It really isn't. You don't have Slackware Linux 10.0 Ultimate, Slackware Linux 10.0 Supreme, Slackware Linux 10.0 Super Duper, Slackware Linux 10.0 Maximus, Slackware Linux 10.0 Christian Edition, Slackware Linux 10.0 Bonus, and so on. Most Linux distros are very specific, and thus do not need to have numerous different version of each release.
I was thinking more in terms of a user's experience, not quantitatively. In a typical consumer-grade laptop, will you be able to feel it through the casing? If you use the laptop on your lap, will you feel the heat from the hard drive on your genitalia?
Is PalmOS a server operating system? Of course not! Hence a site regarding it should not be forced to run on PalmOS.
Indeed, it is important to use the best system for the job. When one touts Windows as the best system, then they should very well be using it themselves. If they aren't using it, then that is evidence to suggest it does not live up to their hype.
It is quite easy to find a hosting company that runs Windows software. And when you're touting the excellence of Windows, you'd better be using it yourself.
It is no different than if the Slackware site were hosted on Windows Server 2003. It would be a complete mockery.
But the real point is that it makes sense when selling server software to technically knowledgable people, and you can define the differences in terms of real, numeric values of supported RAM, users and CPUs.
It makes absolutely no sense when you're selling consumer software to your average, technically unknowledgable Billy and Betty.
"Vista Basic" looks a lot like "Visual Basic" at a quick glance. That is surely going to cause problems with people who scan quickly while reading. They'll take your post to mean that OEMs will begin bundling Visual Basic in order to reduce costs, which of course isn't what was meant.
It probably isn't like that. Namely because that isn't even correct C code. A corrected version:
if (g_iPerformanceTweakingRequested == 0)
sleep(1);
Now you run into a problem regarding the sleep() function under Windows. There is a very good chance it just does not exist. And suppose you have written your own, or are using the Cygwin port, then the meaning of the value passed may vary significantly. Is that 1 ms, or 1 second, or 1 hour, or 1 day?
Several of the new versions of XP are just that: they're new. So within the consumer branch, there was initially only Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional. It is only recently that we've gotten Windows XP Home Edition N, and so forth.
It's somewhat more reasonable for the server line to have numerous different versions. The Windows Server 200x releases are not meant for home users, but rather those who are somewhat technically inclined.
SCO has six editions of their UnixWare operating system, for instance. They each have very clearly supported amount of of users, CPU and RAM. http://www.sco.com/products/unixware714/
Now, the problem with the consumer releases of Windows is that the differences are not as clear-cut, but rather based on far more general and random features.
Let's read this again, shall we? Keep an eye out for the bolded lines!
"Windows Vista Ultimate Edition is a superset of both Vista Home Premium and Vista Pro Edition, so it includes all of the features of both of those product versions, plus adds Game Performance Tweaker with integrated gaming experiences, a Podcast creation utility (under consideration, may be cut from product), and online "Club" services (exclusive access to music, movies, services and preferred customer care) and other offerings (also under consideration, may be cut from product)."
Now, I don't know what they mean by "integrated gaming experiences", but I'm fairly sure that it deals with games.
In any case, this will no doubt cause a lot of problems for many people. It's difficult enough already for your typical home user to figure out computer-related matters. Now introduce these new version names, and they'll be totally lost. The awful accents of many foreign tech support technicians will no doubt cause even more problems.
Perhaps this will be the catalyst that will start the exodus away from Windows, and towards Mac OS X, Linux, *BSD and perhaps even Zeta OS.
But honestly, most users do not know what features they need. It is difficult for them to know what they need now, let alone what they'll need next week, next month, or on the next September 11th.
When people struggle setting up a system (you know, plugging the purple mouse USB connector into the purple USB slot, and the green keyboard USB connector into the green USB slot, and no problems being caused if they're switched), they aren't in a position to be trying to select one out of seven versions of an operating system based on features and future needs.
I wouldn't say this is an example of there being too many distros. No, not at all. This is an example of unnecessary fragmentation within a distro itself. It would be as if there were seven different versions of Slackware Linux 10.
This is going to confuse the living daylights out of people, especially non-technical users.
Home users probably won't know what version they have, and that will complicate tech support calls of all types. It'll be difficult to help people calling for aide, regardless of whether they're calling Dell tech support or their nephew.
Developers will continually have to look up what features each system supports, and may very well just end up developing for the lowest common denominator in order to maximize support across all versions.
It was difficult enough trying to get average users to understand that Windows XP Home is different from Windows XP Professional. Hell, it's difficult enough to even remember all these names, let alone remember what features are different between each.
