Don't see the abysmal original. Honestly, does The Hobbit need new characters? If it did, I'm sure Tolkien would have put them in - it's not like the guy was hurting for original characters.
I like the noise my old 74GB Raptor makes - kind of like an animal growling low. And, really, I only ever notice the sound during the loading of my OS at startup. They're good drives, though clearly they're being outclassed by newer drives.
Honestly, and I've been following this kind of crap my whole life (30 + yrs.), so please don't take this the wrong way. But we, as a few of the better minds around, should have something better to do with our time. Do what we can with the limited resources we have to make this a better world. Don't screw around with this garbage YET AGAIN. We've been over this fantasy shit over and over and over. We have more important and complex issues to occupy ourselves./plea
He's saying that someone afraid of their computer can't do it. And until Linux can be used by people afraid of their computer, it won't appeal to the majority of the desktop PC market.
I just had a friend - who has never owned a computer before last year (a Dell), and who has never installed an OS, who's only computer experience period has been Windows XP (he's a 30 year old social worker) - install Ubuntu 7.04 The Feisty Fawn. Don't tell me Linux isn't ready for the desktop. All I had to say was "Windows XP uses a file extension called.exe to install programs. Ubuntu doesn't use this, so you won't get any more viruses, since they're written for Windows, and not Linux. Just insert the CD, when it boots, double-click 'install,' and follow the instructions." I sat on his couch just in case he had questions. Then I told him about Synaptic Package Manager, and how to use it. He's had no problems, complaints, or even questions. Don't tell me Linux isn't ready for the desktop.
but shouldn't Ubuntu win out, all other things being equal, simply because it's free (as in beer)? Come on, last time I checked, not too many people (that I know, anyway) could afford a fully-enabled Vista ($400 retail), but everyone can afford a fully-enabled Ubuntu ($0 via ShipIt).
In my experience, I only need the gist of the preceding email to know what the responder is talking about. What I really need to know is what the responder is saying *right now.* Also, I don't know how many times a part of a message has been ignored or misread, leading to all kinds of confusion. It's easier if past messages are not truncated, so a clarifying (or simply repetitive) reply can be quickly and easily made just by selecting "Reply," rather than going through old correspondence looking for the error. So, ease of reading, and more information right at hand are why I choose to ignore others' netiquette.
Here's an interesting item of info: My bandwidth only get throttled by AT&T when I'm using Windows (XP). I've been downloading Ubuntu and installing it on friends' and families' computers since Warty (4.10), and, when I'm running Ubuntu, no bandwidth throttling during those downloads. But under Windows, I get all kinds of flashing lights on my router and I have to call AT&T and complain about the 1 KB/s downstream. They claim it's some kind of "noise" on a piece of equipment on the line on my street, but they never fix the "problem." 'Oh, well,' I tell the support folks cryptically, 'I've found a workaround.' As a test, I started my 7.04 download today under XP and, sure enough, after less than three minutes I was at 1 KB/s (down from a whopping 3 KB/s max at the start of the download) and stayed there for 15 minutes (with my router's "Broadband Link" light flashing at me like some fiend in a trench coat). Under Ubuntu, I'm at over 200 kb/s at exactly 15 minutes. Yet another anecdote to spur potential new users to Linux, I guess. Does this happen to anyone else?
I like Open Office word documents, and the save to.pdf has saved me and two employers quite a lot of time and money, since we were able to write/directly/ from a document to.pdf without unnecessary steps or proprietary (and sometimes too expensive) software. Calc has also always worked for me, though I don't use it nearly as much, and can't tell you that much about the differences between Excel and Calc. Draw is a really good tool, and my sister switched to OO.o from MS just for that feature (combined with GIMP, she's made some really nice brochures, flyers, business cards, etc.). Open Office's Impress, however, is no Power Point. It's not nearly as nice looking (just check out the demo: http://www.openoffice.org/product/impress.html), and is just noticeably slower - more of an annoyance than anything. A lot could be done to make it look better, though./twocents
The question of support is a relatively minor one, since several Linux distros offer paid support. Just to pick one, Canonical offers paid support for Ubuntu. All Dell needs to do is reroute the more difficult support issues to Canonical - i.e. - the ones its own staff can't handle, include a "Paid Support" option when one buys a computer from Dell, take a cut of the payment (or tack on a bit more to it), and the problem is solved. Dell makes money, Canonical makes money, and the customer is happy with his/her Officially Supported Linux Dell Computer (apart from the reaming s/he took in the purchase process, of course).
