I won't deny that Thinkpads are nice PC laptops, but it sounds like they're really pushing them on the students. They shouldn't give just one recommendation. They should be offering a set of basic system requirements that student laptops should meet or exceed in order to get them through four or five years of college, and give Mac, Linux and Windows recommendations, along with other software they should have. Something like this can only be attributed to the fact that IU must have gotten a sweetheart deal from Lenovo to push their stuff on the students.
I am not sure how the infrastructure is in Jordan. Assuming that dial up (and thus winmodems) is very popular among Jordanian cyber people, what are your thoughts about the state of support for soft modems in Linux and its effects on Linux popularity in Jordan?
MS Live ( http://maps.live.com/ forwards to the right address) provides higher-than-google res in most of the US, especially rurual areas and the odd city that didn't get coverage.
-Most freshmen are buying laptops anyway. These programs provide a structured method for all incoming students to buy a machine that meets their needs. They are informed well in advance so they don't go off and buy a different machine.
how the hell you know what _they_ need?
-People complain, but it all works out in the end. Some don't like the vendor/price/model/etc. but it's just one more thing about college to complain about.
it works out in the end bc students give up due to the thick bureaucratic mentality
-IBM and Apple are the best companies to get machines from. They are reliable and have good support systems in place
price is not one of the factors you consider? refer to my first comment.
Computers are a part of life for any college student. So long as financial aid considers it part of the base expense, it isn't a hardship for anyone.
where are you gonna find "financial aid" (read: pay us w/ your blood later) for all the students?
-Theft is a problem whether all students have the same laptop or not. You have to take the same steps (documenting MAC Addresses, having system passwords, using a physical lock) as you would with any notebook
these won't work for students who get their laptops stolen bc some university genious required them to buy a laptop "they" need.
-Make sure the machines have adequate RAM for the job. Get RAM from a 3rd party if the laptop company won't give you a good deal. Get small, fast HDs rather than huge slow ones. Uses external 3.5" drives for backup
???
-Make antivirus/antispyware part of the base load/image. Have all updates automatic
In Windows, antivirus loads you (oh yes, I know, "students" "need" "windows")
-Port block and track IP/MAC addresses for bandwidth usages. Have graduated punishments for connection misuse
force them into buying laptops, punish them for using them.
-Use a student staff for technical/question support.
so that when your students get real angry, you'll be safe as usual.
Now, my question is: how much profit will the University official(s) who is/are organizing this be getting their hands on? From the laptop manufacturer? From the school administration? From the operating system manufacturer? From the pre-installed software manufacturers?
Narrow it down to one laptop type, or better yet, a particular model, and offer a standard configuration for it, and only offer "official" support for that.
better yet, call mr gates and ask him to throw you a chair for free.
We'll be starting by equipping all the full-time faculty this year, then next year start requiring (as in 'you can use financial aid to pay for it') each new student to buy a laptop that meets our specs
Do you think Hezbollah or Hammas gives 100% accurate information and that the U.S. is just a lie machine seeking to destroy everyone's freedom? Tell me - would you rather have the Bush administration in power or the Ayatollah?
Out of the billions of alternatives, why chose those two?
-->Because the only way to make a corrupt, treasonous, oathbreaking assbag look good is to hold him up against Hitler/Stalin/etc...
We need the cash in the bank to make it through the next few years, which are going to be stupidly tough.
Hmmmm, I wonder why:-k
all files are to be in Word 2000.doc format,.pdf,.txt, or html. Thats it. When we get unworking things from clients we reply that we were unable to process their doc, the reason why, and instructions on how to do it. Occasionally we get bitchy clients, but those people are bitchy no matter what we do.
I regularly use middle-click to open a link in a new tab in the first place. However, the Mac OS X version of Mozilla lacks this option, expecting me to configure my mouse to do a command-click on middle-click instead to get the same functionality I enjoy on Linux.
Usually the only time I use a browser under Windows is for Windows Update.
And just testing right now, middle-clicking on the Back button does nothing for me under Linux. It has a visual reaction but otherwise does nothing else. Maybe it is another one of those Firefox features not found in Mozilla?
this may be bc of a driver issue. in linux firefox, when I click left&right simultaneously on "Back", the previous page opens in a new tab. should be the same in mac and win?
Who wants to manage a wine installation to run Picasa. Anyone? Do any of you really want this?
rtfa:
Linux Picasa combines Windows Picasa code and Wine technology to run Windows Picasa on Linux. This, however, will be transparent to Linux users, when they download, install, and run the free program on their systems.
Considering how good NAV is at sucking up memory and CPU cycles, the only way anyone probably noticed was when their computer suddenly seemed much smoother and more responsive.
Try downloading and unzipping portable firefox when mcafee $sys$crap protection is running... then come back and post again...
That's certainly an option, however Winamp is a hugely popular media player. I'm sure many Slashdot readers have Winamp, and wouldn't visit such a section regularly, so fairly 'big' stories like this should at least be posted to the front page too. At the very least, I know now that I need to update Winamp.
These days, I really am happy with the update notification of the Linux distros. You don't need to follow the development of each and every package (winamp, winword, excel, outlook, firefox, acroreader, openoffice etc.) for your own security. They do it for you!
My father insisted on turning off the answering machine, because it was digital one that did voice stamps and other complex features, and the "virus could spread through the phone lines".
+1 to my dad for knowing that the answering machine did have a computer as a component
-100 for thinking that it was susceptible to a virus dialing it up and infecting it
What possible [name] can Microsoft come up with next
I used wikipedia entry for Vista (middle earth or something) to come up the word. It is part of the "king of the rings" or "world of the rings" or something like that...
Anything I ever do in wikipedia gets a POV or NPOV attack from someone with opposite views. So to me, this is not news. Everyone has its own facts about what's going on (even about optical vs old school mice). POV/NPOV flames are the reason why wikipedia can't go beyond being a quick-check-reference-point.
Slashdot Mirror
anyway, so, was that guy from Indiana or what?
looking at this comment's ratings, I guess [...silent wait...] no.
can I sudo apt-get dist-upgrade?
unfortunately, you already posted what the only interesting comment could be about this profitable deal.
Thanks.
I'll be able to play whatever I buy in my iaudio x5 http://eng.iaudio.com/ in ogg / flag - cool
Now, my question is: how much profit will the University official(s) who is/are organizing this be getting their hands on? From the laptop manufacturer? From the school administration? From the operating system manufacturer? From the pre-installed software manufacturers?
In Greece? The U.S. government taps you again...
install this using wine?
4) Promote Windows Arda as virus-free in 2010...
Anything I ever do in wikipedia gets a POV or NPOV attack from someone with opposite views. So to me, this is not news. Everyone has its own facts about what's going on (even about optical vs old school mice). POV/NPOV flames are the reason why wikipedia can't go beyond being a quick-check-reference-point.