Not me. Photoshop? I can't afford Photoshop. Office? Oo works for me just fine. In fact, I can't think of a single piece of commercial software I'd like to have since I stopped gaming.
I think you hit the nail square on the head. There are a LOT of people who don't own computers and never have, but there's nobody who's never had a phone. Hell, I'm 60 and I've always had a phone, even though they used to have cords and you had to leave them at home.
I know a lot of people who have been using cell phones for years and years, but never had a computer. They've upgraded (the marketers are good at extracting cash from the unsuspecting hipster wannabe).
The PC market has leveled off. They're powerful enough that you no longer have to upgrade every few years, everyone that wants one has one, and they can't sell as many as when the industry was in its infancy.
So they have a whole new market -- people who know how to use an iPhone or an iPad but have never used a computer and may in fact be afraid of computers. Make the PC interface familiar to them and they'll no longer fear.
Thank God for Linux and FOSS. If FF metroizes its browser, I'll just switch browsers. Fuck 'em, no skin off my nose.
I thought it was going to be about learning to drive a taxicab. Or maybe how to write pulp fiction.
I'm still piised off that the normals took our own very useful word and completely changed it, and we let them, damn it! Now what do we call someone who repurposes hardware or writes quick and dirty code?
I think they're trying to clone Windows 8, which is far, far worse. I don't want to encourage Microsoft, as I'd rather Windows 8 die in the corner of ignominy.
I use Linux because I don't like the way Microsoft writes their programs and OSes, they do everything ass-backwards. So I don't care whether 8 is a stunning success or a miserable failure.
But -- I don't like the way Microsoft writes their programs and I wish people would stop copying their ass-backwards, unintuitive, poorly designed, nonfunctional ways.
If FF starts looking like Microsoft wrote it, I'll switch browsers.
it speaks volumes about the marketing ability of geeks.
Not marketing ability, but the wish to market in the first place. GIMP isn't a commercial product, you know. Why does something that's non-commercial need marketing?
It's the same thing with "Linux market share". Who cares? Why care, unless you're Mark Shuttleworth or somebody.
Actually, that puzzles me with all marketing. McDonald's "Over ten bajillion sold"... why should I care how many other people are buying a damned hamburger? Why should I care how many of my make and model of car is sold as long as mine runs well?
See, there's the point. It's not marketing ability, it's simply not giving a fuck about popularity. I think Billy Joel must be a nerd:
What's the matter with the car I'm drivin'? Can't you tell that it's out of style? Should I get a set of white wall tires? Are you gonee run the miracle mile?
Have you heard about the new fashion, honey? All you need are looks and a whole lot of money. Hot punk, cool funk, even if it's old junk It's still rock and roll to me.
Chrome? No, I'd rather not have Google stalk me any more than they already are.
I tried Opera when it was new, and didn't like it. But that was a long time ago, the "free" version had ads and most of the screen space was wasted.
Meanwhile FF has gone through a lot of changes, most of which I haven't liked. I guess it's time to give Opera another try.
OT, but what's up with/. today? I'm getting 503s and 404s and timeouts as soon as I hit "preview". Did somebody slashdot slashdot by linking to slashdot from slashdot?
Seriously? Read real books with him. The comics will come on his own, without encouragement.
Lol, I guess the mods are all young and unfamiliar with the X-rated comics you listed. But as to "read books with him" yes, by all means. Also, let him see you enjoy reading books by yourself.
TFS said the kid likes Spider Man, get him Spider Man comics.
I stopped reading comic books when I was 7 or 8, but Superman taught me to read -- having an illustration that's related to the text makes learning to read much simpler.
Also, when the kid starts asking "why is" (he's probably already doing that) say "hmm... lets look it up" and do so, whether you already know the answer or not. Long before he's learned to read, make sure he knows "everything you want to know is in a book somewhere." Take him to the library.
If these can be coupled with solar power and are of low energy use, then I can imagine these being alternative solutions to laying cables in remote areas.
Interesting idea. However, I don't think it would work well for that. You need line of sight and nothing between the transmitter and reciever.
You mentioned mesh networks, I don't see why we couldn't make mesh networks with wi-fi.
