if sponsors could be found to provide modest ongoing funding, I would be happy to continue developing the programs, and would even consider opening the source.
-------------
Does it cost to open the source? It's not as simple as opening a SourceForge account and posting the source under the GPL?
You'll get lots of comments here from technically savvy, Linux-aware, OSX-aware, BSD-aware, OO.Org-aware types, I won't repeat all the good stuff here already. Personally, I use OS/X, Ubuntu Linux, XP, Vista, XP64-AMD, and XP64-IA64 at home and fall into that crowd.
Now let's talk about the other 95% of at least the US.
They do *not* hate Microsoft. For them, Windows *is* the computer. They don't say "Windows crashed", they say "my computer crashed". They don't say "open a spreadsheet", they say "open Excel". Here's the kind of comments I hear every day:
Linux is just some weird thing that my kid in college does, it probably has something to do with illegal music downloads, I'm not sure.
The very idea of a non-Office productivity suite like OO is just a nonsensical statement. Why settle for less than the best? Wouldn't it be incompatible with Office anyway? Office is loaded onto every single computer at work, and we'd get in trouble for loading anything else. Plus, the weird guy from Support would probably yell at me if I did, no one understands what the heck he says anyway. No reason to make it worse.
Everyone's home computer has Office, everyone has a cousin/friend/brother-in-law who installed it. Or it came on the computer.
People who REALLY understand computers are those who can use Access. I'm not sure what for, but they know more than me.
I bring these things up because I'd hate for anyone to get the Slashdot attitudes confused with anything like what most of the world thinks. FUD works both ways, and there's a lot of it here. Every article about MS is tagged itsatrap, FUD if pro-MS, notfud if anti-MS. Saying M$ is leet. Get the pulse of regular people, too - not your 85 year old grandmother, but regular people who don't work in IT-related fields.
Remember, Office came before Windows - my 1985 Mac Plus ran Word. And Windows rose to dominance primarily for one reason: MS solved the worst problem in PC's at the time, printer drivers. Back then, every app had to write its own printer drivers. (dBase, 1-2-3, etc.) It was common for one app to be able to print to your daisy wheel printer, and not another app on the same machine. MS moved printer drivers to the OS and the app vendors lined right up.
Greedy? Yep, convicted monopolists. Rude? Heck yeah. Evil? In the eye of the beholder. But universally hated? Don't give the public so much credit that they are even aware of the issue.
It's because there was no CowboyNeal option. If there had it would have been the favorite, like: ---- Do you agree that the MS/Novell deal could not be not used for or against your benefit in the future?
(1) I love the MS/Novell deal (2) I REALLY love the MS/Novell deal (3) CowboyNeal loves the MS/Novell deal
I use the CrackBerry in the bathroom, or when I need to run downstairs to get a soda, or go out to the garage to "get something". I have hit the maximum field limit on emails while driving.
I have, though, found that typing, turning a corner, and shifting (I have a manual transmission, for the youngsters who don't know what that means) all at the same time is difficult. Not impossible, but difficult.
When we visit the inlaws I hide in the guest bedroom to use the crack.
Or, one strain sues the other strain for violation of its Most Holy Intellectual Property, unless the allegedly infringing strain takes down a license from the plaintiff strain, who is really looking forward to the trial, except we need more discovery.
When last I checked (a while ago) switchboxes were pretty expensive (and one more thing to deal with, possibly *shudder* something not on my master remote control). If that's changed, that's great.
Everything I have has to end up on the HDMI wire - the HDMI wire to the projector is the only way to get the signal to the projector, which is permanantly mounted in the ceiling, with the HDMI wire behind the drywall.
If I run a second physical cable from a PC/laptop DVI to the projector, the display is great. Presumably a DVI->HDMI adaptor would do the same for me, except I don't have any more HDMI inputs on the receiver. That was the upshot of my message, I wish my receiver had at least 4 inputs.
My "TV" is a projector with HDMI input. The receiver is an upsampling unit that has two HDMI inputs, a series of component inputs, and the obligatory s-video and RCA inputs. It upsamples whatever it gets from non-HDMI sources and shoots it up to the projector.