The harm is that some people who were directly affected by this disaster might exercise their freedom of speech and freedom of expression. They might question why their federal government failed them so badly in so many different ways. And a lot of people may hear such objections and questions. That won't bode well for the administrators who are blocking the survivors' most basic freedoms.
I was referring to the WCNews discussion. But since you've stated it is private, and we cannot all view it, your claims may very well be baseless. How are we, as the Linux community, supposed to improve our ability to help new users if we cannot see the posts describing their problems with the help they are currently receiving? Although in this case it may very well be a situation where the user got the help he or she needed, but perhaps encountered some strife because he or she was less than polite.
Indeed. The main update/fix for Internet Explorer-related problems is Firefox. So that should always be the first solution proposed. That in turn directly leads to my proposal: always keep your non-technical friends' Firefox installations up to date.
It's not so much Firefox, as it is the Mozilla codebase upon which Firefox is built. Having recently done some work with Mozilla, I can say that it is a very complex beast. Perhaps even too complex, some might say. The potential for the introduction of bugs is astounding, since it is often very difficult to know for sure exactly what effects a code change will have.
It doesn't help that a lot of the documentation is out of date, often by several years. Nothing is worse than incorrect or outdated documentation, which can often lead to incorrect code being unintentionally added.
While a rewrite of Mozilla is of course out of the question, there should perhaps be some procedures in place to clean up the code base, and ensure that documentation is correct. Performing such basic engineering practices is what results in quality products, be it software or bridges.
Re:They have an excellent PR opportunity.
on
The End of PalmOS?
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· Score: 1
Do you know what they do if they run into code they cannot release? They don't release it! Let the open source community rewrite such portions.
But alas, the code was apparently licensed to yellowTab by Be, Inc., before they folded. So at least most of it can be redistributed in some fashion.
Why would you be browsing warez sites? You are a Linux user, right? If so, you'd have all the software you ever need. That's the beauty of open source: no need for piracy.
Slashdot Mirror
It means that if you run a website praising Windows as the best operating system, then you'd damn well better be running your website on Windows.
It really isn't. You don't have Slackware Linux 10.0 Ultimate, Slackware Linux 10.0 Supreme, Slackware Linux 10.0 Super Duper, Slackware Linux 10.0 Maximus, Slackware Linux 10.0 Christian Edition, Slackware Linux 10.0 Bonus, and so on. Most Linux distros are very specific, and thus do not need to have numerous different version of each release.
Can you provide some photographs, perhaps?
I was thinking more in terms of a user's experience, not quantitatively. In a typical consumer-grade laptop, will you be able to feel it through the casing? If you use the laptop on your lap, will you feel the heat from the hard drive on your genitalia?
Is PalmOS a server operating system? Of course not! Hence a site regarding it should not be forced to run on PalmOS.
Indeed, it is important to use the best system for the job. When one touts Windows as the best system, then they should very well be using it themselves. If they aren't using it, then that is evidence to suggest it does not live up to their hype.
Are you the leader of a TripMaster Monkey worship cult? Has a merger with the GNAA been considered?
How much heat do these drives produce? I had a laptop with a 60 GB drive, 4200 RPM, and it would heat up like a mutha.
It is quite easy to find a hosting company that runs Windows software. And when you're touting the excellence of Windows, you'd better be using it yourself.
It is no different than if the Slackware site were hosted on Windows Server 2003. It would be a complete mockery.
But the real point is that it makes sense when selling server software to technically knowledgable people, and you can define the differences in terms of real, numeric values of supported RAM, users and CPUs.
It makes absolutely no sense when you're selling consumer software to your average, technically unknowledgable Billy and Betty.
"Vista Basic" looks a lot like "Visual Basic" at a quick glance. That is surely going to cause problems with people who scan quickly while reading. They'll take your post to mean that OEMs will begin bundling Visual Basic in order to reduce costs, which of course isn't what was meant.
Now you run into a problem regarding the sleep() function under Windows. There is a very good chance it just does not exist. And suppose you have written your own, or are using the Cygwin port, then the meaning of the value passed may vary significantly. Is that 1 ms, or 1 second, or 1 hour, or 1 day?
Several of the new versions of XP are just that: they're new. So within the consumer branch, there was initially only Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional. It is only recently that we've gotten Windows XP Home Edition N, and so forth.
It's somewhat more reasonable for the server line to have numerous different versions. The Windows Server 200x releases are not meant for home users, but rather those who are somewhat technically inclined.
