And the beauty of a lightweight OS that uses the 32-bit flat memory model and has the 'hooks' for multitasking integrated should be apparent to some of us.
I mean, the multitasking sounds optional. A flat memory model would be really, really great for high performance tasks where you just want the core machine.
and learning something new that will probably not work with all the applications they have,
Most of those 'regular people' being discussed don't have applications that they drag along to a new pc. The PC contains a hard drive upon which accumulates the big wad of crap that accumulates as they use it. Then it is all disposed of when the new computer is purchased. As to their familiarity with it, the 'new' version of Windows isn't a lot different than the freenix desktops that they could use instead.
Gaming is somewhat different, but the typical PC gamer would be just as well served by one of the snappy new consoles. A good PeeCee 'gaming' video card costs as much as the whole console setup, and people who are really game devotees (as opposed to PC hardware devotees, which I won't deny having a tendency toward myself) aren't playing games to justify spending money on all the new bling for their PeeCee. I say this as someone who finally made the plunge and bought a color VGA monitor (grayscale was just fine up until then) to play SimEarth (the MS-DOS version, on my '286).
I think you meant to type 'many more than there used to be are keeping their father's name when they marry.'
A total matriarchal nameflip would be sorta cool. We'd have to decide how many generations to flip back, but then EVERYBODY would get totally new last names.
The booming business in revising and re-engraving gravestones would be tremendous. A real boost to the economy.
I used to like punk rawk, too. In the early 80's I would carry around a thriftstore monophonic cassette recorder blasting the Suicide Commandoes and the Sex Pistols.
On the other hand -- what is it with CD meta-databases and going non-free? Is it just that they seem like tempting revenue sources or what?
They are sort of a achilles heel of the CD ripping process. If there's no database on the 'net to pull down the titles for ripped CDs, it makes it less attractive to check CDs out of the library to rip.
I can think of a number of deep-pocket interests that wouldn't mind forcing us all to type in titles manually. Anything that makes it more of a hassle is going to encourage people to go out and buy the 'whole package' with all those liner notes and filler content.
The claque of liberals you refer to would just as soon have Saddam Hussein still be in power. They're not ready to acknowledge there was any value at all in 'liberating' Iraq. Things were 'fine the way they are.'
We're not talking about people who understand World politics or 'Human Rights' beyond the level of bumper sticker slogans, you know...
Actually, what Microsoft should be discovering is that people like me, who used to in good faith buy retail box copies of Windows (95, 98, Me, 2000), Office (4.3, 97, 2000, XP), and Visual C (1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0) will no longer purchase their products.
I used to be a 'Microsoft Preferred Customer' according to their records. Game over.
(I ended up reselling the Office XP on eBay, after leaping over the hurdles that Microsoft puts in place to prevent people from selling legitimate licensed copies of their product there. Wasn't able to find all the bullshit paperwork, just CD with CD key and some of the packaging, to get rid of the Office 2000 that way.)
I'm probably not part of their 'demographic' anymore, but I actively support other people in their decisions NOT to purchase anything from Microsort.
Computers and components cost a lot. Anyone with the extra scap around to build a custom PC would be more than willing to shell out $99 for WinXP Home.
Hmm, well let's see. I'm typing this on a machine running NetBSD. It's a Dell Optiplex P3 system that I bought at a university auction for $3, complete with RAM (I had to add a hard drive). Added to this, the most recent hardware upgrade I made was a new ATX motherboard for my 'Windows/gameplaying' system (low end of the spectrum). It cost $79 including the Sempron 2600 processor. I also upgraded my video card at that time with a generic Nvidea card that was $59. My last 'Microsoft' investment was an OEM copy of Windows 2000 back in 2001. I think it may be the last dollars Redmond ever sees from me.
You're telling me $99 for Windows is reasonable? I have broadband and can download NetBSD for free, ya know.
You need to name some names, or at least cite some examples. Repeatedly referring to 'the fat cats' makes you sound like you're quoting from some 1930's socialist leaflet. Who are these 'fat cats'? Can you cite a few credible examples?
True, but Google would then be forced to become an ISP with real customers to service in the 'grass roots' of the real world. Somehow I feel they will instead continue to hire only PhD's to work in their 'dark tower.'
Right now they only have to interface with marketing types (fellow 'carnys') as customers. The rest of us are just 'marks.' A switch to a 'retail' operation just doesn't seem like a natural transition for Google.
having pulled too much shit (unlimited access as long as you don't use more than the secreet number).
Abusive use of bandwidth has never been anything 'evil' and that goes all the way back to the days of the BBS. Sysops would line-kill warez nuts then (who often contributed NOTHING to the community, going directly to the transfer area and sucking down files,) and it's no different now.
Granted, the ISPs should be more clear about their business being a managed cooperative of people sharing a portal to the Internet.
I still remember the Windows 95 Beta era. Anybody with a copy of the Windows 95 beta could use dialup to connect to MSN 'beta' for free. Since there was a relatively straightforward way to gateway through MSN (which was Not 'the Internet', it was targeted as a Microsoft 'online service' with connections to 'the Internet') to the 'net, it was a way to download a bunch of Linux and free software stuff without having to pay for an ISP.