The two HDMI inputs I have are the HD-Tivo and the DVD player. I hooked a PC to the component input, but the upsampling process made the display fuzzy. I'd get a video card with HDMI output and try that, except both of my HDMI inputs on the receiver are used up. You can buy "hubs" to multiplex the HDMI, but they are very expensive.
Sigh. My next A/V system will have to have 3-4 HDMI inputs, one for the computer, and possibly one for (the as yet unpurchased) HD-DVD player.
Perhaps a minor point, but it was always my impression that ANY of the Eldar could travel the straight path to Aman, not just exiled Noldor - so Celeborn and Legolas would be eligible to go West, the latter being strongly hinted at in Tolkien's writings.
"tethered by a cumbersome cord" "the power cord, which is as unobtrusive as can be"
How can a mouse cord that's 3mm in diameter be "cumbersome", and a powercord that's twice that thickness be "as unobtrusive as can be"?
"thus eliminating the need for two bulky pieces of hardware and multiple cables"
The hardware wasn't eliminated, just consolidated. BTW, the Mac started that consolidation with the Apple Lisa (I had one) and, later, the original Mac (I had one) a long time before iFruit.
"just look at the abundance of cables in your office closet and try not to be intimidated by their menacing appearance"
Are we talking about wireless in the closet or desktop?
"appearance is clean, simple, and elegant, which is more than can be said about that grayish box that you may have"
Fanboy.
"You may wish to continue to plug in a cable and get reliable speed and data transfers that way"
Yep.
"I'll take wireless if at all possible, thank you very much."
You're welcome. Hope that works for your when your mouse batteries die, and you don't have a spare, right in the middle of working on a presentation, report, or WoW.
--- Are you really comfortable rejecting someone on those grounds alone? --- --- I wouldn't be so morally smug if that's the case. ---
What grounds for moral smugness do you find acceptable? Personally, moral smugness is just as offensive from someone who wants to give me free high quality software as those who want to sell me crappy software for way too much money. Or just as offensive from someone who is a tech genius but deliberately dresses in a way that says "I don't give a crap what you like" as from a talentless hack who dresses just like me in order to suck up.
Either way, moral smugness sucks.
When you enter someone's world, you follow their rules. If you don't like their rules, don't enter their world. That world could be goths playing Marilyn Manson, it could be tattoo warriors prowling alleys late at night, or a corporate environment. No one culture is right; the only wrong is seeking out an opportunity to enter a particular culture and defy the norms for no reason than to just do it. No one makes you take a job in corporate America (can't speak for the non-English speaking world, though I've worked in the UK and Australia). If you don't like the environment, don't go there.
I just purchased a new GM car (a Hummer, if you must know) last weekend. The dealer told me that now, not only do they call you when your airbags deploy, but also if you swerve hard, as when you suddenly avoid a deer, or towards an SCO executive standing in the road. The OnStar people will call you and ask if you're all right.
It also has a built in cell phone, you press a button to boot the system, and everything else is hands free through the mic in the ceiling panel. You buy minutes in a package like any other cell phone.
At Almaden they have a zillion Linux boxes spidering the web building data mining databases. They then sell the ability to mine to companies for marketing research. For example, conceptually mapping Slashdot, you find that users who post on./ also frequent OSNews, Groklaw, and pr0n.
Uh, wait... Hmm. Maybe that isn't such a good thing...
On the other hand, if you have sattelite (DirecTV in the states) tivo is your only choice. Myth and the windows equivalents don't function effectively with DirecTV.
That's because your generation is stuck in 256-bit computing, when it's OBVIOUS that the future is in 512-bit computing. How else can my Supermicro motherboard Beowulf (imagine!) array address the full 4 petabytes of RAM?!?
What the hell is wrong with being able to make a reasonable living without going to college?
Shit, I went to college....a good one to, but it's not for everybody. We NEED dishwashers, electricians, plumbers, etc and those people don't need a four year degree to do thier job.
The problem is not lazy teamsters, it is "free trade" and corporate political control.
Have you even thought about this very much? Say there was a country where EVERYONE was willing to work for less than us and ALL our jobs got shipped overseas, how is that good for us?
