No spyware, no ads, no bloat, no speed issues, no need for Windows to be running, no need for partitioning... (you have to run Windows 9x but probably better anyway, XP is bloated;-)
Seriously, though, I'd have to list Ranish Partition Manager in this category. And I second the nomination for PuTTY (I actually set up a shortcut, puttyssh.cjb.net, I use it so often - you can actually run it straight from the Web btw) if it hasn't already been seconded.
And don't forget ReactOS - screw Windows, run everything on ReactOS!! ^_^
I just pulled up Slashdot from my relatives' house (I'm up visiting family as I write this)... they have dial-up, but my computer's discovered that their neighbors have an open connection... and this is the first story that comes up. Wierd.
I think that setting up a connection like that should be legal - at home, my neighborhood is filled with wireless connections so I can use my neighbor's wireless and they can use mine and so on, it's not like you can really control something like 802.11.
Ideally, I think that such a system should be loaded with a real Linux distrobution. Then it would be a lot better.
By the way, anyone who thinks that you need a fucking kick-ass gaming system just to run OOo is wrong!! My desktop system is 566MHz with 256MB RAM, and my laptop is a 133MHz Pentium with 80MB!! Both of them run Slackware with X and XFCE just fine. (And yes, OpenOffice.org runs on both quite nicely, even with huge documents and several other programs running.) The specs for my systems are available here.
Honestly, I think that the only reason the Wal-Mart systems seem so slow is because everyone's used to Micro$oft and Lin$pire $tandard$...
Wouldn't their proprietary "Planeshift License" that doesn't allow modification or use of their work outside their project be a violation of the GPL?
Also, I agree about the source problems and client issues. There should not be a 220MB file on just one server like that - imagine what the/. effect would do - and besides, their server is probably slow anyway. BitTorrent all the way.
They definitely need to make an actual source release; I don't like using CVS, I myself directly release everything. This could easily confuse users who think that they haven't released anything at all.
What's so hard about making a Linux package? Just make a.tar.gz file that you can extract in/, or even better, do a.tgz for Slack:-) They could also do their own live CD.
I'm a Slackware user myself (I started with Red Hat last year, but switched over soon after, mainly because of this forum;-)... glad to hear that Mr. Volkerding is back in action, I was starting to worry that Slackware would disappear forever!! *PHEW*
I personally use Galeon whenever I can - it's faster, lighter, and has a much more powerful interface and better features - but when faced between the Mozilla suite and Firefox I still choose the suite for one reason:
Ctrl-Enter in the address bar!!
This often-overlooked feature is probably the most important for me. Firefox still does not open a new tab if you press Ctrl-Enter in the address bar, and I use that feature quite constantly.
I still use my Palm m125, which I bought in 2002. I use Pilot-Link (I'm a Linux person) and my Sandisk SD card reader to do all my Palm file transfers. Pilot-link is cool, works so much nicer than Palm's crappy desktop application.
Well, since everyone else seems to be saying IBM laptops are so great, here's my opinion: I think they're OK, but I really prefer my 1997-model Micron XPE. I much prefer its design - I have yet to see a system that fits me better, that's half the reason I'm still using it - and I have to admit that the fact that it doesn't have so much proprietary garbage (the only thing I can think of is its TV out utility) makes running Linux on it so much easier;-)
There's just one thing I don't get: Why would anyone want to use Windows?
Linux is:
Free
Open-source
Relatively bug-free
Virus-free
Worm-free
Stable
Secure
More powerful
Raw device access
Can work with any file system
Text or graphical mode
Runs on a much wider range of hardware
Prettier:-)
...
Windows is:
Expensive
Proprietary
Buggy
Virus-filled
Worm-filled
Unstable
Insecure
Nowhere near powerful
NO raw device access
Can work with any file system, so long as it's NTFS or FAT
NO TEXT MODE
Runs on a much narrower range of hardware
Uglier (who the hell would want to use "Windows XP style" or "Luna"??)
...
Where exactly is the advantage of Windows here?
(Oh, and Windows isn't easier to use either - I found that Slackware's text-administration tools and editing text files are actually much simpler and more straightforward than a slow, buggy, and poorly-designed graphical administration tool. And don't get me started on XP's "Find" tool...)
It doesn't support The Sims. I happen to be a heavy-duty Sims addict (my first copy was the Deluxe edition, and now I'm running Double Deluxe), but it won't run on Linux, which is my preferred operating system. And it doesn't seem to run on ReactOS either, although I guess it's not much of a surprise because ReactOS is still in early development.
