wow.. you just solved our whole housing market crisis !!!! All those people that wanted to flip a house in 3 weeks after make some improvements to make a profit.
Every person has a story with how they got started with XYZ OS or distro. Some wanted to be different, know what was going on with their PC, wanted more control, hated MS, needs conformity to work standards, it came with their PC (the biggest reason), or even it was free (my reason). I am a RHCE, MCSE.. I know both operating systems quite well. I used to work for MS. My main PC at home runs Ubuntu 9.04, with VM server 2.0 with VMs of Ubuntu server 9.04, Windows XP, and a Mac OS 10.5.5 VM (just to see what the fuss is about).
I was a Fry's and found a hell of a deal on a Mobo/CPU combo (quad-core Intel) and they also had tons of other things on sale that week. So I got a Q6700, mobo, case, 8GB DDR2 6400 RAM, 500 GB disk (SATA II), ATI x1650 (512 MB) card, DVD burner (SATA II), 450 Watt PSU, for under $400 bucks. Tons of rebates, etc. but I got it. I got Vista 32-bit from a friend (they went back to XP, but bought a new PC), but did not count on the 32-bit memory hole/limitation. Opps. Well I needed a 64-bit OS and well, what was a guy to do if he was not going to spend more money on an OS than the machine he just bought. Ubuntu 8.04 64-bit here we come.
It took months to get it setup correctly and doing the things I wanted it to do. I learned a lot of things that I never knew before dealing with GNOME and other exccentricities (like having to turn off my sound when it is not working because there is a feeback loop in one of the Mic Inputs - which Ubuntu will not let me turn off). I am happy. VM Server 2.0 is free - run my Windows XP box (purchased when I worked for MS), got office, VPN to work (required to be run from Windows XP, with only the corporate AV, and etc. so you can login - they are paying for my Internet access - better be able to login at night). I run another Ubuntu server version with LAMP and run some other stuff on there so that I can keep the core OS different from my other apps. I still have my 2k3 domain controller as a windows box for my other PCs (my family has 4 other PCs in the house, all XP) and a print/file server.
What is my point in this. The original post said power users. I am a power user. I know short cuts, I know a lot about the underpinnings of each OS. I want a tool - agnostic of implementation, just results. What it came down to is costs. I can download a 64-bit version of an OS for free. If I could get Windows 7 64-Bit for free, or limited cost (even $100 for the full version), then I might switch back. I need to do a lot of things, and love my rig.. But I think MS left behind what they had at the past. Windows 95 was $100. I stood in line at midnight to get it. I think spending several hundreds is not worth it. All of these separate versions are stupid. Good/Bad/Indifferent, it cost a former MS employee, and self proclaimed PC enthusiast to switch to Ubuntu as the base OS.
Horrible? I wish my SUV got 24 MPG much less 26.2 MPG. I mean real mileage, not the modified crap formula the EPA uses now. That is not real in terms of what people get in their cars now on real city or real highway driving.
Before you say "well drive a car", well if I could find a car for someone my size I would easily drive a car. I cannot find a car that fits someone of my height and girth, thus I HAVE to drive an SUV. I have test driven every major car on the road and cannot fit in anything. Not even a Cadillac. They all have that stupid center console which cuts off any leg room for someone over 6 feet tall.
Oh well. Maybe they will hit the mark, maybe they wont. I hope they do, as I like having to purchase less fuel. If only I did not sell my Pontiac Aztek and just rebuilt the engine 3 years ago...:)
I would *love* to see that worm/virus/trojan which allows every computer in the country, regardless of OS, codecs, monitor status, and even CPU power state (ie. turned off, not plugged in) which would allow display a single broadcast simultaneously.
That would be the ultimate hack in my mind.
PS - loved your post, I as just following up being the typical analytical geek that I am.
LRADs are cool. I have seen them when I was on a cruise ship in the area. 200+ Db concentrated on a single area. They put 4 of them on the ship stem, stern, port, starboard. Simple. No one will be able to get near you with a multiple mile effectiveness rating, and as they get closer, they go deaf.