Countries like that exist right now, all over the world. Assuming you're in the US, we only account for 4% of the world's population, but a wildly disproportionate amount of income and resource consumption. Most of the world's populations live in countries where their annual wage looks like our median weekly paycheck.
How is that good for us? Countries, populations and subpopulations have to specialize. Some specialize in manufacturing, some in services, some in intellectual capital creation, etc. Everyone gets more efficient, and resources are used more optimally worldwide.
Every single person needs to think about how they can make lives better for those around them, how they can contribute to the success of the charity, business, family, or governmental institution they work for.
What grates on my nerves is the attitude of entitlement so many US citizens (and non-citizens) have. That they should be paid a wage wildly out of proportion to the value they bring to their employer. Should someone make $40K for driving a forklift? It has nothing to do with whether or not $40K is a "living wage" - it has everything to do with whether or not $40K is a good investment in human capital to get a job done. Far too many people, IMHO, expect to be paid what they want, not a fair return for the value they provide.
Does Wal*Mart owe someone $20 an hour for stocking shelves? No. Because it's not worth that kind of money. And the local merchant who DID pay their stockboys $20 an hour? He's out of business. Is that bad? Ask the people in town who all collectively pay less for their hardware and groceries. They always had the choice, when Wal*Mart moved to town, to shop at the local guy. But guess what? They didn't. And Wal*Mart grew into the world's largest retailer.
Heck yes, we need dishwashers, lawnmowers, etc. But most people dissatisfied with their wage have avenues to improve their skills and earn more. College is not necessarily for everyone, yet - soon it will be, just like high school is mandantory for most of the US population - but if you don't make it to college, don't expect to be paid like you did.
Wow, you're a rotten SOB aren't you?
See unlike you I realize that I was LUCKY to be able to go to the school I did. I worked hard, but I had advantages many others will never have. Sure I'm doing okay as an electrical engineer, but suggesting that everyone get an advanced degree is like suggesting that everyone become a pro football player.
I DO appreciate my going to school. I owed a boatload of money for it too, which I paid back. I worked hard, and make a nice wage. And I don't sit around and complain that I should be making more, if I'm not willing to make myself more valuable. Which I am - I'm working on additional industry certifications right now. Will my pay go up? Probably not. But if I do a better job for my employer as a result of my increased skill level, that's a good thing.
If you had a real grasp of the economics involved, you'd realize that there are other issues here, like distribuation of wealth, free trade, corporate welfare, limited demand for skilled labor, etc.
I hope you see that I perhaps do have a deeper grasp of the issues than you assume.
Distribution of wealth - which is better, making a lot of local merchants quite well off, by charging high prices for every single nut and bolt to e
Agree 100%. The people I went to high school with never went to college, because the union would get them US$40K a year jobs with full benefits right after high school. They scoffed at college.
Now (25 years later) we are finding that we (the US) have overpriced our labor to the point were we are non-competitive in any basic industries. Now my former classmates are unemployed, or on strike for years at a time, and up a creek. The slightly more enlightened among them are at a community college trying to make up for lost time.
Wal*Mart charges a low price and pays a low rate. Don't like it, go to school and get a job doing something other than stocking shelves. No other jobs in Podunk other than Wal*Mart? Move.
Grow up, people. Wal*Mart only controls the job supply if you let it. Train yourself for something other than stocking shelves or waving UPC's over scanners. Especially since we're automating that function, too.
Slashdot Mirror
From TFA:
if sponsors could be found to provide modest ongoing funding, I would be happy to
continue developing the programs, and would even consider opening the source.
-------------
Does it cost to open the source? It's not as simple as opening a SourceForge account and posting the source under the GPL?
You'll get lots of comments here from technically savvy, Linux-aware, OSX-aware, BSD-aware, OO.Org-aware types, I won't repeat all the good stuff here already. Personally, I use OS/X, Ubuntu Linux, XP, Vista, XP64-AMD, and XP64-IA64 at home and fall into that crowd.
Now let's talk about the other 95% of at least the US.