It's not free!! Sure, the source code is available, and I have no problems with compiling my own programs, but I'd really prefer a no-cost binary version because my system is sort of old (2000 Dell with at least half the components upgraded) and Wine/Cedaga would take forever to compile. Sure some people are filthy stinking rich but I don't exactly have the money to buy ever single software program I want - that's why I have a broadband connection and a CD burner;-)
Slashdot Mirror
Easy solution: ZipSlack.
No spyware, no ads, no bloat, no speed issues, no need for Windows to be running, no need for partitioning... (you have to run Windows 9x but probably better anyway, XP is bloated ;-)
Seriously, though, I'd have to list Ranish Partition Manager in this category. And I second the nomination for PuTTY (I actually set up a shortcut, puttyssh.cjb.net, I use it so often - you can actually run it straight from the Web btw) if it hasn't already been seconded.
And don't forget ReactOS - screw Windows, run everything on ReactOS!! ^_^
I just pulled up Slashdot from my relatives' house (I'm up visiting family as I write this)... they have dial-up, but my computer's discovered that their neighbors have an open connection... and this is the first story that comes up. Wierd.
I think that setting up a connection like that should be legal - at home, my neighborhood is filled with wireless connections so I can use my neighbor's wireless and they can use mine and so on, it's not like you can really control something like 802.11.
Ideally, I think that such a system should be loaded with a real Linux distrobution. Then it would be a lot better.
By the way, anyone who thinks that you need a fucking kick-ass gaming system just to run OOo is wrong!! My desktop system is 566MHz with 256MB RAM, and my laptop is a 133MHz Pentium with 80MB!! Both of them run Slackware with X and XFCE just fine. (And yes, OpenOffice.org runs on both quite nicely, even with huge documents and several other programs running.) The specs for my systems are available here.
Honestly, I think that the only reason the Wal-Mart systems seem so slow is because everyone's used to Micro$oft and Lin$pire $tandard$ ...
Wouldn't their proprietary "Planeshift License" that doesn't allow modification or use of their work outside their project be a violation of the GPL?
Also, I agree about the source problems and client issues. There should not be a 220MB file on just one server like that - imagine what the /. effect would do - and besides, their server is probably slow anyway. BitTorrent all the way.
They definitely need to make an actual source release; I don't like using CVS, I myself directly release everything. This could easily confuse users who think that they haven't released anything at all.
What's so hard about making a Linux package? Just make a .tar.gz file that you can extract in /, or even better, do a .tgz for Slack :-) They could also do their own live CD.
Just my 2 cents...
I'm a Slackware user myself (I started with Red Hat last year, but switched over soon after, mainly because of this forum ;-) ... glad to hear that Mr. Volkerding is back in action, I was starting to worry that Slackware would disappear forever!! *PHEW*
I personally use Galeon whenever I can - it's faster, lighter, and has a much more powerful interface and better features - but when faced between the Mozilla suite and Firefox I still choose the suite for one reason:
Ctrl-Enter in the address bar!!
This often-overlooked feature is probably the most important for me. Firefox still does not open a new tab if you press Ctrl-Enter in the address bar, and I use that feature quite constantly.
May sound a bit ridiculous, but it is true...
I still use my Palm m125, which I bought in 2002. I use Pilot-Link (I'm a Linux person) and my Sandisk SD card reader to do all my Palm file transfers. Pilot-link is cool, works so much nicer than Palm's crappy desktop application.
Well, since everyone else seems to be saying IBM laptops are so great, here's my opinion: I think they're OK, but I really prefer my 1997-model Micron XPE. I much prefer its design - I have yet to see a system that fits me better, that's half the reason I'm still using it - and I have to admit that the fact that it doesn't have so much proprietary garbage (the only thing I can think of is its TV out utility) makes running Linux on it so much easier ;-)
There's just one thing I don't get: Why would anyone want to use Windows?
Linux is:
Windows is:
Where exactly is the advantage of Windows here?
(Oh, and Windows isn't easier to use either - I found that Slackware's text-administration tools and editing text files are actually much simpler and more straightforward than a slow, buggy, and poorly-designed graphical administration tool. And don't get me started on XP's "Find" tool...)
I have only two complaints about Cedaga:
It doesn't support The Sims. I happen to be a heavy-duty Sims addict (my first copy was the Deluxe edition, and now I'm running Double Deluxe), but it won't run on Linux, which is my preferred operating system. And it doesn't seem to run on ReactOS either, although I guess it's not much of a surprise because ReactOS is still in early development.
It's not free!! Sure, the source code is available, and I have no problems with compiling my own programs, but I'd really prefer a no-cost binary version because my system is sort of old (2000 Dell with at least half the components upgraded) and Wine/Cedaga would take forever to compile. Sure some people are filthy stinking rich but I don't exactly have the money to buy ever single software program I want - that's why I have a broadband connection and a CD burner ;-)
Just my 2 cents...