TFS said "Trying to get my laptop and mobile phone to link up via IrDA was, to date, one of the worst tech experiences I've ever had."
That's the worst tech experience he had? Lucky bastard...
You have to remember that the black hole has a mass millions of times that of the star. A pebble next to a mountain. And it didn't "out-gravity" it, gravity doesn't work that way. Your mass pulls the earth with the same force that the earth pulls on you. The star tugs at the black hole with the same force that the black hole tugs on the star, but the black hole is so big it no more notices the star than the earth notices an ant. There's already a comment explaining how the difference in gravity from one side of the star to the other tears it apart, so I won't go there.
Also don't forget that there's nothing lighter than hydrogen.
Someone (Larry Niven maybe?) wrote a short sci-fi story about an indestructable space ship that somehow wound up killing all its crew and passengers, and the end of it was what killed them was the gravity differential tearing the people apart when they passed... it wasn't a black hole IIRC but some other hugely massive body. I wish I could remember the story's name and its author, it's been a really long time since I read it.
It isn't just politicians. One of my co-workers (now retired) had a poster on his office wall that read "if you copy one work, it's plagairism. If you coipy a whole lot of them, it's research".
There's no doubt about 1-3, 4 depends on how fast we start and how hard we work at it. #5 seems a no-brainer. And you've made a whole lot of assumptions about #6 that most likely are not warranted. Taxing you breath? Man, you AGW folks really grasp ast some straws.
As to taking 1-5 as truth being a religion, no. It doesn't take any faith whatever. Your #6, otoh, does in fact need you to place your faith in something. In short, YOU are the religion camp.
Why does an office suite need an email client, let alone an email server? Actually, the whole "office suite" thing has stuck in my craw ever since some marketing genius thought the idea up.
Just yesterday everybody and their dog was on slashdot bashing the cable companies for bundling shows they don't watch. Well, this is the same situation, only worse. Excel is a great spreadsheet, but I absolutely HATE Access and Outlook and have no use whatever for Powerpoint.
Why should I waste drive space for programs I hate just to get one I like?
And it's much less likely to happen if you're nearsighted to begin with and don't correct your vision (don't wear glasses or contacts) - the light simply will not focus.
And you won't see that little dot crossing the sun. It's too out of focus.
Only to a bean counter. To everyone else, a tool is worth what it does for you. To me, kubuntu is far more valueable than Windows because it does more, aven though Windows is costly and kubuntu is free. OTOH Oo would have to have a damned good spreadsheet (I haven't used its spereadsheet so I don't know) to come close to Excel. Excel is one app that MS did right (even if it took them a long time to get there).
Only a money-worshiping fool equates "free" with "worthless."
A link to Amazon.com is useless as a citation here, so do you mind explaining how they could possibly know the sex habits of people who all died before the invention of writing?
BTW, the book you linked was written by a psychologist, not a paleontologist. So the guy has no more credibility in that field than you do. Sorry, but your citation is even worse than at first glance.
On the other hand, since we seem to have "500 year floods" every year in the news reports, we should probably be a little worried.
No, a 500 year flood means a flood that size only happens every 500 years in that particular location, so you can easily have a 500 year flood on the Ohio river one year and a 500 year flood on the Danube the next.
A 500 year solar flare also means "locally" but in this case "locally" means "where the earth is at that particular point."
Slashdot Mirror
Not me. Photoshop? I can't afford Photoshop. Office? Oo works for me just fine. In fact, I can't think of a single piece of commercial software I'd like to have since I stopped gaming.
I think you hit the nail square on the head. There are a LOT of people who don't own computers and never have, but there's nobody who's never had a phone. Hell, I'm 60 and I've always had a phone, even though they used to have cords and you had to leave them at home.
I know a lot of people who have been using cell phones for years and years, but never had a computer. They've upgraded (the marketers are good at extracting cash from the unsuspecting hipster wannabe).
The PC market has leveled off. They're powerful enough that you no longer have to upgrade every few years, everyone that wants one has one, and they can't sell as many as when the industry was in its infancy.
So they have a whole new market -- people who know how to use an iPhone or an iPad but have never used a computer and may in fact be afraid of computers. Make the PC interface familiar to them and they'll no longer fear.
