I've never simply been able to plug in a printer, have it auto-installed, and be able to print with no other interactions in Windows.
I've also specifically had issues with HP printers as of late, where they want you to run the specific HP configuration utlity, only to have it fail repeatedly to find a printer, even when I specify what IP address it is on. Then I'll just bypass the HP tool, and manually install the printer using the Windows wizard.
However, the exact same printer will basically just auto-detect and auto-install without a hitch in Linux.
Re:paradigm of having to restart the computer?
on
Ubuntu on a Dime
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· Score: 1
I love that restarting X takes less than 2 seconds. I run openSUSE, often with weekly snapshot packages of KDE. When I replace all the KDE libraries and packages, I do want to restart X. But it is very quick and easy. It isn't nearly as much as a hassle as a full reboot on Windows.
The problem isn't buying brand new hardware about the same time as a new release of Windows comes out, it is trying to install Vista or 7 on hardware you've already had for a while.
Oops. Your webcam doesn't work in 7. Oops. Your printer doesn't work in 7.
What are you going to do?
Or even if it does work, it often means hunting down drivers from several websites. There really is something to be said for having all the drivers built into the Linux kernel.
Re:paradigm of having to restart the computer?
on
Ubuntu on a Dime
·
· Score: 1
Ctrl-Alt-Backspace works just as well. It restarts X.
I've had more trouble fighting with drivers with Vista and 7 in the past 5 years than I have with Linux.
Linux could still use better printer, sound, wireless and webcam drivers. Don't get me wrong. But the assumption that all hardware works out of the box in Windows is pretty flawed.
With Linux and hplip, it autodetects a Print/Scan/Copy/Fax device, and sets everything up automatically. Now, try installing the same printer in Windows. See which is more of a pain.
As far as OS configuration, are you also considering all the anti-virus/anti-virus configuration necessary in Windows? What about updating all the apps in Windows as opposed to having a single package management solution?
You can make the case that Linux is easier to install, configure and support in 2010. That wasn't necessarily the case in 2000 or 2005, but in 2010 I really believe it is.
And as I responded to someone above you, you can see the reporter earlier walking down the street with a camera. It isn't a huge camera. When an RPG is visible later, it is much larger than the camera seen previously.
Are you suggesting I'm biased and wanted to see an RPG? I watched a video that was presented to me under a certain assumption. I assumed the preamble to the video, and all the stories I read were factual. If I had any bias going in, I had bias that the video did depict a fairly random murder of innocent reporters.
However, what I observed in the video did not match the accountings I was reading.
The individual identified as holding an RPG comes peeking out from around a corner. Earlier in the video, the reporter is identified with a camera. The camera is fairly small and does not look anything like an RPG.
As the gunship moves around, we lose the group behind the building. It is impossible to tell at this point if that person is the reporter. When they open fire, the area is filled with dust. We later see the reporter crawl away, but he does not have a large object with him.
There was a large group of people. Only one was a reporter. The other was a driver. The others no one seems to know anything about, except they were in fact holding rifles.
You're suggesting that an RPG would be out of place for a group that only included reporters. But that isn't the case here.
If it was a telephoto lens, it magically appeared because the reporter isn't carrying a large case, nor a massive lens when we see him earlier. Are you suggesting an RPG-sized lens magically appeared out of nowhere when the reporter wasn't carrying it 20 seconds earlier?
Do you have any explanation for all the rifles being carried at that moment?
Several of the news outlets reporting on the story are saying there was an RPG present. Can you provide evidence that there wasn't an RPG?
I stand corrected. When I was trained on certain weapons (such as the.50 cal) in the Marine Corps, I was told that the Geneva Convention dictated I could only use them against vehicles, not people. But I wasn't infantry, and my training in this matter was very brief.
Actually, if anyone RTFA, this is one person speculating that maybe Google is secretly giving the US government access to email. That speculation is worthless.
