing can't even show the photos I send my mom"
So plug in a monitor and run 1280x1024 on the Asus.
When someone started discussing "use as a main computer", it was assumed that you'll have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor plugged in (same as you would with any laptop)
"Name a terrorist organization, that US funds and supplies in either Israel or Iraq. I'll wait... Thanks."
Thanks for waiting.
In Iraq, elements of the provisional government and police force: responsible for kidnapping and murder of civilians, not backed by any local laws allowing them to do so. Paid and equipped by the US.
Also, supporting both sides of a civil war inside a major city, would appear to be funding terrorism. The people involved probably don't care that the actors involved weren't on CIA's "official list of terrorists" when the civilian casualties start occurring.
In Israel, we're getting into the "is it terrorism if a government does it" argument, but the US was caught supplying cluster bombs (designed for use against civilian targets, and which *were* later used against civilians, after hostilities had ceased) in the action against Lebanon
"They have supported terrorists in Israel, and they are believed to be funding and supplying terrorists within Iraq"
And this differs from the U.S. how?
But does the wikipedia article usually link to something that you *can* cite as a source?