Linux users need to stop comparing their OS' state to that of a five-year-old version of Windows.
Okay, compare it to the current release of Windows.
Oh, what's that? The newest release is Windows XP OEM SR2? Essentially a five-year-old OS with a few patches?
I guess it IS a fair comparison then, after all. Come make that same argument this same time next year if both:
a) Vista has shipped AND b) Folks are comparing Linux to XP rather than Vista
at that point. Until then, XP is the only valid comparison, unless you want to talk servers in which case Windows 2003 would be the logical comparison point.
Ah, so a wikipedia article proves that it's a design flaw in Windows?
The fact that it's on Wikipedia does not automatically mean it is false or quackery. Don't be so quick to write off Wikipedia on every subject - if in doubt, check the sources. Much, if not most, of Wikipedia's content is actually quite good. Just be willing to check the cited works in the footnotes, or verify against other, more authoritative sources. For a free up-to-the-minute encyclopedia, one cannot get anything much better than Wikipedia. Its greatest strength (anyone can edit) may be its greatest flaw, but at the same time its greatest flaw is its greatest strength. If you spot an error, you can correct it on the spot.:)
To download the files quickly and easily just copy & paste the filenames into a file (call it utilities.txt), preferably in a new directory (make it easy to ID the files)
Go to the command line in that directory and type:
wget -i utilities.txt
This will download every file in the list to your current working directory.
I suggest you do so ASAP because when Microsoft says that something will always be free, they cannot be trusted.
Not only that, if he doesn't like "multitask emulation" I hope that he steers clear of all uniprocessor computers, and sticks with only multiprocessor/dual core machines. After all, without multiple processors you can't have "true multitasking" because with a single CPU the CPU is only executing a single thread at a time anyhow, and simply swapping between them for short bits of time ("timeslicing" if you will. . . ), giving the appearance of "multitasking"
So, by his standard, Linux, BSD, Solaris, IRIX, VMS, MVS, OS/2, OS X, Mac OS, Hurd, Be OS, and even the famed-but-pretty-much-defunct "multitasking" pioneer AmigaOS all use what he terms "multitask emulation"
But, it's obvious he just wants to play semantics and troll for a response. Here's a hint: if you have a single processor, in general, you're doing nothing more than timeslicing, and never really running anything in parallel. Your criticism of Windows on that basis is false, since it also applies to whatever OS it is you prefer to be using. My crappy Pentium 4 machine here is running Linux, and yet the best it can do is "emulate multitasking" through timeslicing.
But get this: even when you have multiple processors, you are in general not really running more than two threads at once, on each processor, you are, in your term, "emulating multitasking." To get TRUE multitasking the likes of which you are implying, cable of running multiple threads on a single processor, you'd probably want a biological computer (er, let's call it a "brain") and a complex massive parallel processing program (let's call it "consciousness") but given everyone here personally owns one (barring a few racist trolls here and there) we know that even IT cannot multitask all that well much of the time, as evidenced by those who can't walk and chew gum or who cannot drive and use a cellphone simultaneously (or not well, at any rate).
(I tried to blend funny and a retort to the AC's parent's implication that Windows doesn't multitask but Linux/other OS does)
For the basis of a similar form factor (did I say it was identical anywhere?) you can be in the general ballpark. Don't be argumentative for the sake of being argumentative.
(Oh, and in case you didn't know where I was going with the introductory line above: a Mac is basically a commodity PC now, except with a slightly-customized EFI and a branded case. If you want a Mac without OS X now, you want what is basically a white box PC with a nice case.)
One can't buy a Mac without OS X? Where have you been for the last 12 months?