They get turned off when you are in pirate infested waters, and move along then.
Why during the week? Hell I go to a local movie theater that has $4.50 matinee times (before noon) on the weekends. So I go to the 11:30 showing on Saturday (when it comes out the night before even) and watch it for $9 for me and my boy, the weekend it comes out, and usually have no more than 10 people in the entire huge theater. Who is going to get up that early on a Saturday:)
Who is drinking the Kool-Aid now? $250K for married families. Less than that for single schmucks. Estimates are not released for how low, but typical tax cycle metrics show it is about 50%, so $125K for them. About $175k if you are head of household (single but have kids). How many married programmers do you know, or single parents that are programmers.
Just pointing out something if you want to get technically correct:)
Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Michael Dell... They never worked a hard day in their life?
Color me impressed. I thought Michael Dell started Dell computers out of his Dorm room while in school. I thought Bill Gates started Microsoft in college as well. Warren Buffett started out in his grandfather's grocery store.
I think everyone here would agree they are in the top 5%. I hate dumb blanket statements that people have never worked a hard day in their life when there is so much evidence to the contrary.
I would agree that most people in the top 5% that earned their money through inheritance, did not work hard jobs. Please note I used the word most, not all.
So does *nix and Mac need AV and software inventory, etc. don't kid yourself. Frequency of patching can be controlled by proper admin procedures, etc. No school corporation will not want and inventory of software to validate they are all within compliance.
I did not get what you were inferring from the previous post. They are saying that finding someone with a basic understanding of Windows/Mac is more readily available than someone who knows how to manage a *nix environment. With the bloat of MCSE and people who own PCs and use windows through every one of the slashdot sponsored "MS monopolistic practices" methods.
What they are saying is that the availability and thus the price of an admin will be less. Granted I don't know if I agree with the outcome (default to Windows), I see no flaw in this users statements.
While I agree that a well deployed infrastructure can be deployed and administered by a few individuals, I disagree with you that only a *nix infrastructure can handle that. A properly designed, maintained infrastructure can do this no matter what OS you are running. The problem is most school corporations hire only certain individuals to do their computer jobs. They are usually the lowest salary person they can find. When I was jobless for a while back 5 years ago, I applied as the admin for a school corporation. They came back and said they were looking to pay $32K, and you had to work full year round. I was not even considered with my background, since they knew I would never take a job for that salary.
To take this a step further, they also have between a 10-12 week vacation during the summer that is time off work. They get paid during this time as if they worked. They can get a second job or fulfill their education requirements (all teachers need to take 3 courses of college level in 5 years). Plus they have a union which mandates their pay raises every year. If they work for their education for a masters, taking 2 courses a summer (very conservative plan) at a local community college, they can get a MA or MS in 5 years. Oh wait, they usually get a 40% or more pay increase with that kind of degree. (again - with summers off) If I could stand the BS of teaching, I would do that in a heartbeat. I am actually considering it as a second career, I took the NEA exam to be a licenses teacher, and I have an MS.
Just a side note, I have several members of family that are teachers - this is not meant to be disparaging at all. I love them to death, and think they need to be paid more, with only merit increases, not mandatory union increases based on tenure.
As for not being able to use a MacBook. Well.. they have not learned the Mac OS, they don't know where everything is. Some kid screws with it and messes it up and they don't know how to fix it. Remember, a PC (Mac, Unix, Windows are all PCs) is a tool. If the tool is broken - someone needs to fix it. They have not taken years of college courses and spend their off time playing with the latest OS to see what they can get to work. When they work after school, they are grading papers, writing lesson plans, etc.
It would be nice if everyone on the planet knew how to fix their PCs when something goes wrong, and would be able to teach them to the kids of tomorrow, however, teachers cannot be experts in every topic. They are required to have expertise in education theory (a lot harder than you think), psychology, plus their desired topic to teach. They can learn more, but again, it comes back to time and effort.
