I was using it very loosely... as in a non-paper book.:)
IMO, not only is the hardware somewhat lacking, I'm not sure I even want a wikipedia reference. Why not something somewhat authoritative? Wikipedia is alright and all, but there are definite issues with it once you get outside of certain to pics. Not that other encyclopedia's are perfect, but at least they have trained/educated editors and researchers that are presumably paid to be good at it.
When I wrote research papers in college, it seems to me that peer-reviewed (not just some guy saying they reviewed it) papers were the only accepted sources for a research paper. Original research was ok (as opposed to WP's position on it) but had to be extremely well documented. Of course, this was a music history research paper, so...
It's perfect for my niece and nephew for school and writing reports.
Except that it's not a reliable source for research papers/reports... at least, not for any of the teachers that I have had. And if the niece and nephew are younger, may as well start them out looking at good sources....
It's obviously not economically viable, since it requires subsidization.
So let's pay to have them grow it for inefficient corn ethanol or pay them not to farm it (while people starve in other countries)... that will help, I'm sure.
Of course, it does help the farmer, but I'm not sure we should be taking taxes from the nation and giving it to farmers so that they are able to not do their chosen profession.
You got it wrong. People making under $70k/yr can't afford that (note to self: get past $70k/yr sometime). What we should do is take $5000 from all households making $100k or more (and an additional $10,000 per $100k after that, that sounds fair) and give $2500 to households making $70k or less. We can use the other part of the *ahem* "fee" to pay for infrastructure like roads and bridges. And turtle crossings.
No, of course this isn't redistribution of wealth! This is just being fair to people that don't make enough money and thus don't have that inalienable Right to Entertainment and a Well-Paying Job.
Heh. True ancedotal evidence issues. I started using, about a year ago, Linux only on one of my laptops. Worked well when I had the time to tinker around to get stuff to work. I used Ubuntu 8.10 and 9.04, after fiddling with a few other distros (I used to use openSuSE 10.1 and then 10.3... but KDE 4 was blah, IMO - yes, KDE 4.2 also). I found myself fiddling a lot with it to get little quirks out or to help my wife be able to use it.
I installed Windows 7 RTM on it two weeks ago. Haven't fiddled with it since. I am able to play to and from it as an audio device using the new Windows Media Player, which is actually pretty cool to do. The Homegroup thing works well, it seems. In short, it was easy and painless. Of course, I had to install Chrome and Avast!, but I had to install Firefox (which ran pretty slowly) on Ubuntu, too. antivirus isn't all that big of a resource hog.
The weirdest part is one that I was actually expecting the opposite of; Windows 7 booted faster (to a usable desktop), clean install, ran faster than Ubuntu 8.10 (clean install) or 9.04 (upgrade from 8.10). I was NOT expecting that, but so far that's the experience.
Best decision I ever made for my in-laws, besides marrying their daughter I suppose.
You suppose? I foresee problems.;)
Glad it worked out for them. It didn't work out for my parents. Hardware differences, perhaps, who knows.
As for dealing with XP every few months, I am able to keep from calling every few months even with an XP install... Firefox/Chrome + Avast + gmail and I haven't had any problems other than "can we network our computer?"
As someone else said, "to each his own." I think Linux can definitely work out great for people, and Ubuntu has really helped the UI stuff. But it doesn't work for everyone, and Windows can be stabilized and can be a good option. In my experience.:)
You should try having them use Linux. Then, not only do you get "My computer is slow" but you also get "why can't I install..." or "why doesn't the printer work correctly all the time?" or "Why doesn't flash video work well"....
Linux is a tradeoff, in my experience with "older" or non-computer-oriented people, between usability and stability. Stable - yes... no problems with viruses right now, pretty stable as far as the OS goes, etc. Usability? There were issues there. Yes, maybe it's because it's not what they are used to... but I hate to break it to you: most people are happily using what they are used to and don't see the reason they need to spend a week trying to figure out something new just so they can watch a youtube video. It worked before, why do they need to suddenly put so much work into it?
(can't say I blame them:) My time is of interest to me, too.)
It seems like everyone had expectations that the party pack would be free copies of Windows 7, free food, free decorations, free...
Are you seeing a pattern? I guess people thought that the Launch Party was a time where Microsoft could give away lots of free stuff. I'm not sure that's the point.
