i can believe it. i have done the same for my sister, my mother, and many other people i know that are "computer illiterate". the fact is, if you spend the effort to show them the ropes for a day or so, computer illiterate people are able to switch to linux a *lot* easier than most self professed 'experts'. the main problem with usability is not that linux (esp ubuntu, mandriva etc) is hard to use, but that it is different to windows. if you have a user that is not locked into the windows mindset then that is not a problem. i can honestly say that i get less calls asking for help now that they are using linux than i did with windows.
most beginner users that i install firefox for don't know about tabbed browsing either. i usually wait until they get comfortable with the basics before showing them the 'advanced' things it can do.
and still the WMF vulnerability was present in vista after the announcement to rebuild completely with a more secure base... starting from scratch my arse...
um, the difference there is that most users are finding the release candidate of firefox to be pretty stable and polished. it certainly has all the features in it.
4: some companies go out of business. not many of them contact all their customers and say "by the way, so that you aren't stuck with our dead code, here is the source". i know of lots of people that rely on old unsupported programs, and the data is in a format they can't convert to any modern equivalent.
perhaps the money that you so kindly would spend on this would be better spent *paying someone to write the features you are missing*. you are happy to pay for MSOffice, so perhaps you shouldn't spend so much time bitching about something you can get for free. if you don't want it, fine, but others do. it's not perfect, but it is getting better all the time, and if they had the funding that microsoft has (yes i know it is a sun sponsored program, but that is still nothing compared to what the funding for msoffice is) they would be able to fix problems faster. be patient, offer help, or just shut up.
i've used a few distros over the years - red hat, mandrake (now mandriva), debian, mandrake, debian, gentoo (when larry the cow was still a baby):), debian, ubuntu/debian (depending on which pc it is)... i have just recently installed gentoo on an old pc (it died in the end, but that wasn't gentoo's fault). whilst the installation is better than when i first used it (i went from stage 1 last time) i certainly wouldn't call it as easy as any other distro. i must say though, as much as i enjoy laughing at my friend when his gentoo box recompiles *everything* because he accidently changed one of the build flags, i do miss the control i once had over my box. unfortunately i don't have that kind of time nowadays.
actually, what 'kicked netscape's ass' is the fact that you didn't *need* to download netscape... you already had a browser that the majority of other people used, so why download another one?
by the way, i despise the fact that this was done by microsoft, in case you think i was arguing in favour of ie...
perhaps this is off topic a tad, but didn't microsoft deliberately cripple the performance of opengl on vista? i've only heard it mentioned in passing but nothing surprises me when it comes to those bastards these days..
Taking full advantage of the processing power that those multicore architectures potentially make available requires operating systems and development tools that don't exist largely today
by this does he mean that it doesnt exist in the most common operating system available (ie theirs) and only in the minority (ie everyone else's?
way to look to the future...
and besides, i don't particularly want my operating system taking full advantage of the processing power i have available, i purcase said processing power to run applications.
such as? before you start on a rant about new security features, gaming ability etc, perhaps you should keep in mind that most things that are actually useful addons have come through service packs, which could have just as easily been added to 2000. the only two really useful new features in 2003 (and don't say the setup wizard thing) that i have found in general use are the ability to modify the properties of multiple users at once (change all user's profile directory to \\servername\profiles\%sername% for example) and the ability to hide shared folders from user's views when they do not have the required permissions to view them (installable as a patch for 2003sp1). These two things could easily have been added as a patch to windows 2000, and their equivalents (shell scripts, softlinks etc for the first, and *sensible defaults* on samba for the second) have been in linux and other operating systems for a long time now.
so if i'm a user of peripheral 'x' who *doesn't* have crashes, just how do i get counted towards the 'non-crashing' systems ratio? unless windows now sends device ids of *everything* plugged in at *any* time to my computer regardless of any crash reports... or is it a voluntary process, in which case vendors will now have to rely on people submitting hardware details to microsoft just because they 'feel like it' to avoid losing certification... hmm...
