You seem to have skipped reading my post. I specifically said in my third paragraph that you are fully justified in looking for an alternative if some software is forcing certain drawbacks on you.
Still, this article is talking about choosing Linux-based OS. I am curious to hear which distributions you deem to have "software vendor is spying on me, wasting my cycles on ads, and leaving the back door open" that got you so riled up?
You link to FSF page that lists only nine distributions, which honestly are not very widely used. Apparently even distributions like Debian, Slackware, SuSE, Mint, Arch and Mandriva are not recommended because they include some proprietary software or include the option to get them. To recommend a newcomer starts from a more obscure, restrictive distribution is counter-productive, since he will have less resources online to help him resolve issues he will encounter.
But then, based on your tone and defensiveness, this is not about helping someone get started with Linux: Your post seems all about pushing your personal political view of software licenses and restrictions. These passions are counter-productive, perfectionist and ultimately destructive towards introducing Linux as a software platform for a general user. In my opinion, it is this zealotry that causes fragmentation and one of the main reasons Linux never achieved mainstream status on the desktop.
Before there were GUI, personal computers were ridiculously expensive for average home user. Those that did have computers at home were owned by those that spent extraordinary amounts of time learning through manuals and by all accounts could be said to be shut in and eccentric. We got people here that reminisce about loading instructions from tapes and setting hardware switches to load the applications. From the point of view of an average person, that was masochism.
Once personal computer finally became more affordable, OS was becoming more approachable. Still, the PC revolution really hasn't taken off until Macintosh stole/copied the GUI concepts from Xerox. No matter how powerful command line interfaces are, you just can't argue that for a beginner the GUI is just more intuitive and less memorization based.
With the modern capabilities of graphical OSes and complexity of today's applications, it is not reasonable to plunge someone new to the command line. He will just get frustrated by the steep learning curve of memorizing commands and reading the technically worded man pages. This is not just theoretical, this comes from first-hand experience of years of introducing people to Linux.
In general, I would stay away from distributions that peddle non-free software: they are made by people who think that harming you is OK, because that's how they get paid.
While majority of your post is good, I disagree with your third paragraph. The "Made by people who think that harming you is OK" statement is zealotry and FUD. At the end of the day software is not a religion, but a tool to get things done.
You should always look for the best solution to your problem. If it is non-free software and you can afford it without pirating, then go for it. If you can't afford it or it figuratively forcing "features" down your throat (eg. DRM, personal information collecting, etc) or missing features you need, then you should be looking at the free/open source alternatives. Discarding options viable just because the software doesn't come with source code is foolish and childish.
Since you have stated you have time and want to learn, now is the perfect time. I think you should install the smallest possible linux GUI-less and just run in terminal mode for a while. Learn to do everything without a GUI.
While I do agree that this is a guaranteed way to learn all the aspects of the new system, for a completely new user this borders on masochism.
My recommendation would be to get something simple and stable (Debian Stable is a perfect example). Have the system up and running with XFCE GUI and a familiar browser like Firefox (Since you will be searching Google A LOT, you better be comfortable with the browser).
After that is done, have the terminal window up at all times and try to do as much as possible using it. If he gets frustrated, alt-tab to Firefox/Iceweasel/Konqueror and get help or fall back to using the GUI. Being stuck on minimal version of Linux with terminal only is a very good way to run into an issue and give up in frustration.
Strange. Any damage on the boards that looks odd? He could have an insect infestation that likes to invade the desktop tower, but laptop is more sealed.
Does he uses the desktop and laptop at the same exact spot? Could be that he got something with heavy interference running near where he uses the tower opposed to laptop.
Are you confident that the UPS is not faulty? In my experience power supplies are the second most common device to fail inside the computer behind the hard drive. Still you mentioned that you replaced all the components...
Is the surface he places the tower on is conductive? Could be he has issues with grounding in the house and the surface the tower on is charged, thus affects the metal case. Laptop is plastic thus not affected.
All of these are really picking at straws; You seem to covered all the obvious causes. This really is a puzzling case. Keep us updated on the case; I am really curious now.
Given NASA's constant funding problems for the last few decades, by this point all the talented engineers and researchers would of left. Also with the current political environment of focusing spending on the War on Terror related projects and social support, I would be surprised if there will be any increase in budget allocation to the space-related sciences.
At this rate, is there any meaningful hope left for NASA, JPL or indeed any government-funded space-related agencies?
It is quite scary and enlightening to replay Deus Ex now. So much of it echoes of the current US position. Only real differences is that the Statue of Liberty is not bombed and UN does not hold power over the United States.
Oh and the game had NSF who actually got their shit together and fought back; In real life people just whine about the situation and do nothing.