They do *not* hate Microsoft. For them, Windows *is* the computer. They don't say "Windows crashed", they say "my computer crashed". They don't say "open a spreadsheet", they say "open Excel". Here's the kind of comments I hear every day:
Linux is just some weird thing that my kid in college does, it probably has something to do with illegal music downloads, I'm not sure.
The very idea of a non-Office productivity suite like OO is just a nonsensical statement. Why settle for less than the best? Wouldn't it be incompatible with Office anyway? Office is loaded onto every single computer at work, and we'd get in trouble for loading anything else. Plus, the weird guy from Support would probably yell at me if I did, no one understands what the heck he says anyway. No reason to make it worse.
Everyone's home computer has Office, everyone has a cousin/friend/brother-in-law who installed it. Or it came on the computer.
People who REALLY understand computers are those who can use Access. I'm not sure what for, but they know more than me.
I bring these things up because I'd hate for anyone to get the Slashdot attitudes confused with anything like what most of the world thinks. FUD works both ways, and there's a lot of it here. Every article about MS is tagged itsatrap, FUD if pro-MS, notfud if anti-MS. Saying M$ is leet. Get the pulse of regular people, too - not your 85 year old grandmother, but regular people who don't work in IT-related fields.
Remember, Office came before Windows - my 1985 Mac Plus ran Word. And Windows rose to dominance primarily for one reason: MS solved the worst problem in PC's at the time, printer drivers. Back then, every app had to write its own printer drivers. (dBase, 1-2-3, etc.) It was common for one app to be able to print to your daisy wheel printer, and not another app on the same machine. MS moved printer drivers to the OS and the app vendors lined right up.
Greedy? Yep, convicted monopolists. Rude? Heck yeah. Evil? In the eye of the beholder. But universally hated? Don't give the public so much credit that they are even aware of the issue.
It's because there was no CowboyNeal option. If there had it would have been the favorite, like:
----
Do you agree that the MS/Novell deal could not be not used for or against your benefit in the future?
(1) I love the MS/Novell deal
(2) I REALLY love the MS/Novell deal
(3) CowboyNeal loves the MS/Novell deal
I use the CrackBerry in the bathroom, or when I need to run downstairs to get a soda, or go out to the garage to "get something". I have hit the maximum field limit on emails while driving.
I have, though, found that typing, turning a corner, and shifting (I have a manual transmission, for the youngsters who don't know what that means) all at the same time is difficult. Not impossible, but difficult.
When we visit the inlaws I hide in the guest bedroom to use the crack.
I can stop anytime.
I do NOT have a problem.
That's HEDLEY Lamarr!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blazing_Saddles
Or, one strain sues the other strain for violation of its Most Holy Intellectual Property, unless the allegedly infringing strain takes down a license from the plaintiff strain, who is really looking forward to the trial, except we need more discovery.
When last I checked (a while ago) switchboxes were pretty expensive (and one more thing to deal with, possibly *shudder* something not on my master remote control). If that's changed, that's great.
Everything I have has to end up on the HDMI wire - the HDMI wire to the projector is the only way to get the signal to the projector, which is permanantly mounted in the ceiling, with the HDMI wire behind the drywall.
If I run a second physical cable from a PC/laptop DVI to the projector, the display is great. Presumably a DVI->HDMI adaptor would do the same for me, except I don't have any more HDMI inputs on the receiver. That was the upshot of my message, I wish my receiver had at least 4 inputs.
My "TV" is a projector with HDMI input. The receiver is an upsampling unit that has two HDMI inputs, a series of component inputs, and the obligatory s-video and RCA inputs. It upsamples whatever it gets from non-HDMI sources and shoots it up to the projector.
The two HDMI inputs I have are the HD-Tivo and the DVD player. I hooked a PC to the component input, but the upsampling process made the display fuzzy. I'd get a video card with HDMI output and try that, except both of my HDMI inputs on the receiver are used up. You can buy "hubs" to multiplex the HDMI, but they are very expensive.
Sigh. My next A/V system will have to have 3-4 HDMI inputs, one for the computer, and possibly one for (the as yet unpurchased) HD-DVD player.