even so, this shows how gmail is not interested in filling up their numbers as fast as possible. i think if they had an instant signup (without going through the 'hoops' of sms or invites), big flashy ads on every google page etc they would have more users, but i don't think they are that sort of company (i hope anyway):)
I'm pretty sure that smoothwall, being based on gnu/linux has NFS as standard, if not it would not be difficult to add anything required. The beauty of open source based products is that you are not just stuck with the 'factory defaults'. You can add or remove any part you don't like. Of course it all depends on how dirty you like your hands.:) At the very least, if smoothwall didn't handle the nfs exports by default a quick post on their forums should get you an answer on how to set it up.
when was the last time you installed windows xp on a new machine and didn't have to install extra drivers? my last windows install experience had microsoft kindly on my behalf downloading drivers for the inbuild sound chipset from the *wrong company*. (for those who are curious, i decided not to install in my *leet knowing what is really needed* ways and to see what would happen to someone following microsoft's directions to the letter. one "download drivers from microsoft update" click away, screwed install. i couldn't roll back the drivers, since there was none to roll back to, and i essentially had to manually remove them).
i'm glad i live in the linux world where "at least several weeks" is considered unbearable:) spare a though for all those people have been eagerly awaiting all the exciting new features coming to windows longhorn... er.. vista.. whatever...:)
I definately agree. Since my xgl/compiz build has stopped working (i've got to stop experimenting) the things i miss by far the most are not how pretty things look (although that is a bonus) but things like (as the parent says) the expose clone, the visual feedback of moving between desktops, the transparency (opacity) plugin letting me see what is going on behind my terminals (i know some people don't like this, but it is fully opaque by default, and only changes when i tell it to) and even just the simple fact that it seems like for the first time in ages people are getting really creative with the desktop, and not having to worry (as much) about breaking compatibility etc, so a lot of new ideas that wouldn't have worked on vanilla X11 are starting to see the light.
yay for xgl/compiz!:)
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i can believe it. i have done the same for my sister, my mother, and many other people i know that are "computer illiterate". the fact is, if you spend the effort to show them the ropes for a day or so, computer illiterate people are able to switch to linux a *lot* easier than most self professed 'experts'. the main problem with usability is not that linux (esp ubuntu, mandriva etc) is hard to use, but that it is different to windows. if you have a user that is not locked into the windows mindset then that is not a problem. i can honestly say that i get less calls asking for help now that they are using linux than i did with windows.
most beginner users that i install firefox for don't know about tabbed browsing either. i usually wait until they get comfortable with the basics before showing them the 'advanced' things it can do.
um, showing that information is an *ubuntu* design choice, nothing to do with gnome.
and still the WMF vulnerability was present in vista after the announcement to rebuild completely with a more secure base... starting from scratch my arse...
um, the difference there is that most users are finding the release candidate of firefox to be pretty stable and polished. it certainly has all the features in it.
4: some companies go out of business. not many of them contact all their customers and say "by the way, so that you aren't stuck with our dead code, here is the source". i know of lots of people that rely on old unsupported programs, and the data is in a format they can't convert to any modern equivalent.
perhaps the money that you so kindly would spend on this would be better spent *paying someone to write the features you are missing*. you are happy to pay for MSOffice, so perhaps you shouldn't spend so much time bitching about something you can get for free. if you don't want it, fine, but others do. it's not perfect, but it is getting better all the time, and if they had the funding that microsoft has (yes i know it is a sun sponsored program, but that is still nothing compared to what the funding for msoffice is) they would be able to fix problems faster. be patient, offer help, or just shut up.
i've used a few distros over the years - red hat, mandrake (now mandriva), debian, mandrake, debian, gentoo (when larry the cow was still a baby) :), debian, ubuntu/debian (depending on which pc it is)... i have just recently installed gentoo on an old pc (it died in the end, but that wasn't gentoo's fault). whilst the installation is better than when i first used it (i went from stage 1 last time) i certainly wouldn't call it as easy as any other distro. i must say though, as much as i enjoy laughing at my friend when his gentoo box recompiles *everything* because he accidently changed one of the build flags, i do miss the control i once had over my box. unfortunately i don't have that kind of time nowadays.