When George W. Bush asked all the major search providers to hand over search data, Google was the only company to fight it. They also adjusted their policies to anonymize search data faster. When a court in Brazil asked for Google to open up user data on a child pornography ring using Orkut, Google fought several court orders, before caving.
Google's track record has been to fight government agencies to protect privacy. Until someone comes forward with any proof, why should we take one person's speculation as gospel? I'm very disappointed with CmdrTaco's headline of this article, suggesting this is fact.
Harry Reid and Joe Biden were two of the biggest supporters of warrantless wiretaps. Biden loves to brag that he pushed for them after the Oklahoma City bombings, long before anyone else.
Obama voted for the FISA bill, and extended the warrantless wiretaps.
Aerobic life was fairly early in the phylogenic tree. It isn't uncommon to find anerobic life even today, it is uncommon to find multicellular anaerobic life.
Re:Who cares how? The better question is why the b
on
How Did Wikileaks Do It?
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· Score: 1, Insightful
I'm extremely disappointed that this was covered up, but I don't understand all the spin. Wikileaks claimed they have video showing the US government murdered someone.
The video is brutal. You see an injured reporter crawl, trying to survive. They shoot him again. But you also clearly see on the video a group with rifles, and an RPG. When the RPG is first visible, it appears to be pointed at the gunship.
The soldiers in question call, describe the situation and request permission to engage. They were told to engage. When they first see the reporter crawl away, they say on the video so long as he doesn't reach for a weapon, they're not going to shoot him again.
They're fighting insurgents who aren't wearing uniforms. The lines between insurgents and civilians isn't very clear.
It is no doubt disturbing to hear people take pleasure in killing others, but that is the reality of warfare. They believed they killed the enemy. After the fact, it is discovered that at least two of those individuals worked for Reuters and may be innocent civilians killed in the incident.
"Collateral damage" happens in every military conflict. It is unfortunate and should not be overlooked. But this isn't a video of people just randomly killing inoocent civilians for no good reason. Murder is unlawful killing. The soldiers in this video followed protocol and opened fire on an armed group when they were ordered to do so.
My problem with the video is two-fold. The US government shouldn't have covered it up. And it is against the Geneva convention to fire those high-caliber weapons at people. It is an odd rule, but apparently it is humane to kill someone with an M-16, but not a 30mm mounted gun. It happens all the time. Someone could make a stink about breaching the Geneva convention, but I really don't understand all the spin I'm reading about random wanton murder of innocents in this video.
There could be massive price fixing in the industry if everyone was in fact charging $35 for movies. But the problem is that Amazon often has a $15 BluRay that Best Buy wants to charge $35 for.
You're correct in that Amazon won't price far below their wholesale prices. (It isn't uncommon however to take a small loss on a movie to encourage other sales.) However, if Amazon can afford to sell that same movie for $15, then the wholesale price (which again, Sony only controls their studio) can't be more than $15.
So Sony is not responsible for Best Buy charging $35.
Best Buy gouges prices on all sorts of products. As more and more sales go to online retailers like Amazon every year, Best Buy's strategy seems to be to raise prices to try and maintain profits, rather than compete on prices. They're counting on customers to be too stupid, too lazy, or too scared to buy online. They're intentionally creating a death spiral for their business.
Why would I pay considerably more to buy from Best Buy when they lie to me, give me terrible customer service, and it is a hassle for me to drive to their store? Amazon is cheaper, has better customer service, and ships for free.
Sony sets prices on their movies, but Sony Pictures isn't exactly Disney, Fox, Warner Brothers, etc.
Sony doesn't control ALL movie prices.
You also completely contradict yourself. You suggest Sony is part of some massive conspiracy because it is in their best interest to have high prices, and then immediately after say it is in their best interest to have low prices.
Retailers ultimately set prices. And most retailers are being stupid because Amazon is massively undercutting them.