Might the "official" downgrading of Earth monitoring sensors be coupled by an upswing in classified ($1,000US hammers) spending on monitors meant for spying? So far, this Administration's focus has been light on humane science and heavy on abusive technology./tinfoil-hat
I use Thunderbird to check email, and have noticed no ads, except the little text and hyperlink variety automatically attached by some (hotmail, yahoo!, etc.) services. I also use my SBC account as the SMTP service, and I get compliments and questions about how I removed those same types of ads. Apparently they aren't attached automatically? I'm not sure why this seems to be the case, but, hey, it works. At any rate, Thunderbird "sanitizes" your emails by default, blocking all kinds of ads, so this may be a solution to your problem (you may need a third party app to check Yahoo! The last good one I that I heard about was Mr. Postman, but I've never had to use it, so I can't vouch for it, personally).
Maybe it's different in other states (though I don't believe it is), but in Ohio at least, the issues (propositions, amendments, etc.) are spelled out in "plain English" on the ballots and can be read and re-read as many times as you'd like. Take as long as you want, it's only a race to the politicians. I consider myself very well-informed, politically (it's part of my schooling), and I still read every issue at least two or three times at the polls - if for no other reason than to slow down the legislative process.;)
Terroism raises another interesting point. One person's terrorist is another's freedom fighter. Who decides which is what? And the issue becomes even more difficult: One government's "spy" can be another's "whistle blower" or "human rights crusader." Throw in MNCs, the WTO, industrial espionage, and environmental/worker protection laws, and the waters just keep getting murkier.
Which begs the question: What about the "double jeopardy" laws here in the US? If an individual is prosecuted and aquitted in one nation, are the other signatories allowed to swoop in and begin prosecution anew? I shudder to think that anyone, regardless of the suspected crime, would have to endure as many as forty-two separate trials, each in a completely different jurisdiction, with each jurisdiciton able to interprete the violated law(s) in their own way, and with customs (mainly legal) and languages which may be unfamiliar to the accused. Now, of course, this would violate the US Constitution - if the offender were to be prosecuted twice in the US. The same may not be true in other countries, however, since the trial(s) would not take place on US soil, or in a US court. And what about other 5th Amendment protections (e.g. against self-incrimination) once a criminal investigation/arrest/trial is already underway? If an indictment is handed down, could a defendant be made to testify against himself in court in a country where there are fewer laws protecting defendants? Serious nuts and bolts questions that are not clearly answered by the "essential interests" clauses.
At the voting station, a number of machines (depending on the size of the precinct) are set up to a group of printers, located on the same table. The purpose of these machines is to print up a ballot in any language (including the many forms of Braille), with pictures of the candidates next to their names (for those who can't read) and a blank area under each office up for election for a write-in candidate. This will keep waste to a minimum, since a precinct doesn't need lots of excess ballots in little-used languages/dialects, yet will not disenfranchise non-English speakers, or speakers of languages which are rare in a particular location. Next, after the usual sign-in (with, perhaps, the unusual request to see the voter's registration card) the voting official hands the voter his/her card from the printer after checking it to make sure it is correct (names match faces match offices), and also hands the voter...a pen. The voter walks into the voting booth, checks off which candidate(s) s/he wants to elect for each office (or writes someone in), slides the card into a receptacle inside the booth, and leaves. The vote count can then be easily done by hand.[/my$.02]
Seriously, I built myself a new PC last year and although I put a floppy drive in, I've not ever needed it. But it's really nice to know that it's there for emergencies.
Yep. I just built a PC for my brother-in-law, and told him "You'd better get a floppy, too. You'll never need it, until you do." Sure enough, he needed a BIOS flash and drivers for his SATA (Windoze didn't support it). Both needed a floppy (used the same one twice - reduce, reuse, recycle). He hasn't used it since, and probably won't need it ever again - until, of course, he does.
I know you're saying that AMD has a right to sue, but you're still placing the onus of blame on them, and not on Intel, who, it appears, is guilty of anticompetitive behavior. It is Intel, not AMD, who is to blame for these companies' wasted time. If they hadn't broken antitrust laws, then there would be no lawsuit (assuming, of course, Intel is guilty).