"If they want to patch every day at 4am then that is perfectly fine too. YOU make your own policy, it is not dictated to you."
Unless you are in a Regulated industry and are required to document for audit that you have validated, tested, and deployed your patches with XX days of being released.
While as a security person for years, I agree with you, there are other considerations that go into patching. One big one that is not listed anywhere on this thread is Regulations.
Most Regulated industries are required to test, patch, and implement any patches on all affected systems and apps within something like 30-45 days after release. So if MS is releasing patches ad-hoc, companies will have to spend full time employees dedicated to patching for just MS products (which is what they did). Now they have a sysadmin and desktop admin spend a week of their time a month and blow it out with WSUS. They get back 3/4 of an FTE by doing it that way.
Another thing you seem to miss, there have been several, out of cycle patches, for zero day exploits in the last decade since MS went to this patching cycle. MS has release several patches "out of cycle" to combat them. So yes, it is not always patch Tuesday, however the majority of their patches are released on a regular schedule.
I agree with you about experience. My experience is exactly the opposite with Ubuntu and Windows with installing an uninstalling packages/software. That was why I had to recently re-install my Linux box. Video quit working after uninstalling some packages, and I could not get it to work right.
I agree with you that most people don't know how to run a computer, and remain secured on a Windows platform. I have been doing Cyber Security for a decade, and run XP with no AV, no spyware software, etc. and never been infected. Why? I know not to do things that are stupid.
I guess I miss the point about how packages are released is an invalid point? You are talking about installing, the base OS, I am talking about running the thing past the first boot. When you actually have to use the thing, and install these drivers, not in the repository, you are hosed if you have not spent a lot of time with editing files, and making installs (I have).
Again - I am not trying to be a windows apologist, and I have seen Ubuntu making great strides, however, they need a bigger repository, and need a larger collection of apps to be there for people to use, if they want to be on par with the user experience of windows (just clicking on.exe file).
Really? XP out of the box is not stable without third party software? I have never had an issue. Your experience maybe different. You cannot tell me that XP is not secured by default in sp2 or 3(I did not say the most secure OS on the planet). I run it currently in a VM - with no AV and don't have any issues. No spyware, etc. I have been using computers (mostly windows OS) for years and never, NEVER gotten a virus. I know how to setup my PCs to do what they need to do, and not get infected by things.
I agree with you - teaching with DOS would be nice, however, I have never found a DOS based "learn to type" app. I have never seen a DOS based app that has pretty graphics, to show a 7 year old a game. Yeah, when we were kids - we had crap, but when your kids are in school - and they are required to take typing, and also required to play Oregon trail and other games like that, which are all GUI based, then I guess you have passed your window to teach DOS first.
Huh? XP is not safe or stable? I have to disagree. If you are looking for zealot level security then I can agree, but from a simple standpoint of setting it up it is relatively secure with the default settings that come with SP2 or SP3. As for stable? I have never, in my 10 years (Alpha releases, etc.) had XP crash on me. Never. I have had crappy applications fail, etc.
Ubuntu maybe safer? Well safer because you have to know exactly what you are doing to do anything. Download a tar.gz file and tell grandma to run it from the GUI. It takes time to learn these skills. Stable? I won't grant that as I have crashed my Ubuntu box multiple times (8.04 and 8.10). I still dont have sound on my box after re-installing over the weekend - and no one can explain why (simple, onboard sound card).
Fear of change might be a factor, but change is also indicative that people know what they are doing which over 60% of the people out there don't know what they are doing with a PC anyways. They know how to do their task. Click here - do this. That is all. If a PC came, setup, guaranteed to work, get the latest updates, etc. Then great. I have not seen that yet. I have to know what I am doing to get my video card to work because Ubuntu could not get it to work out of the default. My sound does not work, Flash is a hack for 64 bit unless you know (again tar.gz files) to install the latest alpha from adobe.