actually, what 'kicked netscape's ass' is the fact that you didn't *need* to download netscape... you already had a browser that the majority of other people used, so why download another one? by the way, i despise the fact that this was done by microsoft, in case you think i was arguing in favour of ie...
what? i thought it was a contraction for "flame mailing"..... :)
humour is often very useful when used to highlight a point.
that is possibly the best sig i have ever seen...
perhaps this is off topic a tad, but didn't microsoft deliberately cripple the performance of opengl on vista? i've only heard it mentioned in passing but nothing surprises me when it comes to those bastards these days..
the better you teach someone the wrong way to do something, the better they will learn it...
by this does he mean that it doesnt exist in the most common operating system available (ie theirs) and only in the minority (ie everyone else's?
way to look to the future...
and besides, i don't particularly want my operating system taking full advantage of the processing power i have available, i purcase said processing power to run applications.
such as? before you start on a rant about new security features, gaming ability etc, perhaps you should keep in mind that most things that are actually useful addons have come through service packs, which could have just as easily been added to 2000. the only two really useful new features in 2003 (and don't say the setup wizard thing) that i have found in general use are the ability to modify the properties of multiple users at once (change all user's profile directory to \\servername\profiles\%sername% for example) and the ability to hide shared folders from user's views when they do not have the required permissions to view them (installable as a patch for 2003sp1). These two things could easily have been added as a patch to windows 2000, and their equivalents (shell scripts, softlinks etc for the first, and *sensible defaults* on samba for the second) have been in linux and other operating systems for a long time now.
so if i'm a user of peripheral 'x' who *doesn't* have crashes, just how do i get counted towards the 'non-crashing' systems ratio? unless windows now sends device ids of *everything* plugged in at *any* time to my computer regardless of any crash reports... or is it a voluntary process, in which case vendors will now have to rely on people submitting hardware details to microsoft just because they 'feel like it' to avoid losing certification... hmm...
even so, this shows how gmail is not interested in filling up their numbers as fast as possible. i think if they had an instant signup (without going through the 'hoops' of sms or invites), big flashy ads on every google page etc they would have more users, but i don't think they are that sort of company (i hope anyway) :)
slashdot just wouldn't be the same if it started to get political... :)
I'm pretty sure that smoothwall, being based on gnu/linux has NFS as standard, if not it would not be difficult to add anything required. The beauty of open source based products is that you are not just stuck with the 'factory defaults'. You can add or remove any part you don't like. Of course it all depends on how dirty you like your hands. :) At the very least, if smoothwall didn't handle the nfs exports by default a quick post on their forums should get you an answer on how to set it up.
Yes, however, I really wish the there are less grammar/sentence-flow nazys about my grammar and sentence flow really, however.
:)
Usually I would agree. Sometimes however, as is the case here, they are a necessary evil.
regarding windows xp.
when was the last time you installed windows xp on a new machine and didn't have to install extra drivers? my last windows install experience had microsoft kindly on my behalf downloading drivers for the inbuild sound chipset from the *wrong company*. (for those who are curious, i decided not to install in my *leet knowing what is really needed* ways and to see what would happen to someone following microsoft's directions to the letter. one "download drivers from microsoft update" click away, screwed install. i couldn't roll back the drivers, since there was none to roll back to, and i essentially had to manually remove them).
Its just not ready for prime time.
i'm glad i live in the linux world where "at least several weeks" is considered unbearable :) spare a though for all those people have been eagerly awaiting all the exciting new features coming to windows longhorn... er.. vista.. whatever... :)
I definately agree. Since my xgl/compiz build has stopped working (i've got to stop experimenting) the things i miss by far the most are not how pretty things look (although that is a bonus) but things like (as the parent says) the expose clone, the visual feedback of moving between desktops, the transparency (opacity) plugin letting me see what is going on behind my terminals (i know some people don't like this, but it is fully opaque by default, and only changes when i tell it to) and even just the simple fact that it seems like for the first time in ages people are getting really creative with the desktop, and not having to worry (as much) about breaking compatibility etc, so a lot of new ideas that wouldn't have worked on vanilla X11 are starting to see the light. yay for xgl/compiz! :)