Of course we do. The problem is that this "feature" is forced down on us by default requiring effort (Even if fairly small) to get rid of. Especially since there are so many other great distributions to choose from where you don't have to worry about someone data mining for your usage information.
This breaks good will of the distribution to the open source community. And that is why we are bitching.
Now we just have to figure out an escape route from systemd hell
Would someone please explain what is the downside of systemd is? I hear a lot of hate for it from some circles (Certainly on Slashdot), but don't understand even what it does. The page on Wikipedia only lists its advantages.
Or maybe they are not experts at the field of computing. Certainly not much history about our field is being recorded, especially in easily accessible form.
Imagine if someone give you to approve a patent application on some specific aspect of rocket design. How would you approach to researching this, when you got thousands more applications to process with tight deadlines?
Plus we only hear about when obvious troll submissions get through. I certainly don't know the ratio of good and bad patent grants. Alas as far as patents are concerned, Slashdot crown will accept nothing but impossible perfection.
I see brain-computer interface as a monumental step to improving our lives. We can construct sensors for virtually every stimuli there is, but could never reach the level of comfort and impressiveness that our natural senses give us. But with this, imagine what we can do for those people that lose their limbs, eyes or suffer horrific burns to their skin. We may even be able to restore movement to people with paralysis!
Imagine being able to interact with your desktop without risk of Repetitive Stress Injuries. Imagine having the ability to directly jack in to robots in hostile environments. Imagine what kind of augmentations we can add. This could even be first steps towards having a choice of immortality!
Biotech is such a quickly developing area. It is a very exciting time to be alive! You just need to avoid focusing on only negatives. Every scientific development has both good and bad sides: Nuclear fission did bring us terrifying weapons, but also a source of energy.
Slashdot these days is so extremely cynical. It has been said that behind every cynic is a disappointed idealist. Things will never be perfect and not everything we want will come true. But just for a moment put the pessimism on hold and just let yourself be happy with the good news.
Because reporting of good news on this site is so extremely rare...
Whatever the cause this trend is great news indeed. After all these years of painfully adding exceptions to our websites to deal with Microsoft's stubborn refusal to follow standards, there are finally signs of improvement. We are not out of this mess yet and things may get worse, but for now let us just be happy with the news.
I propose all of us raise a glass of your favorite beverage to toast the beginning of the end of web's dominance by Microsoft!
Really?! Oh I think you will change your tune if the price at the pump goes up by a few dollars. Well, maybe you won't since you might be a millionaire, but quite a few people will.
Face it, we WANT our oil as cheap as possible. Lower price of fuel means lower price of everything else. And lower price of living translates to more money available for spending on leisure activities.
If that means we need to exterminate all the cute seals to get cheaper energy, then so be it.
And how do you propose we process the raw materials into usable form while out in space? Is the cost of that included in the value analysis?
Where will the energy to smelt metals come from? Months of accumulating solar energy? How do you cool things in space back down? How do you move product from one part of process to the other without the helping of gravity?
For all our activity in space not once have I heard of anyone taking a piece of raw ore into zero G environment and refining it into metal. If that would be made possible, that would be such an awesome achievement.
The value appears to be on the presence of minerals/metals in the asteroid. But does that value includes the cost of processing those materials into usable form in orbit? I have serious doubts that you will find an asteroid made of pristine titanium chunks ready for cutting and making space station walls out of.
Do we have any means of refining materials in orbit? Is it even possible to have a cost-effective way of processing raw materials without gravity? Where would you get such an amount of energy required without expensive (Both in monetary and political) launches of fission fuels? Surely you won't be able to get the power required from solar panels alone.
Thank you for sharing this. So many people around me are adamant that happiness in life is impossible without having a child. Perhaps they are so set on it to justify in their minds the decision they made.
It is refreshing to hear another opinion on life from someone that has been through it.
Who gives a fuck what the passerby around you think?! Chances are good you will never see them again. If skipping to get from point A to B gives you a fulfilling and happy feeling: Just go for it!
If someone stops you and asks, just tell them you practice Parkour.
Life is too short. Don't let social pressures hold you back!
Slashdot Mirror
You seem to have skipped reading my post. I specifically said in my third paragraph that you are fully justified in looking for an alternative if some software is forcing certain drawbacks on you.
Still, this article is talking about choosing Linux-based OS. I am curious to hear which distributions you deem to have "software vendor is spying on me, wasting my cycles on ads, and leaving the back door open" that got you so riled up?