Here is how to figure out what their margin is:
1, Pick a good stylish-but-not-tacky gamer case (Lian-Li, Antec Sonata) and go with that price, (or an Asus or Shuttle enclosure/board if the Mac Mini for the PC equivalent)
2. Pick a motherboard with same chipset and similar features to the Mac in question's motherboard
3. Pick a video card with same chipset and similar features to the Mac in question video card
4. Pick the same or a similar optical drive
5. Pick a good keyboard and an average mouse
6. Pick the same HDD
7. Processor, Etc. (complete list based on configuration)
Add the parts together, based on Newegg's pricing (they're fairly close to wholesale). Subtract from retail price. Add cost of off-the-shelf OS X. You have what is somewhere in the ballpark of their margin, not taking into account volume discounts and padding for warranty service.
When they were on the PPC platform it was a good deal harder to figure out what their margins are, because their motherboards were 100% proprietary, and just adding up the cost for the Foxconn components really didn't give you the price of the boards. Now they're pretty much commodity parts and it's relatively easy to discern. Of course, you don't know if their volume discount is 1%, 3%, 10%, or 20%, but based on sales figures and what discount, say, Tech Data or Ingram Micro will give based on specified # of units, you can arrive at a fairly good guesstimate of what Apple is paying for components, within a couple of percentage points. Also, Apple deals with volumes large enough to buy directly from Intel, and I'm sure Intel gave them HUGE concessions to move away from IBM/Motorola/PPC for the PR, so it is safe to presume Intel is just about giving away the processors, and charging a slim margin over material costs.
But really, are there really people on Slashdot that don't know how to use Wikipedia themselves?
Yes, and it's the same users who confuse: it's and its; where, ware and wear; your and you're; there, their, and they're, all ready with already; don lik 2 typ out ful words 4 u to read, dont noe wut spelchek iz, and haven't heard about a wonderful invention called "Google" yet.
1. MSIE is preloaded. If you want that kind of performance from a browser, but don't want to run MSIE, may I suggest you switch operating systems and use a KDE desktop with an instance of konqueror preloaded?
2. It's a feature, not a memory leak*. Google for it, or if you're too lazy to search Google, go into about:config amd change the default setting for browser.sessionhistory.max_entries
3. As far as load time goes, how about putting it into your startup folder but keep it minimized until you want to use it? You'll have the same effect as MSIE, except you'll have an application button in your taskbar
* aside from Extensions which have memory leak problems, in which case don't use that extension, choose an alternative, or email the developer and let him know there's a defect in his code, preferably with steps to reproduce
Working with spheres and checkered planes is a great way to learn the very basics of primitive shapes, shading, and materials. What would you suggest as a first step for someone learning a new GUI and workflow? Creating a full-motion feature film?
And, if someone just wants to fool around with raytracing rather than producing a professional animation, what the heck is wrong with doing just that?
Blender's GUI is totally different from other 3D apps I've used. I used to play with Truespace a lot (created elaborate landscapes, mainly canyons and riverbeds, and flythroughs), I've done some real work in Bryce and Maya (I didn't have to pay for Maya, an acquaintance has it and I just had to do a still splash screen), and the workflow for those apps are similar enough that if you feel comfortable in one you pick the others right up. The difference between, say, TrueSpace and Bryce is like comparing Photoshop with Paint Shop Pro. Yes, they're different but similar enough to know right away which tool does what. (FWIW, I've done only very, very small projects in 3D, but have enough appreciation for what it takes to be impressed by The Elephants Dream, and what ILM must have had to go through to make the Star Wars flicks just blows my mind).
Comparing the other 3D apps to Blender is like comparing Photoshop to The Gimp - the workflow is different, the menus are different, the tools are different. You need to un-learn Photoshop habits to become productive in The Gimp. Blender is so different that you need to unlearn a lot. BTW, if you check forums and mailing lists for Blender, you'll see that there are folks who have stated the same; if you come from another app, you have to un-learn those and it can be more difficult to pick up Blender's workflow, but if you don't know other 3D apps and start from scratch, it may be easier to pick up.