SCO has six editions of their UnixWare operating system, for instance. They each have very clearly supported amount of of users, CPU and RAM.
http://www.sco.com/products/unixware714/
Now, the problem with the consumer releases of Windows is that the differences are not as clear-cut, but rather based on far more general and random features.
Let's read this again, shall we? Keep an eye out for the bolded lines!
"Windows Vista Ultimate Edition is a superset of both Vista Home Premium and Vista Pro Edition, so it includes all of the features of both of those product versions, plus adds Game Performance Tweaker with integrated gaming experiences, a Podcast creation utility (under consideration, may be cut from product), and online "Club" services (exclusive access to music, movies, services and preferred customer care) and other offerings (also under consideration, may be cut from product)."
Now, I don't know what they mean by "integrated gaming experiences", but I'm fairly sure that it deals with games.
Am I the only one to think that this will be a nightmare for people in the support industry.
= 13530915
No, of course not. It was suggested earlier in this very topic!
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=161845&cid
In any case, this will no doubt cause a lot of problems for many people. It's difficult enough already for your typical home user to figure out computer-related matters. Now introduce these new version names, and they'll be totally lost. The awful accents of many foreign tech support technicians will no doubt cause even more problems.
Perhaps this will be the catalyst that will start the exodus away from Windows, and towards Mac OS X, Linux, *BSD and perhaps even Zeta OS.
It looks like your pro-Windows site runs on Linux.
i stasecrets.com&probe=1
http://uptime.netcraft.net/up/graph?site=www.winv
Is Windows, be it Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2003 Server, unable to cope with the minor loads your site receives?
But honestly, most users do not know what features they need. It is difficult for them to know what they need now, let alone what they'll need next week, next month, or on the next September 11th.
When people struggle setting up a system (you know, plugging the purple mouse USB connector into the purple USB slot, and the green keyboard USB connector into the green USB slot, and no problems being caused if they're switched), they aren't in a position to be trying to select one out of seven versions of an operating system based on features and future needs.
I wouldn't say this is an example of there being too many distros. No, not at all. This is an example of unnecessary fragmentation within a distro itself. It would be as if there were seven different versions of Slackware Linux 10.
This is going to confuse the living daylights out of people, especially non-technical users.
Home users probably won't know what version they have, and that will complicate tech support calls of all types. It'll be difficult to help people calling for aide, regardless of whether they're calling Dell tech support or their nephew.
Developers will continually have to look up what features each system supports, and may very well just end up developing for the lowest common denominator in order to maximize support across all versions.
It was difficult enough trying to get average users to understand that Windows XP Home is different from Windows XP Professional. Hell, it's difficult enough to even remember all these names, let alone remember what features are different between each.
The harm is that some people who were directly affected by this disaster might exercise their freedom of speech and freedom of expression. They might question why their federal government failed them so badly in so many different ways. And a lot of people may hear such objections and questions. That won't bode well for the administrators who are blocking the survivors' most basic freedoms.
I was referring to the WCNews discussion. But since you've stated it is private, and we cannot all view it, your claims may very well be baseless. How are we, as the Linux community, supposed to improve our ability to help new users if we cannot see the posts describing their problems with the help they are currently receiving? Although in this case it may very well be a situation where the user got the help he or she needed, but perhaps encountered some strife because he or she was less than polite.
Can you provide a link to this supposed discussion so we can all see for ourselves how it transpired?
Indeed. The main update/fix for Internet Explorer-related problems is Firefox. So that should always be the first solution proposed. That in turn directly leads to my proposal: always keep your non-technical friends' Firefox installations up to date.
It's not so much Firefox, as it is the Mozilla codebase upon which Firefox is built. Having recently done some work with Mozilla, I can say that it is a very complex beast. Perhaps even too complex, some might say. The potential for the introduction of bugs is astounding, since it is often very difficult to know for sure exactly what effects a code change will have.
It doesn't help that a lot of the documentation is out of date, often by several years. Nothing is worse than incorrect or outdated documentation, which can often lead to incorrect code being unintentionally added.
While a rewrite of Mozilla is of course out of the question, there should perhaps be some procedures in place to clean up the code base, and ensure that documentation is correct. Performing such basic engineering practices is what results in quality products, be it software or bridges.
Do you know what they do if they run into code they cannot release? They don't release it! Let the open source community rewrite such portions.
But alas, the code was apparently licensed to yellowTab by Be, Inc., before they folded. So at least most of it can be redistributed in some fashion.
Why would you be browsing warez sites? You are a Linux user, right? If so, you'd have all the software you ever need. That's the beauty of open source: no need for piracy.