Thank God for Linux and FOSS. If FF metroizes its browser, I'll just switch browsers. Fuck 'em, no skin off my nose.
Yeah? Then why are Illinois' last two Governors in prison right now?
I thought it was going to be about learning to drive a taxicab. Or maybe how to write pulp fiction.
I'm still piised off that the normals took our own very useful word and completely changed it, and we let them, damn it! Now what do we call someone who repurposes hardware or writes quick and dirty code?
AFTER the age where the 1.44mb floppy disk was relatively useful, transfering files between computers was a royal pain in the ass to begin with.
Huh? I had two PCs running DOS networked with a pair of paralell cables and a crossover plug. It was slow, but not as slow as floppies.
Ethernet was a wonderous joy when I finally got a couple of cards and a crossover cable.
I think they're trying to clone Windows 8, which is far, far worse. I don't want to encourage Microsoft, as I'd rather Windows 8 die in the corner of ignominy.
I use Linux because I don't like the way Microsoft writes their programs and OSes, they do everything ass-backwards. So I don't care whether 8 is a stunning success or a miserable failure.
But -- I don't like the way Microsoft writes their programs and I wish people would stop copying their ass-backwards, unintuitive, poorly designed, nonfunctional ways.
If FF starts looking like Microsoft wrote it, I'll switch browsers.
it speaks volumes about the marketing ability of geeks.
Not marketing ability, but the wish to market in the first place. GIMP isn't a commercial product, you know. Why does something that's non-commercial need marketing?
It's the same thing with "Linux market share". Who cares? Why care, unless you're Mark Shuttleworth or somebody.
Actually, that puzzles me with all marketing. McDonald's "Over ten bajillion sold"... why should I care how many other people are buying a damned hamburger? Why should I care how many of my make and model of car is sold as long as mine runs well?
See, there's the point. It's not marketing ability, it's simply not giving a fuck about popularity. I think Billy Joel must be a nerd:
What's the matter with the car I'm drivin'?
Can't you tell that it's out of style?
Should I get a set of white wall tires?
Are you gonee run the miracle mile?
Have you heard about the new fashion, honey?
All you need are looks and a whole lot of money.
Hot punk, cool funk, even if it's old junk
It's still rock and roll to me.
Chrome? No, I'd rather not have Google stalk me any more than they already are.
I tried Opera when it was new, and didn't like it. But that was a long time ago, the "free" version had ads and most of the screen space was wasted.
Meanwhile FF has gone through a lot of changes, most of which I haven't liked. I guess it's time to give Opera another try.
OT, but what's up with /. today? I'm getting 503s and 404s and timeouts as soon as I hit "preview". Did somebody slashdot slashdot by linking to slashdot from slashdot?
The name of the boat the Jolly Roger flies is "The Bay". Bluebeard bought it after his horse won the Camptown races.
Seriously? Read real books with him. The comics will come on his own, without encouragement.
Lol, I guess the mods are all young and unfamiliar with the X-rated comics you listed. But as to "read books with him" yes, by all means. Also, let him see you enjoy reading books by yourself.
TFS said the kid likes Spider Man, get him Spider Man comics.
I stopped reading comic books when I was 7 or 8, but Superman taught me to read -- having an illustration that's related to the text makes learning to read much simpler.
Also, when the kid starts asking "why is" (he's probably already doing that) say "hmm... lets look it up" and do so, whether you already know the answer or not. Long before he's learned to read, make sure he knows "everything you want to know is in a book somewhere." Take him to the library.
If you love reading, chances your kid will, too.
If these can be coupled with solar power and are of low energy use, then I can imagine these being alternative solutions to laying cables in remote areas.
Interesting idea. However, I don't think it would work well for that. You need line of sight and nothing between the transmitter and reciever.
You mentioned mesh networks, I don't see why we couldn't make mesh networks with wi-fi.
TFS said "Trying to get my laptop and mobile phone to link up via IrDA was, to date, one of the worst tech experiences I've ever had."
That's the worst tech experience he had? Lucky bastard...