Guess that's the cost of being an early adopter.
Perhaps a minor point, but it was always my impression that ANY of the Eldar could travel the straight path to Aman, not just exiled Noldor - so Celeborn and Legolas would be eligible to go West, the latter being strongly hinted at in Tolkien's writings.
Is not the fact that there are 6 listed ways to post on /., when 7 were advertised, just an ironic way to demonstrate he's a Fisher?
Bull.
"tethered by a cumbersome cord"
"the power cord, which is as unobtrusive as can be"
How can a mouse cord that's 3mm in diameter be "cumbersome", and a powercord that's twice that thickness be "as unobtrusive as can be"?
"thus eliminating the need for two bulky pieces of hardware and multiple cables"
The hardware wasn't eliminated, just consolidated. BTW, the Mac started that consolidation with the Apple Lisa (I had one) and, later, the original Mac (I had one) a long time before iFruit.
"just look at the abundance of cables in your office closet and try not to be intimidated by their menacing appearance"
Are we talking about wireless in the closet or desktop?
"appearance is clean, simple, and elegant, which is more than can be said about that grayish box that you may have"
Fanboy.
"You may wish to continue to plug in a cable and get reliable speed and data transfers that way"
Yep.
"I'll take wireless if at all possible, thank you very much."
You're welcome. Hope that works for your when your mouse batteries die, and you don't have a spare, right in the middle of working on a presentation, report, or WoW.
--- Are you really comfortable rejecting someone on those grounds alone? ---
--- I wouldn't be so morally smug if that's the case. ---
What grounds for moral smugness do you find acceptable? Personally, moral smugness is just as offensive from someone who wants to give me free high quality software as those who want to sell me crappy software for way too much money. Or just as offensive from someone who is a tech genius but deliberately dresses in a way that says "I don't give a crap what you like" as from a talentless hack who dresses just like me in order to suck up.
Either way, moral smugness sucks.
When you enter someone's world, you follow their rules. If you don't like their rules, don't enter their world. That world could be goths playing Marilyn Manson, it could be tattoo warriors prowling alleys late at night, or a corporate environment. No one culture is right; the only wrong is seeking out an opportunity to enter a particular culture and defy the norms for no reason than to just do it. No one makes you take a job in corporate America (can't speak for the non-English speaking world, though I've worked in the UK and Australia). If you don't like the environment, don't go there.
Imagine a Beowulf Cluster of Zefram Cochranes, who warp *you*!
- Convince the EU to splinter off into their own DNS systems, screwing up the linkages between ICANN's root servers and the ones elsewhere.
- Then, since interconnectivity slows dramatically, we get less downloading of Linux (SCO) and less downloading of music (RIAA).
- We return to the good old days of everyone using outdated versions of Unix, and paying USD$16.99 for CD's.
- The RIAA and BPI returns to the real fight at hand, Home Taping
Foolproof, actually...
No need - my Mac has a widget that monitors gas prices for me: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/transport ation/gas.html
With a tail wind I can almost make it from the gas station to home before running out...
Actually, it gets 20MPG, which is an improvement from my old Jeep.
I just purchased a new GM car (a Hummer, if you must know) last weekend. The dealer told me that now, not only do they call you when your airbags deploy, but also if you swerve hard, as when you suddenly avoid a deer, or towards an SCO executive standing in the road. The OnStar people will call you and ask if you're all right.
It also has a built in cell phone, you press a button to boot the system, and everything else is hands free through the mic in the ceiling panel. You buy minutes in a package like any other cell phone.
Oh? Never had the munchies and ate an entire bag of chips ahoy? Plenty of "bytes" there...
My other three vapor suggestions: Pink/Taligent; Cairo; Hurd.
Except for the dialogue, of course.
At Almaden they have a zillion Linux boxes spidering the web building data mining databases. They then sell the ability to mine to companies for marketing research. For example, conceptually mapping Slashdot, you find that users who post on ./ also frequent OSNews, Groklaw, and pr0n.
Uh, wait... Hmm. Maybe that isn't such a good thing...
On the other hand, if you have sattelite (DirecTV in the states) tivo is your only choice. Myth and the windows equivalents don't function effectively with DirecTV.