I still think it failed and was pretty bad marketing, but I don't think the point of the party pack was to give away free copies of their software that they want people to buy. And I wasn't expecting them to give you brownies.
Oh well. The summary writer had a pretty obvious slant/bias. Pin-the-chair-on-Ballmer game? Right...
Not too many media player, actually, unless you choose to a do an absolute complete full install. I should have rephrased, I didn't mean all software included in the iso as in installing all of it - I meant only getting it from the iso. Default installation is good for me.
I'm not saying it's perfect. I'm just saying the "M$ RELEASES SO MANY PATCHES!!!!1" response is, to me, disheartening and does the Linux community a disservice. It only raises the perception of a "dude, open source developers are so much better. we have so much better software. the only reason people don't use it is because M$ is an evil corporation trying to bring down the world" attitudes.
In reality, I'm not sure MS releases that many more - if not many fewer - patches than goes into a Linux distro after the Linux distro's release. All software included... as the "normal user" would use it/perceive it. Amarok "came with Linux" just like WMP "came with Windows" to a "normal" person:)
...I wouldn't be surprised if the man himself were shocked. I mean this is one of the greatest awards a man can receive,...
I would be surprised. As I recall in the elections, I was supposed to believe that he had accomplished much and had vast amounts of experience. What I think of him as as the President doesn't matter (yes, I'm conservative; yes, I voted for a republican; no, I'm not trying to be partisan in this comment) - Obama doesn't strike me as a person of great humility at this point.
Does that mean he can't be a great President? No... just saying that humility/being-shocked-at-getting-honored is something I haven't seen yet:)
Fair questions, but easily answered: for whatever is being compared to in a Windows OS. Windows, as I recall, has a kernel, has components that are necessary, has components that are unnecessary, etc. It seems Linux fans easily lapse into thinking that Windows is one complete mess all bound into one, whereas Linux has messy parts but the core is great... but who installs "Linux" and doesn't install a "Linux distro." To be fair to Windows. I'd have to say you'd have to compare an entire Linux distro default installation to an entire Windows default installation... all software included in the iso, not the latest-updated-version-of-Amarok or whatever comes with it by default. Getting the latest Amarok version is just like getting the latest patch for Windows Media Player...
As for CVS/SVN/BK diff's and whatnot, that's hard to come up with... I have no clue how much code differences there are in a given Windows patch. For all I know, it's one single typo, but since it's a binary, the entire thing is built and sent over in the patch, right? So who knows? I would think, from an end-user perspective, it only counts as a patch if it's distributed in an easily installed format; e.g., as an update or as an rpm or included in the distro, etc.
Thanks for seeing my POV.:) hehe. I'm in an unfortunate position for my life on slashdot; I actually enjoy Windows OS's. And Linux distros. Awful, I know.
I'd like to see a comparison between the number of patches to Linux vs. Windows.:)
Which do I think is a better OS in terms of security and stability? Linux. But I tend to get tired of the "Microsoft releases so many patches, their OS is obviously bad" argument when the it seems the whole development model of open source software (e.g., Linux distros) is that anyone can develop both features and patches, thus improving the software.
No, I realize you were stating that it's good for it to be spread around "more equally."
I would just argue that I'm not sure I agree with that. If discrimination itself is bad, then I shouldn't like any of it, whether it's the prevalent (read: the minority gets discriminated against) kind or the non-prevalent kind (read: the majority gets discriminated against).
What you decide on for the inexpensive Linux server at home? I was recently looking at doing something like that and ended up using my old Dell laptop (E1505), which has an original core duo (*not* 64 bit, either). Most power I've seen it eat is 65w, so it seems to be decent enough in that respect... and I was only looking for something to play music with/store files/run a web server, nothing big that would require a case and 20 hard drives.
Slashdot Mirror
I was using it very loosely... as in a non-paper book. :)
IMO, not only is the hardware somewhat lacking, I'm not sure I even want a wikipedia reference. Why not something somewhat authoritative? Wikipedia is alright and all, but there are definite issues with it once you get outside of certain to pics. Not that other encyclopedia's are perfect, but at least they have trained/educated editors and researchers that are presumably paid to be good at it.