I don't understand why Best Buy and other retailers keep trying to charge $35 for a BluRay movie, when Amazon.com has tons for $15-$20 or less. Blame retailers and studios for jacking up prices.
I play Mafia Wars. I get X energy back every few minutes. I could time that I need to hop back on and play after so long to maximize my character. However, it isn't necessary.
Farmville is another story. If your crops are ready in 2 hours, and you don't log back on, your crops perish. The game requires players to make real life sacrifices to meet deadlines.
I won't play hypocrite and blast others for what they do with their time. Everyone has their things they enjoy.
The problem with something like Farmville is that a standard web page still appears somewhat like work. I can also content that keeping up on technology news goes along with my job. Farmville is CLEARLY not work.
Farmville and games like it also need users to log back in and play the game at specific time intervals. My mother claimed she was massively bogged down with work, but the biggest time sink in her day was managing Farmville. The most prominent item on her desk was her schedule for what times she had to check on various crops.
When you design games to conflict with people's schedule, and necessitate playing at specific times, you leave the domain of what I consider a casual game, and enter into the realm of chore and obsession.
Having read the letter, what concerns me is that this mother insists their daughter automatically shared private data with a complete stranger.
I think the politcians are overreacting. I get that. I think this is also a case of bad parenting to let a 9 year old have their own email address and not watch them when they're on the computer.
However, not only did Buzz not auto-follow anyone, but it never suggested a stranger to me. How would someone be in your Gmail contact list if you never had any contact with them before? It seems like this is all a major flawed premise that this girl was forced to have contact with this evil user without the girl's consent, when it reality that user was probably in the contact list for a reason.
I keep hearing how others were set to auto-follow others. I did not have this experience. Buzz suggested people for me to follow from my Contacts, but I didn't auto-follow anyone.
Slashdot Mirror
There were Wing Commander books? I'm only familiar with the Wing Commander video games that were the basis for the movie.
This is the best Slashdot post I've read all week.
You're going to cite one specific Microtek scanner? Really?
What percentage of scanners manufactured in the past 10 years work today in Windows 7?
I wager a higher percentage is supported in Linux.
Grandma also still remembers all those WordPerfect 5.1 key combinations.
I've never simply been able to plug in a printer, have it auto-installed, and be able to print with no other interactions in Windows.
I've also specifically had issues with HP printers as of late, where they want you to run the specific HP configuration utlity, only to have it fail repeatedly to find a printer, even when I specify what IP address it is on. Then I'll just bypass the HP tool, and manually install the printer using the Windows wizard.
However, the exact same printer will basically just auto-detect and auto-install without a hitch in Linux.
I love that restarting X takes less than 2 seconds. I run openSUSE, often with weekly snapshot packages of KDE. When I replace all the KDE libraries and packages, I do want to restart X. But it is very quick and easy. It isn't nearly as much as a hassle as a full reboot on Windows.
The problem isn't buying brand new hardware about the same time as a new release of Windows comes out, it is trying to install Vista or 7 on hardware you've already had for a while.
Oops. Your webcam doesn't work in 7. Oops. Your printer doesn't work in 7.
What are you going to do?
Or even if it does work, it often means hunting down drivers from several websites. There really is something to be said for having all the drivers built into the Linux kernel.
Ctrl-Alt-Backspace works just as well. It restarts X.
I've had more trouble fighting with drivers with Vista and 7 in the past 5 years than I have with Linux.
Linux could still use better printer, sound, wireless and webcam drivers. Don't get me wrong. But the assumption that all hardware works out of the box in Windows is pretty flawed.
With Linux and hplip, it autodetects a Print/Scan/Copy/Fax device, and sets everything up automatically. Now, try installing the same printer in Windows. See which is more of a pain.
As far as OS configuration, are you also considering all the anti-virus/anti-virus configuration necessary in Windows? What about updating all the apps in Windows as opposed to having a single package management solution?
You can make the case that Linux is easier to install, configure and support in 2010. That wasn't necessarily the case in 2000 or 2005, but in 2010 I really believe it is.