I am not saying windows is the greatest, I would never say anything of the sort. Just saying that the user experience is equal to that of windows is downright wrong, and almost sounding a little elitist. Will I trade my Ubuntu box in? Nope. I run a free VM server 2.0 on it and have my windows xp box running, so I can VPN into work, and work with my excel files, etc. I have all my other stuff on my Linux box and would not trade that for the world. I will dedicate my time to fixing the issues, and getting things to work, so that others will not have to go through the things that I had to go through.
In the end, we all want choice, and choice gives us options. I would prefer if my son learned Linux. Why? Then he would know how stuff works. He knows the pretty GUI in windows, let him learn how a computer thinks, runs, etc. and he will be a great user of computers going forward. However, just like in life, if people don't want to learn, then you cannot force them. They will sit there, hands in the air, and say "Hell if I know".
I will leave you with one final quote from MKL Jr.: "Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-bakes solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think."
There are only a few reasons for that. Perceived value, expense, inconvenience, lack of availability. Those are your biggest reasons why. If you read the questions ask, no crap 2/3 the people said they did not want it. I can write a questionaire that guarantees a certain response as well. Each one listed below:
* Perceived Value: Some people don't do that much on the internet. They will never do it. It is a fact. Yes the like emails, and youtube videos, but, they just don't sit around all day doing that sort of thing.
* Expense: My parents are cheap asses. They have loads of cash in the bank, but this is how they keep it. My dad is mad when he has to change his phone service from the $9 a month to $11 service so he can shut it off 6 months out of the year when he does not leave his home, and keep his number. Some people look at every dollar spend as a bad thing, and going from something that works, and is okay which is $10 a month, to something $30 a month, while faster and more desirable, at the end of the day costs $20 more.
* Inconvenience: You have to pay your bills, deal with routers, multiple computers, etc. You need someone willing to help you with all of this. How much time will you spend on the phone when you don't understand it all, and have questions.
* Lack of Availability: Despite all the reasons above, some people want broadband. My parents want to (as long as it is not too expensive, and they can turn it off so they are not paying for it when they are not at home 6 months of the year). No provider is going to cross the channel, bury cable, and get it to their house several miles away from the mainland, just so they can get $25 cable. Satellite is too expensive (remember the previous conditions), and coverage is sometimes spotty where they live.
Everyone has their reasons. I have broadband, my siblings have broadband, and that is great. We justify it by doing other things. MagicJack is my phone system so I don't have to spend a shit ton on the phone as well. I spend very little on cable (and just so I can get a DVR with multiple HD channels). Everyone has their requirements, and they change over time.
They all have computer hardware and software, which is usually misconfigured. I spend a lot of time there fixing environments since they usually have internet access, so setting up a proxy, and patching, etc. A few hours makes things go a long way.
Yes and no. You are are looking at true peak.. as in MAX. If you are looking at the peak average.. that is what needs to be reduced. The power system is typically running at 105% during warm summer days (you know.. 90 degrees outside). A/C's run constantly, or at approx 15 minute intervals during that time. If you have 500,000 A/C units on the smart grid (which this is called by the power companies), you can delay their usage by 15 minutes (or skip one cycle of "cooling"). By doing this, you now loose 25% of the peak demand power usage. Now you loose some of that, to get your place down to the temp desired after the fact. Most calculations I have seen is that this is a 10% hit. So you gain 22.5% efficiency if you do this. So.. lets say you have 150 Megawatts usage for an area. If you cut off 22.5% of the biggest hitter for that area (most estimates are that A/C during hot days, when peak demand is high) is 58% of all electrical costs. Simple math says you just saved generation of 19.575 Megawatts of generation.. or about two gas/coal turbines being turned off during the peak.
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wow .. you just solved our whole housing market crisis !!!! All those people that wanted to flip a house in 3 weeks after make some improvements to make a profit.