Slashdot Mirror
but I assume this news foretells the imminent release of Android 2.2, which does excite me.
Don't see the abysmal original. Honestly, does The Hobbit need new characters? If it did, I'm sure Tolkien would have put them in - it's not like the guy was hurting for original characters.
I like the noise my old 74GB Raptor makes - kind of like an animal growling low. And, really, I only ever notice the sound during the loading of my OS at startup. They're good drives, though clearly they're being outclassed by newer drives.
DON'T TRY TO PULL THE PLUG!
Where are mod points when you need them?
Honestly, and I've been following this kind of crap my whole life (30 + yrs.), so please don't take this the wrong way. But we, as a few of the better minds around, should have something better to do with our time. Do what we can with the limited resources we have to make this a better world. Don't screw around with this garbage YET AGAIN. We've been over this fantasy shit over and over and over. We have more important and complex issues to occupy ourselves. /plea
I just had a friend - who has never owned a computer before last year (a Dell), and who has never installed an OS, who's only computer experience period has been Windows XP (he's a 30 year old social worker) - install Ubuntu 7.04 The Feisty Fawn. Don't tell me Linux isn't ready for the desktop. All I had to say was "Windows XP uses a file extension called
I for one welcome our newly hairy overlords!
Given that they touched down in New Mexico, I think a glass of Gruet in their names is in order. To going boldly, friends.
Whatever you do, don't tell anyone. Words to live by.
but shouldn't Ubuntu win out, all other things being equal, simply because it's free (as in beer)? Come on, last time I checked, not too many people (that I know, anyway) could afford a fully-enabled Vista ($400 retail), but everyone can afford a fully-enabled Ubuntu ($0 via ShipIt).
In my experience, I only need the gist of the preceding email to know what the responder is talking about. What I really need to know is what the responder is saying *right now.* Also, I don't know how many times a part of a message has been ignored or misread, leading to all kinds of confusion. It's easier if past messages are not truncated, so a clarifying (or simply repetitive) reply can be quickly and easily made just by selecting "Reply," rather than going through old correspondence looking for the error. So, ease of reading, and more information right at hand are why I choose to ignore others' netiquette.
Here's an interesting item of info: My bandwidth only get throttled by AT&T when I'm using Windows (XP). I've been downloading Ubuntu and installing it on friends' and families' computers since Warty (4.10), and, when I'm running Ubuntu, no bandwidth throttling during those downloads. But under Windows, I get all kinds of flashing lights on my router and I have to call AT&T and complain about the 1 KB/s downstream. They claim it's some kind of "noise" on a piece of equipment on the line on my street, but they never fix the "problem." 'Oh, well,' I tell the support folks cryptically, 'I've found a workaround.' As a test, I started my 7.04 download today under XP and, sure enough, after less than three minutes I was at 1 KB/s (down from a whopping 3 KB/s max at the start of the download) and stayed there for 15 minutes (with my router's "Broadband Link" light flashing at me like some fiend in a trench coat). Under Ubuntu, I'm at over 200 kb/s at exactly 15 minutes. Yet another anecdote to spur potential new users to Linux, I guess. Does this happen to anyone else?
I like Open Office word documents, and the save to .pdf has saved me and two employers quite a lot of time and money, since we were able to write /directly/ from a document to .pdf without unnecessary steps or proprietary (and sometimes too expensive) software. Calc has also always worked for me, though I don't use it nearly as much, and can't tell you that much about the differences between Excel and Calc. Draw is a really good tool, and my sister switched to OO.o from MS just for that feature (combined with GIMP, she's made some really nice brochures, flyers, business cards, etc.). Open Office's Impress, however, is no Power Point. It's not nearly as nice looking (just check out the demo: http://www.openoffice.org/product/impress.html), and is just noticeably slower - more of an annoyance than anything. A lot could be done to make it look better, though. /twocents
The question of support is a relatively minor one, since several Linux distros offer paid support. Just to pick one, Canonical offers paid support for Ubuntu. All Dell needs to do is reroute the more difficult support issues to Canonical - i.e. - the ones its own staff can't handle, include a "Paid Support" option when one buys a computer from Dell, take a cut of the payment (or tack on a bit more to it), and the problem is solved. Dell makes money, Canonical makes money, and the customer is happy with his/her Officially Supported Linux Dell Computer (apart from the reaming s/he took in the purchase process, of course).