I agree completely.
However, there was a group with rifles. And it appeared an RPG was pointed at the gunship. Even then, they waited, and asked for permission to engage.
The rifles are pretty clear.
And as I responded to someone above you, you can see the reporter earlier walking down the street with a camera. It isn't a huge camera. When an RPG is visible later, it is much larger than the camera seen previously.
I'd wager you haven't watched the video.
Are you suggesting I'm biased and wanted to see an RPG? I watched a video that was presented to me under a certain assumption. I assumed the preamble to the video, and all the stories I read were factual. If I had any bias going in, I had bias that the video did depict a fairly random murder of innocent reporters.
However, what I observed in the video did not match the accountings I was reading.
The individual identified as holding an RPG comes peeking out from around a corner. Earlier in the video, the reporter is identified with a camera. The camera is fairly small and does not look anything like an RPG.
As the gunship moves around, we lose the group behind the building. It is impossible to tell at this point if that person is the reporter. When they open fire, the area is filled with dust. We later see the reporter crawl away, but he does not have a large object with him.
There was a large group of people. Only one was a reporter. The other was a driver. The others no one seems to know anything about, except they were in fact holding rifles.
You're suggesting that an RPG would be out of place for a group that only included reporters. But that isn't the case here.
If it was a telephoto lens, it magically appeared because the reporter isn't carrying a large case, nor a massive lens when we see him earlier. Are you suggesting an RPG-sized lens magically appeared out of nowhere when the reporter wasn't carrying it 20 seconds earlier?
Do you have any explanation for all the rifles being carried at that moment?
Several of the news outlets reporting on the story are saying there was an RPG present. Can you provide evidence that there wasn't an RPG?
I stand corrected. When I was trained on certain weapons (such as the .50 cal) in the Marine Corps, I was told that the Geneva Convention dictated I could only use them against vehicles, not people. But I wasn't infantry, and my training in this matter was very brief.
Actually, if anyone RTFA, this is one person speculating that maybe Google is secretly giving the US government access to email. That speculation is worthless.
When George W. Bush asked all the major search providers to hand over search data, Google was the only company to fight it. They also adjusted their policies to anonymize search data faster. When a court in Brazil asked for Google to open up user data on a child pornography ring using Orkut, Google fought several court orders, before caving.
Google's track record has been to fight government agencies to protect privacy. Until someone comes forward with any proof, why should we take one person's speculation as gospel? I'm very disappointed with CmdrTaco's headline of this article, suggesting this is fact.
Harry Reid and Joe Biden were two of the biggest supporters of warrantless wiretaps. Biden loves to brag that he pushed for them after the Oklahoma City bombings, long before anyone else.
Obama voted for the FISA bill, and extended the warrantless wiretaps.
Both parties have voted for warrantless wiretaps.
Aerobic life was fairly early in the phylogenic tree. It isn't uncommon to find anerobic life even today, it is uncommon to find multicellular anaerobic life.
I'm extremely disappointed that this was covered up, but I don't understand all the spin. Wikileaks claimed they have video showing the US government murdered someone.
The video is brutal. You see an injured reporter crawl, trying to survive. They shoot him again. But you also clearly see on the video a group with rifles, and an RPG. When the RPG is first visible, it appears to be pointed at the gunship.
The soldiers in question call, describe the situation and request permission to engage. They were told to engage. When they first see the reporter crawl away, they say on the video so long as he doesn't reach for a weapon, they're not going to shoot him again.
They're fighting insurgents who aren't wearing uniforms. The lines between insurgents and civilians isn't very clear.
It is no doubt disturbing to hear people take pleasure in killing others, but that is the reality of warfare. They believed they killed the enemy. After the fact, it is discovered that at least two of those individuals worked for Reuters and may be innocent civilians killed in the incident.
