Yet another reason to do away with binaries. I personally hate binaries. Yes certain programs take 100's of megs to compile but that's really a gcc problem. (e.g. g++ *.c++ to get maximum efficiency) Why do we need all these binaries? Because the auto-configuration stuff isn't perfect? If every distro shipped with all the appropriate headers then everyone could have their tar.gz's auto-build correctly.
So we just found out how the current PIV sucks up all your memory bandwidth and the solution is to put a 2nd cpu in there? I can just see the benchmarks now, "Worlds fastest while(1) loop!"
But no one is noticing that, probably cause it's not juicy enough. The reason is that all DV video cameras have firewire(TM). Consumers want DV support. Therefore MS must support it otherwise Apple will keep shoving their DV/firewire support in everyones face. No vast conspiracies. Not because of copy protection. Not because MS invested in Apple. Not because MS is having a miff with Intel. DV cameras are the shit.
Exactly how are automobiles high tech? Because it has cruise control? Because its a large mass of metal that has the tendency to flip over when a tire blows? I've always envisioned the future as a society without cars. Many people spend hours in traffic every day, unable to do anything else since they're driving. That's hardly advanced. I'd much rather get in a train, read a book, wax poetic, or hell post on/. about how cars suck.
All of the issues surrounding global warming etc due to burning oil is stupid.
The effects today are not severe. An increase in temperature of 10 degrees is
easily offset by A/C.
Solar power et al are inferior technologies, they are not adequate for today's purposes.
The best solution that everyone should be using is obviously oil. Future consequences
are irrelevant since we need to make a decision today on how to supply power
for our needs. You people who insist on using e.g. solar power to lessen your
oil consumption at a greater monetary & convience cost to yourselves are morons.
As usual some poster took my originial post and extrapolated to a ridiculous extreme. But kennylives does make point, a much better name would be dubioustech or something.
And yes the facts are available to people like us. But not to people in general, that would be the purpose of the website. To make that one website, replete with information about and reasons to avoid dangerous technology like this -- one central and focussed source of information, not approval.
Maybe you could make it kuro5hin-ish so that everyone can rant about what they think is a POS device. The how is a secondary issue.
The point is, shouldn't someone do this? The companies already do it themselves, it's called marketing. And we know all to well how truthfull that side of the camp tends to be.
If no one does anything then the general populace are stuck with the most common source of information, ads, press releases, & Wired.
Even god won't be able to save that future.
Just like the dotcom deathwatch site, we need a single webpage that lists all products that consumers should avoid. It would have things like the tivo clone that was pedantic about macrovision and screwed up frequently. Similarly we would need some kind of list for products that simply kick ass.
I'm sure ibm wouldn't want their storage division to be #1 in the worst 100 products list.
It's just unbelievable; you'd think these people's lives were threatened by Linux or something.
Their lives aren't, but their livelihoods are. There are many people who only know MS stuff, they don't care about open source, no central control, yada yada yada... It's the same kind of analogy when the automotive manufacturers brought in robots to assemble cars. All the workers thought they were going to be replaced, that they wouldn't be able to work anymore. Some of the people did adapt perfectly and are happier now. Some probably didn't do so well. There is always Fear when change is imminent.
Everyone is so goddamn confused it's ridiculous. There is a huge difference between wireless and roving wireless. If you are talking about 2/11Mbps or pcmcia or airport then you are talking about roving stuff. o.w. you are talking about fixed point to point bandwidth. Here in Tucson, there's like 4 options for BW, cable/xDSL/microwave/and microwave(from uswest i think, they put a transmitter on the mountain and stick a dish on your house.). None of these 4 options are 802.11 ethernet.
Just look at the dish on the gainwireless website, that'd be pretty damn big for a laptop don't you think?
If you are asking the question "Why isn't technology not succeding against xDSL or cable modem?" Then the answer
is to strip off all occurences of xDSL/cable modem/wireless from the propaganda and then tabulate the features. Most consumers don't know don't care what they are using to get net access. They are asking questions like:
How much does it cost?
How fast is it?
That's it. There are of course additional considerations like having to put up a dish/antenna for wireless stuff but that's a side issue. Now if the comparison comes up that wireless costs $10 more per month then it loses. Simple isn't it? (Oddly enough, most of the wireless providers require a separate ISP, that pushes their cost up another 20 bucks usually. )
Most people don't know jack shit about wireless stuff can be snooped on (no worse than cable stuff). People on/. who say "I would examine their technology first" have absolutely zero affect on a wireless isp. Sorry to deflate your ego but if people like you actually had a lot of influence then AOL would not be AOL.
For the examples I gave above, gainwireless is failing (for non-businesses) because it is damn expensive. (Personally I don't think they care that they are not popular with non-businesses). The uswest(?) option is succeeding however, mostly because the existing phone lines and such are ultra cheap here and stuff is somewhat spread out so the actual number of people who can get xDSL is limited. Cable is also not doing well because they are morons.
Rant: I've been here a damn long time, longer than my 4 digit id would indicate since I didn't actually get an account until rob put in "features" that made my reading/. easier. But back to the rant, the reason that I feel/. is so dammned messed up is because of...
* The questions to begin with are vague. If you wish to start a discussion then you must focus it. E.g., you need to state that you are comparing wireless to xDSL and that you are not talking about sticking wireless access onto your laptop so that you can read/. while you crap.