When I wrote research papers in college, it seems to me that peer-reviewed (not just some guy saying they reviewed it) papers were the only accepted sources for a research paper. Original research was ok (as opposed to WP's position on it) but had to be extremely well documented. Of course, this was a music history research paper, so...
It's perfect for my niece and nephew for school and writing reports.
Except that it's not a reliable source for research papers/reports... at least, not for any of the teachers that I have had. And if the niece and nephew are younger, may as well start them out looking at good sources....
An encyclopedia in the form of an e-book for $99. Sorry if I'm not too excited...
The entire post was sarcastic. I agree with you, and sympathize with your last line, as well.
It's obviously not economically viable, since it requires subsidization.
So let's pay to have them grow it for inefficient corn ethanol or pay them not to farm it (while people starve in other countries)... that will help, I'm sure.
Of course, it does help the farmer, but I'm not sure we should be taking taxes from the nation and giving it to farmers so that they are able to not do their chosen profession.
You got it wrong. People making under $70k/yr can't afford that (note to self: get past $70k/yr sometime). What we should do is take $5000 from all households making $100k or more (and an additional $10,000 per $100k after that, that sounds fair) and give $2500 to households making $70k or less. We can use the other part of the *ahem* "fee" to pay for infrastructure like roads and bridges. And turtle crossings.
No, of course this isn't redistribution of wealth! This is just being fair to people that don't make enough money and thus don't have that inalienable Right to Entertainment and a Well-Paying Job.
If a packet gets through, great. If not, well, it's not the end of the world.
Sounds like a lot of cities' approaches to freeway systems/traffic control.
Firefox is included with the default install on Ubuntu 8.10 and 9.04 out of the box
Which version?
touchtypetutor?
Heh. True ancedotal evidence issues. I started using, about a year ago, Linux only on one of my laptops. Worked well when I had the time to tinker around to get stuff to work. I used Ubuntu 8.10 and 9.04, after fiddling with a few other distros (I used to use openSuSE 10.1 and then 10.3... but KDE 4 was blah, IMO - yes, KDE 4.2 also). I found myself fiddling a lot with it to get little quirks out or to help my wife be able to use it.
I installed Windows 7 RTM on it two weeks ago. Haven't fiddled with it since. I am able to play to and from it as an audio device using the new Windows Media Player, which is actually pretty cool to do. The Homegroup thing works well, it seems. In short, it was easy and painless. Of course, I had to install Chrome and Avast!, but I had to install Firefox (which ran pretty slowly) on Ubuntu, too. antivirus isn't all that big of a resource hog.
The weirdest part is one that I was actually expecting the opposite of; Windows 7 booted faster (to a usable desktop), clean install, ran faster than Ubuntu 8.10 (clean install) or 9.04 (upgrade from 8.10). I was NOT expecting that, but so far that's the experience.
Best decision I ever made for my in-laws, besides marrying their daughter I suppose.
You suppose? I foresee problems. ;)
Glad it worked out for them. It didn't work out for my parents. Hardware differences, perhaps, who knows.
As for dealing with XP every few months, I am able to keep from calling every few months even with an XP install... Firefox/Chrome + Avast + gmail and I haven't had any problems other than "can we network our computer?"
As someone else said, "to each his own." I think Linux can definitely work out great for people, and Ubuntu has really helped the UI stuff. But it doesn't work for everyone, and Windows can be stabilized and can be a good option. In my experience. :)
By which time, the OS on the desktop will be irrelevant siince Netbooks will completely change the dynamics of the OS market.
I disagree. I don't think they'll completely change it. Some people like big screens and keyboard you can actually type on. ;)
You should try having them use Linux. Then, not only do you get "My computer is slow" but you also get "why can't I install ..." or "why doesn't the printer work correctly all the time?" or "Why doesn't flash video work well" ....
Linux is a tradeoff, in my experience with "older" or non-computer-oriented people, between usability and stability. Stable - yes... no problems with viruses right now, pretty stable as far as the OS goes, etc. Usability? There were issues there. Yes, maybe it's because it's not what they are used to... but I hate to break it to you: most people are happily using what they are used to and don't see the reason they need to spend a week trying to figure out something new just so they can watch a youtube video. It worked before, why do they need to suddenly put so much work into it?
(can't say I blame them :) My time is of interest to me, too.)
I was sure you were SecurityGuy... man, you had me fooled, flexlm.