Every person has a story with how they got started with XYZ OS or distro. Some wanted to be different, know what was going on with their PC, wanted more control, hated MS, needs conformity to work standards, it came with their PC (the biggest reason), or even it was free (my reason). I am a RHCE, MCSE .. I know both operating systems quite well. I used to work for MS. My main PC at home runs Ubuntu 9.04, with VM server 2.0 with VMs of Ubuntu server 9.04, Windows XP, and a Mac OS 10.5.5 VM (just to see what the fuss is about).
.. But I think MS left behind what they had at the past. Windows 95 was $100. I stood in line at midnight to get it. I think spending several hundreds is not worth it. All of these separate versions are stupid. Good/Bad/Indifferent, it cost a former MS employee, and self proclaimed PC enthusiast to switch to Ubuntu as the base OS.
I was a Fry's and found a hell of a deal on a Mobo/CPU combo (quad-core Intel) and they also had tons of other things on sale that week. So I got a Q6700, mobo, case, 8GB DDR2 6400 RAM, 500 GB disk (SATA II), ATI x1650 (512 MB) card, DVD burner (SATA II), 450 Watt PSU, for under $400 bucks. Tons of rebates, etc. but I got it. I got Vista 32-bit from a friend (they went back to XP, but bought a new PC), but did not count on the 32-bit memory hole/limitation. Opps. Well I needed a 64-bit OS and well, what was a guy to do if he was not going to spend more money on an OS than the machine he just bought. Ubuntu 8.04 64-bit here we come.
It took months to get it setup correctly and doing the things I wanted it to do. I learned a lot of things that I never knew before dealing with GNOME and other exccentricities (like having to turn off my sound when it is not working because there is a feeback loop in one of the Mic Inputs - which Ubuntu will not let me turn off). I am happy. VM Server 2.0 is free - run my Windows XP box (purchased when I worked for MS), got office, VPN to work (required to be run from Windows XP, with only the corporate AV, and etc. so you can login - they are paying for my Internet access - better be able to login at night). I run another Ubuntu server version with LAMP and run some other stuff on there so that I can keep the core OS different from my other apps. I still have my 2k3 domain controller as a windows box for my other PCs (my family has 4 other PCs in the house, all XP) and a print/file server.
What is my point in this. The original post said power users. I am a power user. I know short cuts, I know a lot about the underpinnings of each OS. I want a tool - agnostic of implementation, just results. What it came down to is costs. I can download a 64-bit version of an OS for free. If I could get Windows 7 64-Bit for free, or limited cost (even $100 for the full version), then I might switch back. I need to do a lot of things, and love my rig
Horrible? I wish my SUV got 24 MPG much less 26.2 MPG. I mean real mileage, not the modified crap formula the EPA uses now. That is not real in terms of what people get in their cars now on real city or real highway driving.
... :)
Before you say "well drive a car", well if I could find a car for someone my size I would easily drive a car. I cannot find a car that fits someone of my height and girth, thus I HAVE to drive an SUV. I have test driven every major car on the road and cannot fit in anything. Not even a Cadillac. They all have that stupid center console which cuts off any leg room for someone over 6 feet tall.
Oh well. Maybe they will hit the mark, maybe they wont. I hope they do, as I like having to purchase less fuel. If only I did not sell my Pontiac Aztek and just rebuilt the engine 3 years ago
I would *love* to see that worm/virus/trojan which allows every computer in the country, regardless of OS, codecs, monitor status, and even CPU power state (ie. turned off, not plugged in) which would allow display a single broadcast simultaneously. That would be the ultimate hack in my mind. PS - loved your post, I as just following up being the typical analytical geek that I am.
He also does NBC's "Chuck".
Whoa ...
LRADs are cool. I have seen them when I was on a cruise ship in the area. 200+ Db concentrated on a single area. They put 4 of them on the ship stem, stern, port, starboard. Simple. No one will be able to get near you with a multiple mile effectiveness rating, and as they get closer, they go deaf. They get turned off when you are in pirate infested waters, and move along then.
