Linux remains a server OS. It's coming around very slowly to the desktop and I've no doubt it will get there
It has been there for a long time now, just not for everyone. There's to much obsession over everyone running Linux. Why do we have to change something that does not suit the greater mass so that it does suit them, especially when that might mean that it actually won't suit us anymore?
I am myself both a Linux proponent and a developer. However, I do not think there is a value in people running Linux just for the sake of it. I do want people to run Linux, but only if they're benefiting from doing so.
A lot of people are saying that the Linux world must learn this and that from Windows, so that we can gain more users. What is the point of that? We who run Linux today do not do it because we hope that some day Linux will come to be just like Windows, we run it because it is not like Windows. People think and function in different ways, and that is why we want different things. What therefor seems like a horrible system where you have to use the keyboard and type things to one person may seem like a wonderful system where you don't have to use the mouse to another.
I think people should stop obsessing over getting everyone to run Linux. If people want to run Linux and see a benefit in doing so, then they will. If they don't, why should we care?
No, there are FOSS alternatives that approach Visio functionality
This is the key. They *approach* functionality, but don't *exceed* it. What's the point of a tool if it half-asses it? Just because it's free?
One of the points is that you get security of availability of your data. If you for some reason (either economical, political or something else entirely) cannot use the big closed commercial anymore you probably cannot access your data anymore either since the format is not known to anyone but the company that created the big closed commercial product.
Having the security of data availability that you inherently get with open source products will go a long way to justify using a product that is not as "complete".
It's unlikely they'll actually be able to read this email given the fact that they're now drowning in spam... Better yet, their webmail is closed, so they wouldn't be able to read it anyway (don't count on that ordinary people can configure a mail client, if they've even got that possibility).
Honest question: what do you actually do with all that bandwidth? Actually, the main part isn't downloading (or uploading) big files. Sure, I do seed a lot of torrents ((mostly) legal), leaving my monthly upload somewhere around 2 TB, though this I only do because I do have bandwidth left. The actual reason I feel there is a necessity for the bandwidth are the small things. Both my computer club and my school (the Royal Institute of Technology) hosts big distributed network file systems (AFS, Andrew File System) which I almost constantly work with cross site (either accessing my schools fs from home or from my computer club or my computer clubs fs from school). Almost all schoolwork I do, I do on my own computer but on the schools fs, and that is where great bandwidth with low latency becomes a huge factor. Without the kind of bandwidth we have, this wouldn't work as seamless as it does.
Another reason for actually needing the bandwidth is that it enables me to use my own computer remotely. I can access it from, pretty much, wherever I am either through SSH with X-forwarding or VNC without substantial lag.
On those accounts I do feel the need for the (otherwise somewhat excessive) bandwidth. As for the computer, I've got you beat; my (primary) computer has got an Athlon XP 2100+ with a GeForce 4200, bought in 2003 (although, I've got five more).
For a while now I haven't regarded anything below symmetric 10 Mbit/s as "broadband", and now even that begins to feel quite limiting. But then of course, I live in Sweden. At school we've got 100 Mbit/s to every workstation, and at our computer club we've got 1 Gbit/s straight to the internet.
If this is the case, why don't game developers put out a Linux Live DVD with their game pre installed.
There are several reasons for this. First of all, a LiveCD (or LiveDVD) Linux system use up more resources than an installed Linux system as it has to hold more things in memory. Also DVD-drives aren't as fast as harddrives so running a system from a CD or DVD isn't as smooth. Secondly, why should they? People obviously put up with whatever the game industry throws at them. Thirdly, convenience. People don't want to reboot their computers just to play a game.
You're forgetting Doom 3. Not only are there games for Linux, it's not uncommon that the hardware requirements are lower due to better hardware utilization. Doom 3 for example, sported official hardware requirements only 2/3 as high for Linux compared to for Windows.
I always have to laugh when some Windows user thinks that it is simply not possible to exist in the computing world without using Windows. However, it's quite a bit easier to live outside the Windows world than you think.
I agree totally. There is a fair share of users out there that almost never use Windows. I, myself, use Linux at home, most of my friends use Linux, BSD or OS X and we use Sun Solaris at school.
Both Mac OS X and Windows XP/Vista lacks one of the things I value the most in a system, a highly configurable, lightweight and minimalistic user interface/window manager. Where's the killer WMs like Fluxbox or ION3 for OS X and Windows?
"Hopefully this will move the industry somewhat away from acts such as Britney Spears"
It almost certainly will not. The music industry is only interested in generating as much money as fast as possible, which is a lot easier with songs that are catchy than with song that are genuinely good.
We have Sun keyboards in school, I took quite a while to get used to. I don't know though if I would find it more comfortable, I mapped Caps Lock to Escape instead, much more convenient for using VI.
Again, probobly one of the most discussed aspects i the Linux world but, isn't there anyone but me who's noticed that QT's default theme (and many of the others) is horrible, and how is eye candy a good thing. A GUI should, IMHO, be as simple as possible, concentrating on functionality and ease of use before so called eye candy. I'm not saying that NeroLinux has really succeded in providing such a simple GUI, although, K3B's GUI is even near nice either.
Well, you probably haven't visited the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden then. All of our main comuter labs consist of either Solaris or Redhat workstations, there's only a few Windows workstations on all of campus, and we have a good reason to get access to those. Even though most of my classmates uses Windows at home, there has never been any problems using either Solaris nor Redhat. Sure you have to point them in the right direction for a few minor things in the begining, but there hasn't been any big issues.
As many others has already stated, using Linux or any other system besides Windows teaches diversity, which is a good thing. This way they the kids wont have any major problems if/when they face a non-Windows system in the future.