It seems like everyone had expectations that the party pack would be free copies of Windows 7, free food, free decorations, free ...
Are you seeing a pattern? I guess people thought that the Launch Party was a time where Microsoft could give away lots of free stuff. I'm not sure that's the point.
I still think it failed and was pretty bad marketing, but I don't think the point of the party pack was to give away free copies of their software that they want people to buy. And I wasn't expecting them to give you brownies.
Oh well. The summary writer had a pretty obvious slant/bias. Pin-the-chair-on-Ballmer game? Right...
Not too many media player, actually, unless you choose to a do an absolute complete full install. I should have rephrased, I didn't mean all software included in the iso as in installing all of it - I meant only getting it from the iso. Default installation is good for me.
I'm not saying it's perfect. I'm just saying the "M$ RELEASES SO MANY PATCHES!!!!1" response is, to me, disheartening and does the Linux community a disservice. It only raises the perception of a "dude, open source developers are so much better. we have so much better software. the only reason people don't use it is because M$ is an evil corporation trying to bring down the world" attitudes.
In reality, I'm not sure MS releases that many more - if not many fewer - patches than goes into a Linux distro after the Linux distro's release. All software included... as the "normal user" would use it/perceive it. Amarok "came with Linux" just like WMP "came with Windows" to a "normal" person :)
...I wouldn't be surprised if the man himself were shocked. I mean this is one of the greatest awards a man can receive, ...
I would be surprised. As I recall in the elections, I was supposed to believe that he had accomplished much and had vast amounts of experience. What I think of him as as the President doesn't matter (yes, I'm conservative; yes, I voted for a republican; no, I'm not trying to be partisan in this comment) - Obama doesn't strike me as a person of great humility at this point.
Does that mean he can't be a great President? No... just saying that humility/being-shocked-at-getting-honored is something I haven't seen yet :)
Yes, those users, too. ;)
I blindly followed suit..
Fair questions, but easily answered: for whatever is being compared to in a Windows OS. Windows, as I recall, has a kernel, has components that are necessary, has components that are unnecessary, etc. It seems Linux fans easily lapse into thinking that Windows is one complete mess all bound into one, whereas Linux has messy parts but the core is great... but who installs "Linux" and doesn't install a "Linux distro." To be fair to Windows. I'd have to say you'd have to compare an entire Linux distro default installation to an entire Windows default installation... all software included in the iso, not the latest-updated-version-of-Amarok or whatever comes with it by default. Getting the latest Amarok version is just like getting the latest patch for Windows Media Player...
As for CVS/SVN/BK diff's and whatnot, that's hard to come up with... I have no clue how much code differences there are in a given Windows patch. For all I know, it's one single typo, but since it's a binary, the entire thing is built and sent over in the patch, right? So who knows? I would think, from an end-user perspective, it only counts as a patch if it's distributed in an easily installed format; e.g., as an update or as an rpm or included in the distro, etc.
Thanks for seeing my POV. :) hehe. I'm in an unfortunate position for my life on slashdot; I actually enjoy Windows OS's. And Linux distros. Awful, I know.
I don't like AIX though...
only if you have Monday off! ;)
I'd like to see a comparison between the number of patches to Linux vs. Windows. :)
Which do I think is a better OS in terms of security and stability? Linux. But I tend to get tired of the "Microsoft releases so many patches, their OS is obviously bad" argument when the it seems the whole development model of open source software (e.g., Linux distros) is that anyone can develop both features and patches, thus improving the software.
No, I realize you were stating that it's good for it to be spread around "more equally."
I would just argue that I'm not sure I agree with that. If discrimination itself is bad, then I shouldn't like any of it, whether it's the prevalent (read: the minority gets discriminated against) kind or the non-prevalent kind (read: the majority gets discriminated against).
inferior in about 100 other ways, mainly the fact that there is a wire involved.
I believe that's 1 way. 99 more to go ;)
Well, kudos for checking more than I did!
What you decide on for the inexpensive Linux server at home? I was recently looking at doing something like that and ended up using my old Dell laptop (E1505), which has an original core duo (*not* 64 bit, either). Most power I've seen it eat is 65w, so it seems to be decent enough in that respect... and I was only looking for something to play music with/store files/run a web server, nothing big that would require a case and 20 hard drives.