I've been wanting to play with Blender more for quite a while, but my ATI cards don't cooperate.:(
It's not the ads on THG that I find annoying, it's the fact that he maximizes his ad revenue by breaking up articles into 30-page articles where each page consists of 75% ads and 25% content, whereas if he were publishing a printed magazine, he'd be in violation of laws regulating what is a magazine vs. what is merely a book of ads. Hell, even Computer Shopper (pre-peed.com and pricewatch.com days) was at its height they weren't as blatent as THG.
Oh, and they make no attempt to veil their bias in most of their "reviews."
The difference is significant from an engineering perspective, sure. I'll grant you that.
However when it comes to daily use and colloquialisms, it's just semantics, and who gives a crap? Let's also argue over whether Linux is Unix or not Unix. From a purist perspective it isn't, and the distinction can be extremely important when it comes to legal issues (see SCO vs (Novell+IBM+Redhat) but from a user and administration perspective, Linux works like Unix. so it is Unix. When it comes to daily use of WINE or Cedega, who cares whether it's an emulator or a compatibility layer? Good grief.
The judge says he's open to the idea that if Google manually changed the pagerank to zero, then maybe it's defamation, which is a valid reason to bring a suit. It's equivalent to saying, out loud and deliberately, "You suck". He's saying that if they do it manually, that could be evidence for malice, which is a requirement for a defamation suit. (At least according to Wikipedia; IANAL.)
THere is a good chance is was manually marked with a PR of 0 because that web site breaks just about every one of Google's guidelines, which Google publishes for everyone's benefit. The fact that they're a linkfarm and claim the rules do not apply to them does not change the fact that Google does not have to list them. Besides, if you query Google for "search engines" one can plainly see that Google does NOT ban even direct competitors, as long as they abide by Google's guidelines.
Because if they don't start cracking down at some point (customers have been complaining about click fraud for eons) then their customers will use competitors who do work on fighting these scams.
I hope this also applies to the "please click on my ads" blogs.
You may be right, I know I've downloaded the drivers via YOU on both versions, but don't deal with it much since most of our systems have ATI cards still, and with ATI I stick with the open source drivers because the open source drivers actually work. On the Nvidia systems we do have I do use the proprietary drivers, but I don't remember whether they were included on the SuSE 10 disc or if I had to download those via YOU.
Does this mean that the following will no longer be bundled and have to be downloaded separately?
- Real Player
- Planmaker
- Textmaker
- Java (and dependent packages)
- Opera]
- ATI drivers
- NVidia drivers
Yeah, I know, CD #6 contains some of the extras, but it sure is nice to get them all on one DVD like the retail SuSE has offered. It's more convenient than OpenSuSE has been.
I've been buying the retail version of SuSE for a few years now, and really like it, even with the problems the distribution has had from time to time. I hope that this move doesn't change anything for the worse.
It may run firefox and solitaire, but have you tried to install drivers on it? It's not a fun process.:(
Some (many) drivers consist of:
- install driver on a Windows box
- Track down all dependencies, registry entries, COM component registrations, etc.
- Move all those components to the ReactOS box
I started working on an AiW install on ReactOS but it was too time-consuming to finish for a system I just wanted to play around with a little bit.
What they need to work on is making sure that drivers can be installed using the native installers, then more people will come and get involved in the project, even if only to provide feedback.
No, really, the real problem is that here in America we have the power to overturn the government through multiple means, be it the vote or through the second amendment. People don't bother to vote, and one of many negative results of that is that we are becoming less and less able to execute our second amendment responsibilities because those rights are being curbed, so by the time we lose the power to vote or our vote ceases to be binding, we will be unable to eradicate the tyranny.
Get out and vote, and vote wisely, else we lose all accountability of the governmnent to the people.
Slashdot Mirror
Comparing bleeding-edge betas to bleeding-edge betas IS fair.
Comparing, say, Firefox 2.0 (beta) to MSIE 6.0 isn't a very fair comparison.
Okay, compare it to the current release of Windows.