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Linux remains a server OS. It's coming around very slowly to the desktop and I've no doubt it will get there
It has been there for a long time now, just not for everyone. There's to much obsession over everyone running Linux. Why do we have to change something that does not suit the greater mass so that it does suit them, especially when that might mean that it actually won't suit us anymore?
I am myself both a Linux proponent and a developer. However, I do not think there is a value in people running Linux just for the sake of it. I do want people to run Linux, but only if they're benefiting from doing so.
A lot of people are saying that the Linux world must learn this and that from Windows, so that we can gain more users. What is the point of that? We who run Linux today do not do it because we hope that some day Linux will come to be just like Windows, we run it because it is not like Windows. People think and function in different ways, and that is why we want different things. What therefor seems like a horrible system where you have to use the keyboard and type things to one person may seem like a wonderful system where you don't have to use the mouse to another.
I think people should stop obsessing over getting everyone to run Linux. If people want to run Linux and see a benefit in doing so, then they will. If they don't, why should we care?
... the notion that any user will be required to keep their password confidential in the face of torture is laughable. That's for Jack Bauer.
There. Fixed it for you.
Eight Megs and Constantly Swapping
I thought it stood for Esc-Meta-Alt-Ctrl-Shift.
Sweden
150 SEK (~$24) for 10Mb/s (up and down)
320 SEK (~$50) for 100Mb/s (up and down)
This is the key. They *approach* functionality, but don't *exceed* it. What's the point of a tool if it half-asses it? Just because it's free?
One of the points is that you get security of availability of your data. If you for some reason (either economical, political or something else entirely) cannot use the big closed commercial anymore you probably cannot access your data anymore either since the format is not known to anyone but the company that created the big closed commercial product.Having the security of data availability that you inherently get with open source products will go a long way to justify using a product that is not as "complete".
Was I the only one who read Table Top USB Lasers Slice, Dice, and So Much More? Man that would've been cool. :)
Another reason for actually needing the bandwidth is that it enables me to use my own computer remotely. I can access it from, pretty much, wherever I am either through SSH with X-forwarding or VNC without substantial lag.
On those accounts I do feel the need for the (otherwise somewhat excessive) bandwidth. As for the computer, I've got you beat; my (primary) computer has got an Athlon XP 2100+ with a GeForce 4200, bought in 2003 (although, I've got five more).
For a while now I haven't regarded anything below symmetric 10 Mbit/s as "broadband", and now even that begins to feel quite limiting. But then of course, I live in Sweden. At school we've got 100 Mbit/s to every workstation, and at our computer club we've got 1 Gbit/s straight to the internet.
There are several reasons for this. First of all, a LiveCD (or LiveDVD) Linux system use up more resources than an installed Linux system as it has to hold more things in memory. Also DVD-drives aren't as fast as harddrives so running a system from a CD or DVD isn't as smooth. Secondly, why should they? People obviously put up with whatever the game industry throws at them. Thirdly, convenience. People don't want to reboot their computers just to play a game.
You're forgetting Doom 3. Not only are there games for Linux, it's not uncommon that the hardware requirements are lower due to better hardware utilization. Doom 3 for example, sported official hardware requirements only 2/3 as high for Linux compared to for Windows.
I agree totally. There is a fair share of users out there that almost never use Windows. I, myself, use Linux at home, most of my friends use Linux, BSD or OS X and we use Sun Solaris at school.
Both Mac OS X and Windows XP/Vista lacks one of the things I value the most in a system, a highly configurable, lightweight and minimalistic user interface/window manager. Where's the killer WMs like Fluxbox or ION3 for OS X and Windows?
Well, it's not far from the product you get when paying: If you pay for NAV the update subscription still expires, only after 12 months instead.
"How will your browser know the difference between typing in "slashdot" to mean the URL "http://slashdot/" or that you want to search for slashdot"
How will your browser know whether to go to a global address or a LAN address in a case where such a TLD has the same name as a host in ones own LAN.
"Hopefully this will move the industry somewhat away from acts such as Britney Spears"
It almost certainly will not. The music industry is only interested in generating as much money as fast as possible, which is a lot easier with songs that are catchy than with song that are genuinely good.
I'd rather go for a player that also supports flac (e.g. iAUDIO X5), that way you can enjoy both an open format and lossless compression.
Theo is teh ghey! L12nux r00lzzzzzz!!! :P
We have Sun keyboards in school, I took quite a while to get used to. I don't know though if I would find it more comfortable, I mapped Caps Lock to Escape instead, much more convenient for using VI.
Students at both schools seem to think they're getting the best science/engineering educations available in the world, and they probably are.
Well, the second best maybe, but the again, you can't really compete with the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.
Well, that kind of funny, the Swedish IT-minister, Ines Uusmann made that exact statement on the 12th of May in 1996.
Again, probobly one of the most discussed aspects i the Linux world but, isn't there anyone but me who's noticed that QT's default theme (and many of the others) is horrible, and how is eye candy a good thing. A GUI should, IMHO, be as simple as possible, concentrating on functionality and ease of use before so called eye candy. I'm not saying that NeroLinux has really succeded in providing such a simple GUI, although, K3B's GUI is even near nice either.
Well, you probably haven't visited the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden then. All of our main comuter labs consist of either Solaris or Redhat workstations, there's only a few Windows workstations on all of campus, and we have a good reason to get access to those. Even though most of my classmates uses Windows at home, there has never been any problems using either Solaris nor Redhat. Sure you have to point them in the right direction for a few minor things in the begining, but there hasn't been any big issues.
As many others has already stated, using Linux or any other system besides Windows teaches diversity, which is a good thing. This way they the kids wont have any major problems if/when they face a non-Windows system in the future.
Well, your deal isn't that great either. I pay $32 a month for my 10Mbps up/down fiber line, with no traffic cap.