Why during the week? Hell I go to a local movie theater that has $4.50 matinee times (before noon) on the weekends. So I go to the 11:30 showing on Saturday (when it comes out the night before even) and watch it for $9 for me and my boy, the weekend it comes out, and usually have no more than 10 people in the entire huge theater. Who is going to get up that early on a Saturday :)
Who is drinking the Kool-Aid now? $250K for married families. Less than that for single schmucks. Estimates are not released for how low, but typical tax cycle metrics show it is about 50%, so $125K for them. About $175k if you are head of household (single but have kids). How many married programmers do you know, or single parents that are programmers. Just pointing out something if you want to get technically correct :)
Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Michael Dell ... They never worked a hard day in their life?
Color me impressed. I thought Michael Dell started Dell computers out of his Dorm room while in school. I thought Bill Gates started Microsoft in college as well. Warren Buffett started out in his grandfather's grocery store.
I think everyone here would agree they are in the top 5%. I hate dumb blanket statements that people have never worked a hard day in their life when there is so much evidence to the contrary.
I would agree that most people in the top 5% that earned their money through inheritance, did not work hard jobs. Please note I used the word most, not all.
They do make Caffeine free Dr. Pepper and Caffeine Free Diet Dr. Pepper. I am drinking one now from the MS campus.
I hear Bugaboo tastes excellent and has nice fur for cars. They only live on Mars however ... I guess that might be more 30th century.
That or Larry the Cable Guy .. perfect job name :)
yeah .. it is called www.girlsgonewild.com ... :)
So does *nix and Mac need AV and software inventory, etc. don't kid yourself. Frequency of patching can be controlled by proper admin procedures, etc. No school corporation will not want and inventory of software to validate they are all within compliance.
I did not get what you were inferring from the previous post. They are saying that finding someone with a basic understanding of Windows/Mac is more readily available than someone who knows how to manage a *nix environment. With the bloat of MCSE and people who own PCs and use windows through every one of the slashdot sponsored "MS monopolistic practices" methods.
What they are saying is that the availability and thus the price of an admin will be less. Granted I don't know if I agree with the outcome (default to Windows), I see no flaw in this users statements.
While I agree that a well deployed infrastructure can be deployed and administered by a few individuals, I disagree with you that only a *nix infrastructure can handle that. A properly designed, maintained infrastructure can do this no matter what OS you are running. The problem is most school corporations hire only certain individuals to do their computer jobs. They are usually the lowest salary person they can find. When I was jobless for a while back 5 years ago, I applied as the admin for a school corporation. They came back and said they were looking to pay $32K, and you had to work full year round. I was not even considered with my background, since they knew I would never take a job for that salary.
To take this a step further, they also have between a 10-12 week vacation during the summer that is time off work. They get paid during this time as if they worked. They can get a second job or fulfill their education requirements (all teachers need to take 3 courses of college level in 5 years). Plus they have a union which mandates their pay raises every year. If they work for their education for a masters, taking 2 courses a summer (very conservative plan) at a local community college, they can get a MA or MS in 5 years. Oh wait, they usually get a 40% or more pay increase with that kind of degree. (again - with summers off) If I could stand the BS of teaching, I would do that in a heartbeat. I am actually considering it as a second career, I took the NEA exam to be a licenses teacher, and I have an MS.
.. they have not learned the Mac OS, they don't know where everything is. Some kid screws with it and messes it up and they don't know how to fix it. Remember, a PC (Mac, Unix, Windows are all PCs) is a tool. If the tool is broken - someone needs to fix it. They have not taken years of college courses and spend their off time playing with the latest OS to see what they can get to work. When they work after school, they are grading papers, writing lesson plans, etc.
Just a side note, I have several members of family that are teachers - this is not meant to be disparaging at all. I love them to death, and think they need to be paid more, with only merit increases, not mandatory union increases based on tenure.
