most small business...do not pay for their [employees] health insurance
That is only an issue because of the dismal state of healthcare in this country. That is a serious problem that needs to be addressed on its own. Most industrialized "first world" countries provide healthcare for their citizens; don't blame the small businessman for the failings of government.
It seems to me that people have just automatically assumed that larger businesses are bad (by associating them with some bad actors among the super-big actors) and that smaller business are somehow intrinsically "good,"...
It's not a matter of "good" or "bad". The problem with large businesses is that they have a disproportionate amount influence on our lives. They own congress and rig the laws and tax code to favor them. They coldly lay off workers without remorse. They are large institutions who are beholden to no one but their shareholders. They do these things, not because they are "evil", but because they can. Any business, small or large, will do what it can to make money, it's just that some of the things large businesses are capable of are pretty nasty. Small businesses are a part of the community, and have a human face. They're "one of us". Despite their relative inefficiancy, it is no surprise that people have a warmer opinion of them than their larger counterparts.
"If you're looking at the Dollar Menu in terms of how much food you get it really appears as a good bargain," said Connie Schneider, a nutrition adviser for Fresno County in California. "But if you're looking at it as how many nutrients are you getting for a dollar, it's the least economical."
I assume you're talking about Windows Network Neighborhood... Macs call it SMB, right?
FYI, smb is not just a Mac term, it's the actual name of the protocol for sharing files, printers, etc on a Windows box. The Samba client used in OS X and *nix (smbclient) just refers to plain old "smb". From the Wikipedia entry:
SMB was originally invented by IBM to turn DOS "Interrupt 33" local file access into a networked file system, but the most common version is modified heavily by Microsoft.
....Because of the importance of the SMB protocol in interacting with the dominant Microsoft Windows platform, coupled with the heavily modified nature of the SMB implementation present in that platform, the Samba project was created to provide a free implementation of a compatible SMB client and server for use with non-Microsoft operating systems.
my network-enabled Tivo (that only played nice w/ Windows machines)
For OS X or Linux (unless you need IPv6), try Galleon. I use it on an Ubuntu box and it works like a charm. I use it to backup recordings and listen to music on my TV. The only downside is you can't watch your recordings on the computer or burn them to DVD. I believe mplayer has some kind of tivo function, but I've never played with it as I have little desire to watch TV on my computer.
It's funny, we can go to shows full of talented artits making new and exciting music for much less money than it would cost to see Madonna regurgitate her hit singles for the millionth time. I guess people are willing to pay more to get excited about celebrities than they are to actually hear intersting music.
For less than the price of that Madonna show, I went to a three day festival featuring tons of great bands*, All Tomorrow's Parties. It came with a room to sleep in (with beds and a kitchen!). Best thing ever.
*just off the top of my head: Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Lightning Bolt, Black Dice, Fiery Furnaces, Deerhoof, Bardo Pond, Fursaxa, Vincent Gallo, Wolf Eyes, Erase Errata, LCD Soundsystem, Mission of Burma, OOIOO, Arab Strap, Le Tigre, The Shins, and a band consisting of Thurston Moore, Jim O'Rourke, and free jazz duo Corsano and Flaherty(sp?). There are many more that escape me at the moment.
Shhhhhhh you're going to lose your street cred with the linux elite. User friendliness is for the weak, didn't you know?
Just change the theme to "simple", get rid of the boot splash and other Ubuntu artwork, and tell everyone you're running Debian unstable. Then you can still hang out with the cool people;)
This is exactly why Linux is a pile of fucking shit and everyone who uses it needs to have the goddamn dependencies manifested into physical form, then rammed up their anus till it bleeds.
Umm. If you had ever used Ubuntu (or Debian) you would know that there is no "Dependency Hell" in these distros. And I fail to see how a few people being hostile in online forums makes Linux a "pile of fucking shit". I could see how it would discourage new users, but that has nothing to do with the quality of the kernel. Goddamn troll... why are you reading the Linux section anyway? WTF do you care about Ubuntu?
You can always apt-get banshee. Banshee allows you to manage your ipod, and the daapd plugin (which is also in the apt repositories) allows you access iTunes music shares, as well as share your own library with iTunes clients.
That is certainly true. My statement is in the context of the comment I was replying to - the AC said
They need to be able to buy a CD at CompUSA and put it in their CD-ROM drive. That is the limit of what they will tolerate on a home PC.
And I was essentially pointing out that this scenario already exists; OS X users don't expect to be able to buy any Windows software and run it on their Mac.