You link to FSF page that lists only nine distributions, which honestly are not very widely used. Apparently even distributions like Debian, Slackware, SuSE, Mint, Arch and Mandriva are not recommended because they include some proprietary software or include the option to get them. To recommend a newcomer starts from a more obscure, restrictive distribution is counter-productive, since he will have less resources online to help him resolve issues he will encounter.
But then, based on your tone and defensiveness, this is not about helping someone get started with Linux: Your post seems all about pushing your personal political view of software licenses and restrictions. These passions are counter-productive, perfectionist and ultimately destructive towards introducing Linux as a software platform for a general user. In my opinion, it is this zealotry that causes fragmentation and one of the main reasons Linux never achieved mainstream status on the desktop.
Before there were GUI, personal computers were ridiculously expensive for average home user. Those that did have computers at home were owned by those that spent extraordinary amounts of time learning through manuals and by all accounts could be said to be shut in and eccentric. We got people here that reminisce about loading instructions from tapes and setting hardware switches to load the applications. From the point of view of an average person, that was masochism.
Once personal computer finally became more affordable, OS was becoming more approachable. Still, the PC revolution really hasn't taken off until Macintosh stole/copied the GUI concepts from Xerox. No matter how powerful command line interfaces are, you just can't argue that for a beginner the GUI is just more intuitive and less memorization based.
With the modern capabilities of graphical OSes and complexity of today's applications, it is not reasonable to plunge someone new to the command line. He will just get frustrated by the steep learning curve of memorizing commands and reading the technically worded man pages. This is not just theoretical, this comes from first-hand experience of years of introducing people to Linux.
In general, I would stay away from distributions that peddle non-free software: they are made by people who think that harming you is OK, because that's how they get paid.
While majority of your post is good, I disagree with your third paragraph. The "Made by people who think that harming you is OK" statement is zealotry and FUD. At the end of the day software is not a religion, but a tool to get things done.
You should always look for the best solution to your problem. If it is non-free software and you can afford it without pirating, then go for it. If you can't afford it or it figuratively forcing "features" down your throat (eg. DRM, personal information collecting, etc) or missing features you need, then you should be looking at the free/open source alternatives. Discarding options viable just because the software doesn't come with source code is foolish and childish.
Since you have stated you have time and want to learn, now is the perfect time. I think you should install the smallest possible linux GUI-less and just run in terminal mode for a while. Learn to do everything without a GUI.
While I do agree that this is a guaranteed way to learn all the aspects of the new system, for a completely new user this borders on masochism.
My recommendation would be to get something simple and stable (Debian Stable is a perfect example). Have the system up and running with XFCE GUI and a familiar browser like Firefox (Since you will be searching Google A LOT, you better be comfortable with the browser).
After that is done, have the terminal window up at all times and try to do as much as possible using it. If he gets frustrated, alt-tab to Firefox/Iceweasel/Konqueror and get help or fall back to using the GUI. Being stuck on minimal version of Linux with terminal only is a very good way to run into an issue and give up in frustration.
Strange. Any damage on the boards that looks odd? He could have an insect infestation that likes to invade the desktop tower, but laptop is more sealed.
Does he uses the desktop and laptop at the same exact spot? Could be that he got something with heavy interference running near where he uses the tower opposed to laptop.
Are you confident that the UPS is not faulty? In my experience power supplies are the second most common device to fail inside the computer behind the hard drive. Still you mentioned that you replaced all the components...
Is the surface he places the tower on is conductive? Could be he has issues with grounding in the house and the surface the tower on is charged, thus affects the metal case. Laptop is plastic thus not affected.
All of these are really picking at straws; You seem to covered all the obvious causes. This really is a puzzling case. Keep us updated on the case; I am really curious now.
Species definition is quite messy. Easiest example is Tiger and Lion; They are listed as members of two separate species, yet they can interbreed.
Indeed. May as well carry on with other part of the tradition for dupe stories.
Quick everyone, re-post all the posts that have been modded up in the original story! Here comes free karma!
Thank you for your correction. Still learning English, so the corrections are welcome.
Given NASA's constant funding problems for the last few decades, by this point all the talented engineers and researchers would of left. Also with the current political environment of focusing spending on the War on Terror related projects and social support, I would be surprised if there will be any increase in budget allocation to the space-related sciences.
At this rate, is there any meaningful hope left for NASA, JPL or indeed any government-funded space-related agencies?
It is quite scary and enlightening to replay Deus Ex now. So much of it echoes of the current US position. Only real differences is that the Statue of Liberty is not bombed and UN does not hold power over the United States.
Oh and the game had NSF who actually got their shit together and fought back; In real life people just whine about the situation and do nothing.