What, did something happen to Microsoft while I wasn't looking?!?
That's because your generation is stuck in 256-bit computing, when it's OBVIOUS that the future is in 512-bit computing. How else can my Supermicro motherboard Beowulf (imagine!) array address the full 4 petabytes of RAM?!?
Shit, I went to college....a good one to, but it's not for everybody. We NEED dishwashers, electricians, plumbers, etc and those people don't need a four year degree to do thier job.
The problem is not lazy teamsters, it is "free trade" and corporate political control. Have you even thought about this very much? Say there was a country where EVERYONE was willing to work for less than us and ALL our jobs got shipped overseas, how is that good for us?
Countries like that exist right now, all over the world. Assuming you're in the US, we only account for 4% of the world's population, but a wildly disproportionate amount of income and resource consumption. Most of the world's populations live in countries where their annual wage looks like our median weekly paycheck.
How is that good for us? Countries, populations and subpopulations have to specialize. Some specialize in manufacturing, some in services, some in intellectual capital creation, etc. Everyone gets more efficient, and resources are used more optimally worldwide.
Every single person needs to think about how they can make lives better for those around them, how they can contribute to the success of the charity, business, family, or governmental institution they work for.
What grates on my nerves is the attitude of entitlement so many US citizens (and non-citizens) have. That they should be paid a wage wildly out of proportion to the value they bring to their employer. Should someone make $40K for driving a forklift? It has nothing to do with whether or not $40K is a "living wage" - it has everything to do with whether or not $40K is a good investment in human capital to get a job done. Far too many people, IMHO, expect to be paid what they want, not a fair return for the value they provide.
Does Wal*Mart owe someone $20 an hour for stocking shelves? No. Because it's not worth that kind of money. And the local merchant who DID pay their stockboys $20 an hour? He's out of business. Is that bad? Ask the people in town who all collectively pay less for their hardware and groceries. They always had the choice, when Wal*Mart moved to town, to shop at the local guy. But guess what? They didn't. And Wal*Mart grew into the world's largest retailer.
Heck yes, we need dishwashers, lawnmowers, etc. But most people dissatisfied with their wage have avenues to improve their skills and earn more. College is not necessarily for everyone, yet - soon it will be, just like high school is mandantory for most of the US population - but if you don't make it to college, don't expect to be paid like you did.
Wow, you're a rotten SOB aren't you? See unlike you I realize that I was LUCKY to be able to go to the school I did. I worked hard, but I had advantages many others will never have. Sure I'm doing okay as an electrical engineer, but suggesting that everyone get an advanced degree is like suggesting that everyone become a pro football player.
I DO appreciate my going to school. I owed a boatload of money for it too, which I paid back. I worked hard, and make a nice wage. And I don't sit around and complain that I should be making more, if I'm not willing to make myself more valuable. Which I am - I'm working on additional industry certifications right now. Will my pay go up? Probably not. But if I do a better job for my employer as a result of my increased skill level, that's a good thing.
If you had a real grasp of the economics involved, you'd realize that there are other issues here, like distribuation of wealth, free trade, corporate welfare, limited demand for skilled labor, etc.
I hope you see that I perhaps do have a deeper grasp of the issues than you assume.
Distribution of wealth - which is better, making a lot of local merchants quite well off, by charging high prices for every single nut and bolt to e
Agree 100%. The people I went to high school with never went to college, because the union would get them US$40K a year jobs with full benefits right after high school. They scoffed at college.
Now (25 years later) we are finding that we (the US) have overpriced our labor to the point were we are non-competitive in any basic industries. Now my former classmates are unemployed, or on strike for years at a time, and up a creek. The slightly more enlightened among them are at a community college trying to make up for lost time.
Wal*Mart charges a low price and pays a low rate. Don't like it, go to school and get a job doing something other than stocking shelves. No other jobs in Podunk other than Wal*Mart? Move.
Grow up, people. Wal*Mart only controls the job supply if you let it. Train yourself for something other than stocking shelves or waving UPC's over scanners. Especially since we're automating that function, too.