When there are univeral binaries or universal installs of Office, TurboTax, Super Print Shop Pro, etc... that run on Linux, MacOSX and Windows, then they will be able to deal with it.
That's funny, plenty of people still use OS X despite the fact that it is not binary compatible with MS Windows - and they pay a premium to do it.
I think that you are right about Microsoft Office though. Many people believe they "need" MS Office, and the lack of a Linux port is definitly slowing down the adoption of Linux on the desktop.
[China] has the right to determine it's own destiny without need of approval from the West.
It certainly does, but I think Americans in perticular have a responsibility to voice our opinions about China. We have every right to influence our own government's policy towards China. China isn't obligated to get our approval, but we are not obligated to consider them a "most favored nation" either.
I couldn't agree more. In case he's running Linux, I'd like to point out some software he could use. Audacity - simple audio recording Rosegarden - audio editor/sequencer Ardour - digital audio workstation (think pro tools)
Yeah, in my opinion that wouldn't be a bad idea. They could credibly claim to have produced a more secure and stable OS. On the other hand, there is a lot of inertia in a company that size, so I'm not expecting they will actually do it...
one can imagine Microsoft quitely purchasing Apple's OS line, or even just licensing it, rewiring the GUI to look like Windows.
If Miscrosoft wanted to rewrite Windows with a Unix foundation, they could just make their own BSD-based OS. Just take FreeBSD, slap a fancy gui on it, and call it Windows. They would have no reason to buy out OS X unless they wanted Aqua or the name.
As long as that works for you, godspeed. Personally, I am a huge music fan and can't really imagine not getting into exciting new music - and thanks to the plummetting price of recording and distribution, there is a lot of it now being produced independently of the giant media corps.
Since the RIAA insanity started.. I have purchased ZERO CDs....It pains me sometimes because I want to buy CDs.. I almost do it.. and then refuse to because of how they are behaving.
I'm all for boycotting the RIAA, but consider buying CDs from indie labels. Most of the great new music being recorded today is being released on non-RIAA labels anyway.
I dual boot Linux and FreeBSD on my laptop. I use Gnome with both and don't notice any difference in performance. In fact, one of the things I like about FreeBSD is the faster boot time; it is my OS of choice for old laptops for that very reason.
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most small business ...do not pay for their [employees] health insurance
That is only an issue because of the dismal state of healthcare in this country. That is a serious problem that needs to be addressed on its own. Most industrialized "first world" countries provide healthcare for their citizens; don't blame the small businessman for the failings of government.
It seems to me that people have just automatically assumed that larger businesses are bad (by associating them with some bad actors among the super-big actors) and that smaller business are somehow intrinsically "good,"...
It's not a matter of "good" or "bad". The problem with large businesses is that they have a disproportionate amount influence on our lives. They own congress and rig the laws and tax code to favor them. They coldly lay off workers without remorse. They are large institutions who are beholden to no one but their shareholders. They do these things, not because they are "evil", but because they can. Any business, small or large, will do what it can to make money, it's just that some of the things large businesses are capable of are pretty nasty.
Small businesses are a part of the community, and have a human face. They're "one of us". Despite their relative inefficiancy, it is no surprise that people have a warmer opinion of them than their larger counterparts.
Just why would anyone want a FreeBSD desktop?
Why not?
I read something in the New York Times the other day that comes to mind.
From Salads or No, Cheap Burgers Revive McDonald's:
FYI, smb is not just a Mac term, it's the actual name of the protocol for sharing files, printers, etc on a Windows box.
The Samba client used in OS X and *nix (smbclient) just refers to plain old "smb".
From the Wikipedia entry:
Sorry to nitpick
"Terrorism" is the alternate password.
Wow, we need some better security. At least "communism" doesn't work anymore.
Mr. Gonzales also said that he is investigating ways to ensure that ISPs retain records of a user's web activities to track down offenders.
And I'm COMPLETELY sure that these records will only be used to fight child porn... this is frightning.
my network-enabled Tivo (that only played nice w/ Windows machines)
For OS X or Linux (unless you need IPv6), try Galleon. I use it on an Ubuntu box and it works like a charm. I use it to backup recordings and listen to music on my TV. The only downside is you can't watch your recordings on the computer or burn them to DVD. I believe mplayer has some kind of tivo function, but I've never played with it as I have little desire to watch TV on my computer.