Oh, what's that? The newest release is Windows XP OEM SR2? Essentially a five-year-old OS with a few patches?
I guess it IS a fair comparison then, after all. Come make that same argument this same time next year if both:
a) Vista has shipped
AND
b) Folks are comparing Linux to XP rather than Vista
at that point. Until then, XP is the only valid comparison, unless you want to talk servers in which case Windows 2003 would be the logical comparison point.
The fact that it's on Wikipedia does not automatically mean it is false or quackery. Don't be so quick to write off Wikipedia on every subject - if in doubt, check the sources. Much, if not most, of Wikipedia's content is actually quite good. Just be willing to check the cited works in the footnotes, or verify against other, more authoritative sources. For a free up-to-the-minute encyclopedia, one cannot get anything much better than Wikipedia. Its greatest strength (anyone can edit) may be its greatest flaw, but at the same time its greatest flaw is its greatest strength. If you spot an error, you can correct it on the spot.
In case you are a Windows user wondering about the easiest, quickest way to download the files and are not familiar with wget:
Get wget from http://www.interlog.com/~tcharron/wgetwin.html (scan the binaries before installing and executing, of course)
To download the files quickly and easily just copy & paste the filenames into a file (call it utilities.txt), preferably in a new directory (make it easy to ID the files)
Go to the command line in that directory and type:
wget -i utilities.txt
This will download every file in the list to your current working directory.
I suggest you do so ASAP because when Microsoft says that something will always be free, they cannot be trusted.
Not only that, if he doesn't like "multitask emulation" I hope that he steers clear of all uniprocessor computers, and sticks with only multiprocessor/dual core machines. After all, without multiple processors you can't have "true multitasking" because with a single CPU the CPU is only executing a single thread at a time anyhow, and simply swapping between them for short bits of time ("timeslicing" if you will. . . ), giving the appearance of "multitasking"
So, by his standard, Linux, BSD, Solaris, IRIX, VMS, MVS, OS/2, OS X, Mac OS, Hurd, Be OS, and even the famed-but-pretty-much-defunct "multitasking" pioneer AmigaOS all use what he terms "multitask emulation"
But, it's obvious he just wants to play semantics and troll for a response. Here's a hint: if you have a single processor, in general, you're doing nothing more than timeslicing, and never really running anything in parallel. Your criticism of Windows on that basis is false, since it also applies to whatever OS it is you prefer to be using. My crappy Pentium 4 machine here is running Linux, and yet the best it can do is "emulate multitasking" through timeslicing.
But get this: even when you have multiple processors, you are in general not really running more than two threads at once, on each processor, you are, in your term, "emulating multitasking." To get TRUE multitasking the likes of which you are implying, cable of running multiple threads on a single processor, you'd probably want a biological computer (er, let's call it a "brain") and a complex massive parallel processing program (let's call it "consciousness") but given everyone here personally owns one (barring a few racist trolls here and there) we know that even IT cannot multitask all that well much of the time, as evidenced by those who can't walk and chew gum or who cannot drive and use a cellphone simultaneously (or not well, at any rate).
(I tried to blend funny and a retort to the AC's parent's implication that Windows doesn't multitask but Linux/other OS does)
An apple fan would tell you that you don't meed the online help. If you cannot find it in the help, it's something you don't need to know.
(I kid, I kid)
*eyes sawtooth that is going to be running Linux soon*
For the basis of a similar form factor (did I say it was identical anywhere?) you can be in the general ballpark. Don't be argumentative for the sake of being argumentative.
(Oh, and in case you didn't know where I was going with the introductory line above: a Mac is basically a commodity PC now, except with a slightly-customized EFI and a branded case. If you want a Mac without OS X now, you want what is basically a white box PC with a nice case.)
One can't buy a Mac without OS X? Where have you been for the last 12 months?