As for not being able to use a MacBook. Well
It would be nice if everyone on the planet knew how to fix their PCs when something goes wrong, and would be able to teach them to the kids of tomorrow, however, teachers cannot be experts in every topic. They are required to have expertise in education theory (a lot harder than you think), psychology, plus their desired topic to teach. They can learn more, but again, it comes back to time and effort.
"If they want to patch every day at 4am then that is perfectly fine too. YOU make your own policy, it is not dictated to you."
Unless you are in a Regulated industry and are required to document for audit that you have validated, tested, and deployed your patches with XX days of being released.
While as a security person for years, I agree with you, there are other considerations that go into patching. One big one that is not listed anywhere on this thread is Regulations.
Most Regulated industries are required to test, patch, and implement any patches on all affected systems and apps within something like 30-45 days after release. So if MS is releasing patches ad-hoc, companies will have to spend full time employees dedicated to patching for just MS products (which is what they did). Now they have a sysadmin and desktop admin spend a week of their time a month and blow it out with WSUS. They get back 3/4 of an FTE by doing it that way.
Another thing you seem to miss, there have been several, out of cycle patches, for zero day exploits in the last decade since MS went to this patching cycle. MS has release several patches "out of cycle" to combat them. So yes, it is not always patch Tuesday, however the majority of their patches are released on a regular schedule.
I agree with you about experience. My experience is exactly the opposite with Ubuntu and Windows with installing an uninstalling packages/software. That was why I had to recently re-install my Linux box. Video quit working after uninstalling some packages, and I could not get it to work right.
.exe file).
I agree with you that most people don't know how to run a computer, and remain secured on a Windows platform. I have been doing Cyber Security for a decade, and run XP with no AV, no spyware software, etc. and never been infected. Why? I know not to do things that are stupid.
I guess I miss the point about how packages are released is an invalid point? You are talking about installing, the base OS, I am talking about running the thing past the first boot. When you actually have to use the thing, and install these drivers, not in the repository, you are hosed if you have not spent a lot of time with editing files, and making installs (I have).
Again - I am not trying to be a windows apologist, and I have seen Ubuntu making great strides, however, they need a bigger repository, and need a larger collection of apps to be there for people to use, if they want to be on par with the user experience of windows (just clicking on
Really? XP out of the box is not stable without third party software? I have never had an issue. Your experience maybe different. You cannot tell me that XP is not secured by default in sp2 or 3(I did not say the most secure OS on the planet). I run it currently in a VM - with no AV and don't have any issues. No spyware, etc. I have been using computers (mostly windows OS) for years and never, NEVER gotten a virus. I know how to setup my PCs to do what they need to do, and not get infected by things.
I agree with you - teaching with DOS would be nice, however, I have never found a DOS based "learn to type" app. I have never seen a DOS based app that has pretty graphics, to show a 7 year old a game. Yeah, when we were kids - we had crap, but when your kids are in school - and they are required to take typing, and also required to play Oregon trail and other games like that, which are all GUI based, then I guess you have passed your window to teach DOS first.
Huh? XP is not safe or stable? I have to disagree. If you are looking for zealot level security then I can agree, but from a simple standpoint of setting it up it is relatively secure with the default settings that come with SP2 or SP3. As for stable? I have never, in my 10 years (Alpha releases, etc.) had XP crash on me. Never. I have had crappy applications fail, etc.
Ubuntu maybe safer? Well safer because you have to know exactly what you are doing to do anything. Download a tar.gz file and tell grandma to run it from the GUI. It takes time to learn these skills. Stable? I won't grant that as I have crashed my Ubuntu box multiple times (8.04 and 8.10). I still dont have sound on my box after re-installing over the weekend - and no one can explain why (simple, onboard sound card).
Fear of change might be a factor, but change is also indicative that people know what they are doing which over 60% of the people out there don't know what they are doing with a PC anyways. They know how to do their task. Click here - do this. That is all. If a PC came, setup, guaranteed to work, get the latest updates, etc. Then great. I have not seen that yet. I have to know what I am doing to get my video card to work because Ubuntu could not get it to work out of the default. My sound does not work, Flash is a hack for 64 bit unless you know (again tar.gz files) to install the latest alpha from adobe.