You have to remember that the black hole has a mass millions of times that of the star. A pebble next to a mountain. And it didn't "out-gravity" it, gravity doesn't work that way. Your mass pulls the earth with the same force that the earth pulls on you. The star tugs at the black hole with the same force that the black hole tugs on the star, but the black hole is so big it no more notices the star than the earth notices an ant. There's already a comment explaining how the difference in gravity from one side of the star to the other tears it apart, so I won't go there.
Also don't forget that there's nothing lighter than hydrogen.
Someone (Larry Niven maybe?) wrote a short sci-fi story about an indestructable space ship that somehow wound up killing all its crew and passengers, and the end of it was what killed them was the gravity differential tearing the people apart when they passed... it wasn't a black hole IIRC but some other hugely massive body. I wish I could remember the story's name and its author, it's been a really long time since I read it.
It isn't just politicians. One of my co-workers (now retired) had a poster on his office wall that read "if you copy one work, it's plagairism. If you coipy a whole lot of them, it's research".
Well, FOSS isn't the only entity that gives products stupid names. Wi-Fi, for example. Or Twain. Or the iPod (open the pod bay doors, Hal).
The KIA auto? No combet vet would ever drive a car that was the acronym for Killed In Action.
Dodge Startus... er, Stratus?
The band Oingo Boingo?
Windows Media Player (WiMP)?
MicroSoft? Sounds like a woman complaining about her boyfriend.
The list goes on.
Wow, you really MUST be new here! You actually never heard of the "slashdot effect"?
There's no doubt about 1-3, 4 depends on how fast we start and how hard we work at it. #5 seems a no-brainer. And you've made a whole lot of assumptions about #6 that most likely are not warranted. Taxing you breath? Man, you AGW folks really grasp ast some straws.
As to taking 1-5 as truth being a religion, no. It doesn't take any faith whatever. Your #6, otoh, does in fact need you to place your faith in something. In short, YOU are the religion camp.
No, if it meant "a hexapod capable of carrying monsters" it would have had a hyphen: monster-rideable hexapod.
Why does an office suite need an email client, let alone an email server? Actually, the whole "office suite" thing has stuck in my craw ever since some marketing genius thought the idea up.
Just yesterday everybody and their dog was on slashdot bashing the cable companies for bundling shows they don't watch. Well, this is the same situation, only worse. Excel is a great spreadsheet, but I absolutely HATE Access and Outlook and have no use whatever for Powerpoint.
Why should I waste drive space for programs I hate just to get one I like?
And it's much less likely to happen if you're nearsighted to begin with and don't correct your vision (don't wear glasses or contacts) - the light simply will not focus.
And you won't see that little dot crossing the sun. It's too out of focus.
This is no different then a UC prostitute standing out on the corner, if the prostitute was not there then the John would not break the law.
Yeah, the FBI does look like a bunch of whores in this. At least it's not as bad as Ruby Ridge or Waco.
Bible thumpers need to actually READ revelations.
Or any other book in the bible, for that matter (esp. the 1st 4 books of the new testament).
Software is worth what it costs.
Only to a bean counter. To everyone else, a tool is worth what it does for you. To me, kubuntu is far more valueable than Windows because it does more, aven though Windows is costly and kubuntu is free. OTOH Oo would have to have a damned good spreadsheet (I haven't used its spereadsheet so I don't know) to come close to Excel. Excel is one app that MS did right (even if it took them a long time to get there).
Only a money-worshiping fool equates "free" with "worthless."
A link to Amazon.com is useless as a citation here, so do you mind explaining how they could possibly know the sex habits of people who all died before the invention of writing?
BTW, the book you linked was written by a psychologist, not a paleontologist. So the guy has no more credibility in that field than you do. Sorry, but your citation is even worse than at first glance.
Why is this moderated funny?
Sheldon? Is that you?
On the other hand, since we seem to have "500 year floods" every year in the news reports, we should probably be a little worried.
No, a 500 year flood means a flood that size only happens every 500 years in that particular location, so you can easily have a 500 year flood on the Ohio river one year and a 500 year flood on the Danube the next.
A 500 year solar flare also means "locally" but in this case "locally" means "where the earth is at that particular point."