Here is how to figure out what their margin is:
1, Pick a good stylish-but-not-tacky gamer case (Lian-Li, Antec Sonata) and go with that price, (or an Asus or Shuttle enclosure/board if the Mac Mini for the PC equivalent)
2. Pick a motherboard with same chipset and similar features to the Mac in question's motherboard
3. Pick a video card with same chipset and similar features to the Mac in question video card
4. Pick the same or a similar optical drive
5. Pick a good keyboard and an average mouse
6. Pick the same HDD
7. Processor, Etc. (complete list based on configuration)
Add the parts together, based on Newegg's pricing (they're fairly close to wholesale). Subtract from retail price. Add cost of off-the-shelf OS X. You have what is somewhere in the ballpark of their margin, not taking into account volume discounts and padding for warranty service.
When they were on the PPC platform it was a good deal harder to figure out what their margins are, because their motherboards were 100% proprietary, and just adding up the cost for the Foxconn components really didn't give you the price of the boards. Now they're pretty much commodity parts and it's relatively easy to discern. Of course, you don't know if their volume discount is 1%, 3%, 10%, or 20%, but based on sales figures and what discount, say, Tech Data or Ingram Micro will give based on specified # of units, you can arrive at a fairly good guesstimate of what Apple is paying for components, within a couple of percentage points. Also, Apple deals with volumes large enough to buy directly from Intel, and I'm sure Intel gave them HUGE concessions to move away from IBM/Motorola/PPC for the PR, so it is safe to presume Intel is just about giving away the processors, and charging a slim margin over material costs.
Yes, and it's the same users who confuse: it's and its; where, ware and wear; your and you're; there, their, and they're, all ready with already; don lik 2 typ out ful words 4 u to read, dont noe wut spelchek iz, and haven't heard about a wonderful invention called "Google" yet.
1. MSIE is preloaded. If you want that kind of performance from a browser, but don't want to run MSIE, may I suggest you switch operating systems and use a KDE desktop with an instance of konqueror preloaded?
2. It's a feature, not a memory leak*. Google for it, or if you're too lazy to search Google, go into about:config amd change the default setting for browser.sessionhistory.max_entries
3. As far as load time goes, how about putting it into your startup folder but keep it minimized until you want to use it? You'll have the same effect as MSIE, except you'll have an application button in your taskbar
* aside from Extensions which have memory leak problems, in which case don't use that extension, choose an alternative, or email the developer and let him know there's a defect in his code, preferably with steps to reproduce
Working with spheres and checkered planes is a great way to learn the very basics of primitive shapes, shading, and materials. What would you suggest as a first step for someone learning a new GUI and workflow? Creating a full-motion feature film?
:(
And, if someone just wants to fool around with raytracing rather than producing a professional animation, what the heck is wrong with doing just that?
Blender's GUI is totally different from other 3D apps I've used. I used to play with Truespace a lot (created elaborate landscapes, mainly canyons and riverbeds, and flythroughs), I've done some real work in Bryce and Maya (I didn't have to pay for Maya, an acquaintance has it and I just had to do a still splash screen), and the workflow for those apps are similar enough that if you feel comfortable in one you pick the others right up. The difference between, say, TrueSpace and Bryce is like comparing Photoshop with Paint Shop Pro. Yes, they're different but similar enough to know right away which tool does what. (FWIW, I've done only very, very small projects in 3D, but have enough appreciation for what it takes to be impressed by The Elephants Dream, and what ILM must have had to go through to make the Star Wars flicks just blows my mind).
Comparing the other 3D apps to Blender is like comparing Photoshop to The Gimp - the workflow is different, the menus are different, the tools are different. You need to un-learn Photoshop habits to become productive in The Gimp. Blender is so different that you need to unlearn a lot. BTW, if you check forums and mailing lists for Blender, you'll see that there are folks who have stated the same; if you come from another app, you have to un-learn those and it can be more difficult to pick up Blender's workflow, but if you don't know other 3D apps and start from scratch, it may be easier to pick up.