Might the "official" downgrading of Earth monitoring sensors be coupled by an upswing in classified ($1,000US hammers) spending on monitors meant for spying? So far, this Administration's focus has been light on humane science and heavy on abusive technology. /tinfoil-hat
I use Thunderbird to check email, and have noticed no ads, except the little text and hyperlink variety automatically attached by some (hotmail, yahoo!, etc.) services. I also use my SBC account as the SMTP service, and I get compliments and questions about how I removed those same types of ads. Apparently they aren't attached automatically? I'm not sure why this seems to be the case, but, hey, it works. At any rate, Thunderbird "sanitizes" your emails by default, blocking all kinds of ads, so this may be a solution to your problem (you may need a third party app to check Yahoo! The last good one I that I heard about was Mr. Postman, but I've never had to use it, so I can't vouch for it, personally).
Maybe it's different in other states (though I don't believe it is), but in Ohio at least, the issues (propositions, amendments, etc.) are spelled out in "plain English" on the ballots and can be read and re-read as many times as you'd like. Take as long as you want, it's only a race to the politicians. I consider myself very well-informed, politically (it's part of my schooling), and I still read every issue at least two or three times at the polls - if for no other reason than to slow down the legislative process. ;)
Terroism raises another interesting point. One person's terrorist is another's freedom fighter. Who decides which is what? And the issue becomes even more difficult: One government's "spy" can be another's "whistle blower" or "human rights crusader." Throw in MNCs, the WTO, industrial espionage, and environmental/worker protection laws, and the waters just keep getting murkier.
Which begs the question: What about the "double jeopardy" laws here in the US? If an individual is prosecuted and aquitted in one nation, are the other signatories allowed to swoop in and begin prosecution anew? I shudder to think that anyone, regardless of the suspected crime, would have to endure as many as forty-two separate trials, each in a completely different jurisdiction, with each jurisdiciton able to interprete the violated law(s) in their own way, and with customs (mainly legal) and languages which may be unfamiliar to the accused. Now, of course, this would violate the US Constitution - if the offender were to be prosecuted twice in the US. The same may not be true in other countries, however, since the trial(s) would not take place on US soil, or in a US court. And what about other 5th Amendment protections (e.g. against self-incrimination) once a criminal investigation/arrest/trial is already underway? If an indictment is handed down, could a defendant be made to testify against himself in court in a country where there are fewer laws protecting defendants? Serious nuts and bolts questions that are not clearly answered by the "essential interests" clauses.
True, but now Firefox is little more than bloatware piggybacking on a piece of spyware.
At the voting station, a number of machines (depending on the size of the precinct) are set up to a group of printers, located on the same table. The purpose of these machines is to print up a ballot in any language (including the many forms of Braille), with pictures of the candidates next to their names (for those who can't read) and a blank area under each office up for election for a write-in candidate. This will keep waste to a minimum, since a precinct doesn't need lots of excess ballots in little-used languages/dialects, yet will not disenfranchise non-English speakers, or speakers of languages which are rare in a particular location. Next, after the usual sign-in (with, perhaps, the unusual request to see the voter's registration card) the voting official hands the voter his/her card from the printer after checking it to make sure it is correct (names match faces match offices), and also hands the voter...a pen. The voter walks into the voting booth, checks off which candidate(s) s/he wants to elect for each office (or writes someone in), slides the card into a receptacle inside the booth, and leaves. The vote count can then be easily done by hand.[/my$.02]
Seriously, I built myself a new PC last year and although I put a floppy drive in, I've not ever needed it. But it's really nice to know that it's there for emergencies.
Yep. I just built a PC for my brother-in-law, and told him "You'd better get a floppy, too. You'll never need it, until you do." Sure enough, he needed a BIOS flash and drivers for his SATA (Windoze didn't support it). Both needed a floppy (used the same one twice - reduce, reuse, recycle). He hasn't used it since, and probably won't need it ever again - until, of course, he does.
Damnit! Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT!!
I know you're saying that AMD has a right to sue, but you're still placing the onus of blame on them, and not on Intel, who, it appears, is guilty of anticompetitive behavior. It is Intel, not AMD, who is to blame for these companies' wasted time. If they hadn't broken antitrust laws, then there would be no lawsuit (assuming, of course, Intel is guilty).