* People skim and start spewing. The best way to help this is to better
state the question. Perhaps put a one sentence summary in huge ass bold so that if you miss it then you are clearly a moron.
* The people who post the question in the first place are rather sloppy. This is your chance to get a huge audience. State your questions clearly if you want it answered. O.w. you get what you ask for.
Other artists have already done what Public Enemy is planning on doing. I just heard a great singer tonight and found out that her new album is available online and in cd. http://www.gabriellesmusic.com In fact she even went so far as to put the liner on the web too.
How about setting up an article where people could post urls of artists posting their music on the web? Kind of askslashdotish but more general. The slashdot community has an enourmous collective knowledge base, we just need to better harness it. A huge sprawling mess of comments is not optimal. Comments with scores is better but a verified and coherent summary would be more easily absorbed.
Slashdot Mirror
Yet another reason to do away with binaries. I personally hate binaries. Yes certain programs take 100's of megs to compile but that's really a gcc problem. (e.g. g++ *.c++ to get maximum efficiency) Why do we need all these binaries? Because the auto-configuration stuff isn't perfect? If every distro shipped with all the appropriate headers then everyone could have their tar.gz's auto-build correctly.
If I created an account for my 11 year old son (if I had one) and then let it be spammed, what child laws would spammers possibly be breaking?
So we just found out how the current PIV sucks up all your memory bandwidth and the solution is to put a 2nd cpu in there? I can just see the benchmarks now, "Worlds fastest while(1) loop!"
t.
Exactly how are automobiles high tech? Because it has cruise control? Because its a large mass of metal that has the tendency to flip over when a tire blows? I've always envisioned the future as a society without cars. Many people spend hours in traffic every day, unable to do anything else since they're driving. That's hardly advanced. I'd much rather get in a train, read a book, wax poetic, or hell post on /. about how cars suck.
Obviously you didn't read the last paragraph since "6 month contract" is pretty clear.
t.
t.
Does nobody recognize an analogy to why choosing MS is bad?
t.
And yes the facts are available to people like us. But not to people in general, that would be the purpose of the website. To make that one website, replete with information about and reasons to avoid dangerous technology like this -- one central and focussed source of information, not approval.
Maybe you could make it kuro5hin-ish so that everyone can rant about what they think is a POS device. The how is a secondary issue.
The point is, shouldn't someone do this? The companies already do it themselves, it's called marketing. And we know all to well how truthfull that side of the camp tends to be.
If no one does anything then the general populace are stuck with the most common source of information, ads, press releases, & Wired. Even god won't be able to save that future.
t.
t.
Their lives aren't, but their livelihoods are. There are many people who only know MS stuff, they don't care about open source, no central control, yada yada yada... It's the same kind of analogy when the automotive manufacturers brought in robots to assemble cars. All the workers thought they were going to be replaced, that they wouldn't be able to work anymore. Some of the people did adapt perfectly and are happier now. Some probably didn't do so well. There is always Fear when change is imminent.
If you are asking the question "Why isn't technology not succeding against xDSL or cable modem?" Then the answer is to strip off all occurences of xDSL/cable modem/wireless from the propaganda and then tabulate the features. Most consumers don't know don't care what they are using to get net access. They are asking questions like:
How much does it cost?
How fast is it?
That's it. There are of course additional considerations like having to put up a dish/antenna for wireless stuff but that's a side issue. Now if the comparison comes up that wireless costs $10 more per month then it loses. Simple isn't it? (Oddly enough, most of the wireless providers require a separate ISP, that pushes their cost up another 20 bucks usually. )
Most people don't know jack shit about wireless stuff can be snooped on (no worse than cable stuff). People on /. who say "I would examine their technology first" have absolutely zero affect on a wireless isp. Sorry to deflate your ego but if people like you actually had a lot of influence then AOL would not be AOL.
For the examples I gave above, gainwireless is failing (for non-businesses) because it is damn expensive. (Personally I don't think they care that they are not popular with non-businesses). The uswest(?) option is succeeding however, mostly because the existing phone lines and such are ultra cheap here and stuff is somewhat spread out so the actual number of people who can get xDSL is limited. Cable is also not doing well because they are morons.
Rant: I've been here a damn long time, longer than my 4 digit id would indicate since I didn't actually get an account until rob put in "features" that made my reading /. easier. But back to the rant, the reason that I feel /. is so dammned messed up is because of...
* The questions to begin with are vague. If you wish to start a discussion then you must focus it. E.g., you need to state that you are comparing wireless to xDSL and that you are not talking about sticking wireless access onto your laptop so that you can read /. while you crap.
* People skim and start spewing. The best way to help this is to better state the question. Perhaps put a one sentence summary in huge ass bold so that if you miss it then you are clearly a moron.
* The people who post the question in the first place are rather sloppy. This is your chance to get a huge audience. State your questions clearly if you want it answered. O.w. you get what you ask for.
How about setting up an article where people could post urls of artists posting their music on the web? Kind of askslashdotish but more general. The slashdot community has an enourmous collective knowledge base, we just need to better harness it. A huge sprawling mess of comments is not optimal. Comments with scores is better but a verified and coherent summary would be more easily absorbed.
t.