I've been wanting to play with Blender more for quite a while, but my ATI cards don't cooperate.
It's not the ads on THG that I find annoying, it's the fact that he maximizes his ad revenue by breaking up articles into 30-page articles where each page consists of 75% ads and 25% content, whereas if he were publishing a printed magazine, he'd be in violation of laws regulating what is a magazine vs. what is merely a book of ads. Hell, even Computer Shopper (pre-peed.com and pricewatch.com days) was at its height they weren't as blatent as THG.
Oh, and they make no attempt to veil their bias in most of their "reviews."
The difference is significant from an engineering perspective, sure. I'll grant you that.
However when it comes to daily use and colloquialisms, it's just semantics, and who gives a crap? Let's also argue over whether Linux is Unix or not Unix. From a purist perspective it isn't, and the distinction can be extremely important when it comes to legal issues (see SCO vs (Novell+IBM+Redhat) but from a user and administration perspective, Linux works like Unix. so it is Unix. When it comes to daily use of WINE or Cedega, who cares whether it's an emulator or a compatibility layer? Good grief.
THere is a good chance is was manually marked with a PR of 0 because that web site breaks just about every one of Google's guidelines, which Google publishes for everyone's benefit. The fact that they're a linkfarm and claim the rules do not apply to them does not change the fact that Google does not have to list them. Besides, if you query Google for "search engines" one can plainly see that Google does NOT ban even direct competitors, as long as they abide by Google's guidelines.
Here's a hint:
If Google loses advertisers, they lose advertising revenue. If Google loses advertising revenue, Google goes bye-bye.
uh, that site is a joke.
woohoo?
Let's wrap some content around that "woohoo"
No more "free" content on the Internet. Woohoo!
(content has to be paid for somehow)
Because if they don't start cracking down at some point (customers have been complaining about click fraud for eons) then their customers will use competitors who do work on fighting these scams.
I hope this also applies to the "please click on my ads" blogs.
You may be right, I know I've downloaded the drivers via YOU on both versions, but don't deal with it much since most of our systems have ATI cards still, and with ATI I stick with the open source drivers because the open source drivers actually work. On the Nvidia systems we do have I do use the proprietary drivers, but I don't remember whether they were included on the SuSE 10 disc or if I had to download those via YOU.
Does this mean that the following will no longer be bundled and have to be downloaded separately?
- Real Player
- Planmaker
- Textmaker
- Java (and dependent packages)
- Opera]
- ATI drivers
- NVidia drivers
Yeah, I know, CD #6 contains some of the extras, but it sure is nice to get them all on one DVD like the retail SuSE has offered. It's more convenient than OpenSuSE has been.
I've been buying the retail version of SuSE for a few years now, and really like it, even with the problems the distribution has had from time to time. I hope that this move doesn't change anything for the worse.
It may run firefox and solitaire, but have you tried to install drivers on it? It's not a fun process. :(
Some (many) drivers consist of:
- install driver on a Windows box
- Track down all dependencies, registry entries, COM component registrations, etc.
- Move all those components to the ReactOS box
I started working on an AiW install on ReactOS but it was too time-consuming to finish for a system I just wanted to play around with a little bit.
What they need to work on is making sure that drivers can be installed using the native installers, then more people will come and get involved in the project, even if only to provide feedback.
No, really, the real problem is that here in America we have the power to overturn the government through multiple means, be it the vote or through the second amendment. People don't bother to vote, and one of many negative results of that is that we are becoming less and less able to execute our second amendment responsibilities because those rights are being curbed, so by the time we lose the power to vote or our vote ceases to be binding, we will be unable to eradicate the tyranny.
Get out and vote, and vote wisely, else we lose all accountability of the governmnent to the people.
Try: "Laser Roasted Cessna" when a small private aircraft is mistaken by a $10/hr security guard as a threat.
Oops.