Of course we do. The problem is that this "feature" is forced down on us by default requiring effort (Even if fairly small) to get rid of. Especially since there are so many other great distributions to choose from where you don't have to worry about someone data mining for your usage information.
This breaks good will of the distribution to the open source community. And that is why we are bitching.
Now we just have to figure out an escape route from systemd hell
Would someone please explain what is the downside of systemd is? I hear a lot of hate for it from some circles (Certainly on Slashdot), but don't understand even what it does. The page on Wikipedia only lists its advantages.
Or maybe they are not experts at the field of computing. Certainly not much history about our field is being recorded, especially in easily accessible form.
Imagine if someone give you to approve a patent application on some specific aspect of rocket design. How would you approach to researching this, when you got thousands more applications to process with tight deadlines?
Plus we only hear about when obvious troll submissions get through. I certainly don't know the ratio of good and bad patent grants. Alas as far as patents are concerned, Slashdot crown will accept nothing but impossible perfection.
Only if you choose to see it this way.
I see brain-computer interface as a monumental step to improving our lives. We can construct sensors for virtually every stimuli there is, but could never reach the level of comfort and impressiveness that our natural senses give us. But with this, imagine what we can do for those people that lose their limbs, eyes or suffer horrific burns to their skin. We may even be able to restore movement to people with paralysis!
Imagine being able to interact with your desktop without risk of Repetitive Stress Injuries. Imagine having the ability to directly jack in to robots in hostile environments. Imagine what kind of augmentations we can add. This could even be first steps towards having a choice of immortality!
Biotech is such a quickly developing area. It is a very exciting time to be alive! You just need to avoid focusing on only negatives. Every scientific development has both good and bad sides: Nuclear fission did bring us terrifying weapons, but also a source of energy.
So why don't we all just roll over and die?!
Slashdot these days is so extremely cynical. It has been said that behind every cynic is a disappointed idealist. Things will never be perfect and not everything we want will come true. But just for a moment put the pessimism on hold and just let yourself be happy with the good news.
Because reporting of good news on this site is so extremely rare...
Whatever the cause this trend is great news indeed. After all these years of painfully adding exceptions to our websites to deal with Microsoft's stubborn refusal to follow standards, there are finally signs of improvement. We are not out of this mess yet and things may get worse, but for now let us just be happy with the news.
I propose all of us raise a glass of your favorite beverage to toast the beginning of the end of web's dominance by Microsoft!
Really?! Oh I think you will change your tune if the price at the pump goes up by a few dollars. Well, maybe you won't since you might be a millionaire, but quite a few people will.
Face it, we WANT our oil as cheap as possible. Lower price of fuel means lower price of everything else. And lower price of living translates to more money available for spending on leisure activities.
If that means we need to exterminate all the cute seals to get cheaper energy, then so be it.
And how do you propose we process the raw materials into usable form while out in space? Is the cost of that included in the value analysis?
Where will the energy to smelt metals come from? Months of accumulating solar energy? How do you cool things in space back down? How do you move product from one part of process to the other without the helping of gravity?
For all our activity in space not once have I heard of anyone taking a piece of raw ore into zero G environment and refining it into metal. If that would be made possible, that would be such an awesome achievement.
This is the part which I find confusing.
The value appears to be on the presence of minerals/metals in the asteroid. But does that value includes the cost of processing those materials into usable form in orbit? I have serious doubts that you will find an asteroid made of pristine titanium chunks ready for cutting and making space station walls out of.
Do we have any means of refining materials in orbit? Is it even possible to have a cost-effective way of processing raw materials without gravity? Where would you get such an amount of energy required without expensive (Both in monetary and political) launches of fission fuels? Surely you won't be able to get the power required from solar panels alone.
Let me have a go:
Monkey == Human
Robot == Overlord
Zombie == Politician
What do I win?
Why are you being such an underachiever?
With your knowledge of virology, biology and access to equipment/facilities you should be able to hold an entire COUNTRY hostage.
Always aim high. There is nothing motivation, drive and access to biological/chemical resources can't achieve!
Well they can't because they are DEAD!
See what happens to heathens who get major god genders wrong?! Better repent now before the same fate befall you as well.
Thank you for sharing this. So many people around me are adamant that happiness in life is impossible without having a child. Perhaps they are so set on it to justify in their minds the decision they made.
It is refreshing to hear another opinion on life from someone that has been through it.
Yes. We did finally managed to forget that horrible film.
Until you reminded us of it. Fucker!
Who gives a fuck what the passerby around you think?! Chances are good you will never see them again. If skipping to get from point A to B gives you a fulfilling and happy feeling: Just go for it!
If someone stops you and asks, just tell them you practice Parkour.
Life is too short. Don't let social pressures hold you back!