"Collateral damage" happens in every military conflict. It is unfortunate and should not be overlooked. But this isn't a video of people just randomly killing inoocent civilians for no good reason. Murder is unlawful killing. The soldiers in this video followed protocol and opened fire on an armed group when they were ordered to do so.
My problem with the video is two-fold. The US government shouldn't have covered it up. And it is against the Geneva convention to fire those high-caliber weapons at people. It is an odd rule, but apparently it is humane to kill someone with an M-16, but not a 30mm mounted gun. It happens all the time. Someone could make a stink about breaching the Geneva convention, but I really don't understand all the spin I'm reading about random wanton murder of innocents in this video.
There could be massive price fixing in the industry if everyone was in fact charging $35 for movies. But the problem is that Amazon often has a $15 BluRay that Best Buy wants to charge $35 for.
You're correct in that Amazon won't price far below their wholesale prices. (It isn't uncommon however to take a small loss on a movie to encourage other sales.) However, if Amazon can afford to sell that same movie for $15, then the wholesale price (which again, Sony only controls their studio) can't be more than $15.
So Sony is not responsible for Best Buy charging $35.
Best Buy gouges prices on all sorts of products. As more and more sales go to online retailers like Amazon every year, Best Buy's strategy seems to be to raise prices to try and maintain profits, rather than compete on prices. They're counting on customers to be too stupid, too lazy, or too scared to buy online. They're intentionally creating a death spiral for their business.
Why would I pay considerably more to buy from Best Buy when they lie to me, give me terrible customer service, and it is a hassle for me to drive to their store? Amazon is cheaper, has better customer service, and ships for free.
Sony sets prices on their movies, but Sony Pictures isn't exactly Disney, Fox, Warner Brothers, etc.
Sony doesn't control ALL movie prices.
You also completely contradict yourself. You suggest Sony is part of some massive conspiracy because it is in their best interest to have high prices, and then immediately after say it is in their best interest to have low prices.
Retailers ultimately set prices. And most retailers are being stupid because Amazon is massively undercutting them.
Sony doesn't set movie prices.
I don't understand why Best Buy and other retailers keep trying to charge $35 for a BluRay movie, when Amazon.com has tons for $15-$20 or less. Blame retailers and studios for jacking up prices.
Chrome actually has a bunch of fine-grain privacy controls they added in the last release.
http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/more/privacy.html
I play Mafia Wars. I get X energy back every few minutes. I could time that I need to hop back on and play after so long to maximize my character. However, it isn't necessary.
Farmville is another story. If your crops are ready in 2 hours, and you don't log back on, your crops perish. The game requires players to make real life sacrifices to meet deadlines.
Here I'm checking Slashdot at work.
I won't play hypocrite and blast others for what they do with their time. Everyone has their things they enjoy.
The problem with something like Farmville is that a standard web page still appears somewhat like work. I can also content that keeping up on technology news goes along with my job. Farmville is CLEARLY not work.
Farmville and games like it also need users to log back in and play the game at specific time intervals. My mother claimed she was massively bogged down with work, but the biggest time sink in her day was managing Farmville. The most prominent item on her desk was her schedule for what times she had to check on various crops.
When you design games to conflict with people's schedule, and necessitate playing at specific times, you leave the domain of what I consider a casual game, and enter into the realm of chore and obsession.
Having read the letter, what concerns me is that this mother insists their daughter automatically shared private data with a complete stranger.
I think the politcians are overreacting. I get that. I think this is also a case of bad parenting to let a 9 year old have their own email address and not watch them when they're on the computer.
However, not only did Buzz not auto-follow anyone, but it never suggested a stranger to me. How would someone be in your Gmail contact list if you never had any contact with them before? It seems like this is all a major flawed premise that this girl was forced to have contact with this evil user without the girl's consent, when it reality that user was probably in the contact list for a reason.
I keep hearing how others were set to auto-follow others. I did not have this experience. Buzz suggested people for me to follow from my Contacts, but I didn't auto-follow anyone.