I am not saying windows is the greatest, I would never say anything of the sort. Just saying that the user experience is equal to that of windows is downright wrong, and almost sounding a little elitist. Will I trade my Ubuntu box in? Nope. I run a free VM server 2.0 on it and have my windows xp box running, so I can VPN into work, and work with my excel files, etc. I have all my other stuff on my Linux box and would not trade that for the world. I will dedicate my time to fixing the issues, and getting things to work, so that others will not have to go through the things that I had to go through.
In the end, we all want choice, and choice gives us options. I would prefer if my son learned Linux. Why? Then he would know how stuff works. He knows the pretty GUI in windows, let him learn how a computer thinks, runs, etc. and he will be a great user of computers going forward. However, just like in life, if people don't want to learn, then you cannot force them. They will sit there, hands in the air, and say "Hell if I know".
I will leave you with one final quote from MKL Jr.: "Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-bakes solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think."
There are only a few reasons for that. Perceived value, expense, inconvenience, lack of availability. Those are your biggest reasons why. If you read the questions ask, no crap 2/3 the people said they did not want it. I can write a questionaire that guarantees a certain response as well. Each one listed below:
* Perceived Value: Some people don't do that much on the internet. They will never do it. It is a fact. Yes the like emails, and youtube videos, but, they just don't sit around all day doing that sort of thing.
* Expense: My parents are cheap asses. They have loads of cash in the bank, but this is how they keep it. My dad is mad when he has to change his phone service from the $9 a month to $11 service so he can shut it off 6 months out of the year when he does not leave his home, and keep his number. Some people look at every dollar spend as a bad thing, and going from something that works, and is okay which is $10 a month, to something $30 a month, while faster and more desirable, at the end of the day costs $20 more.
* Inconvenience: You have to pay your bills, deal with routers, multiple computers, etc. You need someone willing to help you with all of this. How much time will you spend on the phone when you don't understand it all, and have questions.
* Lack of Availability: Despite all the reasons above, some people want broadband. My parents want to (as long as it is not too expensive, and they can turn it off so they are not paying for it when they are not at home 6 months of the year). No provider is going to cross the channel, bury cable, and get it to their house several miles away from the mainland, just so they can get $25 cable. Satellite is too expensive (remember the previous conditions), and coverage is sometimes spotty where they live.
Everyone has their reasons. I have broadband, my siblings have broadband, and that is great. We justify it by doing other things. MagicJack is my phone system so I don't have to spend a shit ton on the phone as well. I spend very little on cable (and just so I can get a DVR with multiple HD channels). Everyone has their requirements, and they change over time.
They all have computer hardware and software, which is usually misconfigured. I spend a lot of time there fixing environments since they usually have internet access, so setting up a proxy, and patching, etc. A few hours makes things go a long way.
Yes and no. You are are looking at true peak .. as in MAX. If you are looking at the peak average .. that is what needs to be reduced. The power system is typically running at 105% during warm summer days (you know .. 90 degrees outside). A/C's run constantly, or at approx 15 minute intervals during that time. If you have 500,000 A/C units on the smart grid (which this is called by the power companies), you can delay their usage by 15 minutes (or skip one cycle of "cooling"). By doing this, you now loose 25% of the peak demand power usage. Now you loose some of that, to get your place down to the temp desired after the fact. Most calculations I have seen is that this is a 10% hit. So you gain 22.5% efficiency if you do this. So .. lets say you have 150 Megawatts usage for an area. If you cut off 22.5% of the biggest hitter for that area (most estimates are that A/C during hot days, when peak demand is high) is 58% of all electrical costs. Simple math says you just saved generation of 19.575 Megawatts of generation .. or about two gas/coal turbines being turned off during the peak.