It's funny, we can go to shows full of talented artits making new and exciting music for much less money than it would cost to see Madonna regurgitate her hit singles for the millionth time. I guess people are willing to pay more to get excited about celebrities than they are to actually hear intersting music.
BTW, Gwar.... AWESOME!!!
For less than the price of that Madonna show, I went to a three day festival featuring tons of great bands*, All Tomorrow's Parties. It came with a room to sleep in (with beds and a kitchen!). Best thing ever.
*just off the top of my head: Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Lightning Bolt, Black Dice, Fiery Furnaces, Deerhoof, Bardo Pond, Fursaxa, Vincent Gallo, Wolf Eyes, Erase Errata, LCD Soundsystem, Mission of Burma, OOIOO, Arab Strap, Le Tigre, The Shins, and a band consisting of Thurston Moore, Jim O'Rourke, and free jazz duo Corsano and Flaherty(sp?). There are many more that escape me at the moment.
i'm GLAD to see they're implementing Xgl in this big release..
Actually you can get xgl and compiz from the dapper repos now. It's pretty cool.
Shhhhhhh you're going to lose your street cred with the linux elite. User friendliness is for the weak, didn't you know?
;)
Just change the theme to "simple", get rid of the boot splash and other Ubuntu artwork, and tell everyone you're running Debian unstable. Then you can still hang out with the cool people
This is exactly why Linux is a pile of fucking shit and everyone who uses it needs to have the goddamn dependencies manifested into physical form, then rammed up their anus till it bleeds.
Umm. If you had ever used Ubuntu (or Debian) you would know that there is no "Dependency Hell" in these distros. And I fail to see how a few people being hostile in online forums makes Linux a "pile of fucking shit". I could see how it would discourage new users, but that has nothing to do with the quality of the kernel.
Goddamn troll... why are you reading the Linux section anyway? WTF do you care about Ubuntu?
Get 6.06 here.
1) No iTunes clone. amaroK - yeeeeech...
You can always apt-get banshee. Banshee allows you to manage your ipod, and the daapd plugin (which is also in the apt repositories) allows you access iTunes music shares, as well as share your own library with iTunes clients.
When there are univeral binaries or universal installs of Office, TurboTax, Super Print Shop Pro, etc... that run on Linux, MacOSX and Windows, then they will be able to deal with it.
That's funny, plenty of people still use OS X despite the fact that it is not binary compatible with MS Windows - and they pay a premium to do it.
I think that you are right about Microsoft Office though. Many people believe they "need" MS Office, and the lack of a Linux port is definitly slowing down the adoption of Linux on the desktop.
[China] has the right to determine it's own destiny without need of approval from the West.
It certainly does, but I think Americans in perticular have a responsibility to voice our opinions about China. We have every right to influence our own government's policy towards China. China isn't obligated to get our approval, but we are not obligated to consider them a "most favored nation" either.
I guess it's not MySpace anymore, but OurSpace...
No, it's his space.
I couldn't agree more. In case he's running Linux, I'd like to point out some software he could use.
Audacity - simple audio recording
Rosegarden - audio editor/sequencer
Ardour - digital audio workstation (think pro tools)
Yeah, in my opinion that wouldn't be a bad idea. They could credibly claim to have produced a more secure and stable OS. On the other hand, there is a lot of inertia in a company that size, so I'm not expecting they will actually do it...
one can imagine Microsoft quitely purchasing Apple's OS line, or even just licensing it, rewiring the GUI to look like Windows.
If Miscrosoft wanted to rewrite Windows with a Unix foundation, they could just make their own BSD-based OS. Just take FreeBSD, slap a fancy gui on it, and call it Windows. They would have no reason to buy out OS X unless they wanted Aqua or the name.
As long as that works for you, godspeed. Personally, I am a huge music fan and can't really imagine not getting into exciting new music - and thanks to the plummetting price of recording and distribution, there is a lot of it now being produced independently of the giant media corps.
Since the RIAA insanity started.. I have purchased ZERO CDs ....It pains me sometimes because I want to buy CDs.. I almost do it.. and then refuse to because of how they are behaving.
I'm all for boycotting the RIAA, but consider buying CDs from indie labels. Most of the great new music being recorded today is being released on non-RIAA labels anyway.
I dual boot Linux and FreeBSD on my laptop. I use Gnome with both and don't notice any difference in performance. In fact, one of the things I like about FreeBSD is the faster boot time; it is my OS of choice for old laptops for that very reason.
The NSA gave us SELinux.