Then, after MSN 'went public' with the Windows 95 release, they offered a 'free t-shirt' to anybody who signed up for a pay account. And the t-shirt went out wether you paid for said 'paid account' or not. Plus, for the first several years after the Windows 95 release, you could 'try' MSN for a month, month after month and cancel at the end and sign up again.
Let's hope Google provides as useful a resource to the people with their 'perpetual Beta' attitude.
I don't think anybody posting here has what it takes to call Stephen Hawking wrong.
Sure we do. I definitely would not contradict Steven Hawking in his field of expertise. But global climatology is an area where he's a layman just like the rest of us.
If you want to "Pay less money than at a store", then go to Ebay, and DON'T TRY TO WIN THE AUCTION.
Some of us buy things on eBay that are no longer available in any store. It boggles my mind sometimes to think of going to eBay to buy something commonly available retail today and expecting to get a deal. That's very unlikely. And it's where the scammers operate.
I buy things like tubes of TTL logic and Macintosh Software from the early to mid 90's. Hard drive sleds for old workstations and servers that I have collected, where you *might* be able to still get a sled from a 'dealer' but you'll pay three figures if you're not careful (real computers still cost 'real money' list prices, as long as there are still installations where SGI, Sun, etc. hardware is still in service, and there are STILL workstation vendors willing to charge those top dollar amounts)
Cool stuff, in other words. Just like anybody else having fun on eBay is buying 'their' type of cool stuff.
I, for one, sell mostly vintage collectable electronics types of things (they sell to enthusiasts and devotees, not regular-type non-nerds,) and I am actually happier if I can sell to someone overseas (non-US) because I like having friends all over the world.
Re:And this is indeed a serious problem with EBay.
on
How to Win on Ebay: Snipe
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I have used people's 'bidding history' against them in competition. I've seen people who regularly buy a particular item that I want one copy of. By checking, you can see what they're used to paying for it. In 'shrinkwrapped software' buying, there are people who specialize in snapping up things like 'fully licensed' Microsoft Office.
Once, one of them even pissed me off. So I made sure that she paid her 'top dollar bid' for the particular item I wanted for awhile, before 'winning' the copy that I actually purchased. I did this by simply bidding her proxy up on a number of instances to just below what I knew she would pay.
It's a big worldwide marketplace, not just a place where people swap Pez dispensers anymore.
If someone snipes $102 in the last second, then they're paying more than I was willing to pay for the item anyway, and so should win the auction.
Yes, but they're only bidding a petty amount more than your $100 limit. The person who 'sniped' $102 may have bid just that $102 or $150 and you can't know. But if the bidding was at $86 up until the last seconds of the auction, he might have bid $96 and your snipe of $100 would have gotten the item.
Re:And this is indeed a serious problem with EBay.
on
How to Win on Ebay: Snipe
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Add to this the fact that bidders can review what other bidders are bidding on. I can identify an ebay account as belonging to someone interested in the same things that I am and then watch what they bid on. In effect, letting them do the search, then snipe the items they find if of interest to me. It's a common practice, and there are even GUI-based tools to use for said purpose (i.e. AuctionSentry.) This practice is not possible if it's a snipe bidder, someone like that can't be 'tracked' except after-the-fact.
For this reason, in addition to other reasons cited in this big discussion, I almost always use a sniping program to make my bids for me.
The thing Union Workers don't "dare" do is stand out as more productive, or ambitious. The Union Steward is looking out for people who think they can jump into a higher position by means of skill or hard work. That's what the seniority system is for, and by golly, they can learn to LIKE it.
Also, don't dare suggest any improvement that 'Management' (the 'enemy, ya know) might use to eliminate worthless positions.
Uh, the toll takers 'won' what they have through the political process.
The largest 'growth' area for Unionization is government workers. Because the political process gives them the leverage, and because, frankly, their 'management' is a bunch of people in the civil service, too.
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And the beauty of a lightweight OS that uses the 32-bit flat memory model and has the 'hooks' for multitasking integrated should be apparent to some of us.
I mean, the multitasking sounds optional. A flat memory model would be really, really great for high performance tasks where you just want the core machine.
and learning something new that will probably not work with all the applications they have,
Most of those 'regular people' being discussed don't have applications that they drag along to a new pc. The PC contains a hard drive upon which accumulates the big wad of crap that accumulates as they use it. Then it is all disposed of when the new computer is purchased. As to their familiarity with it, the 'new' version of Windows isn't a lot different than the freenix desktops that they could use instead.
Gaming is somewhat different, but the typical PC gamer would be just as well served by one of the snappy new consoles. A good PeeCee 'gaming' video card costs as much as the whole console setup, and people who are really game devotees (as opposed to PC hardware devotees, which I won't deny having a tendency toward myself) aren't playing games to justify spending money on all the new bling for their PeeCee. I say this as someone who finally made the plunge and bought a color VGA monitor (grayscale was just fine up until then) to play SimEarth (the MS-DOS version, on my '286).
I think you meant to type 'many more than there used to be are keeping their father's name when they marry.'
A total matriarchal nameflip would be sorta cool. We'd have to decide how many generations to flip back, but then EVERYBODY would get totally new last names.
The booming business in revising and re-engraving gravestones would be tremendous. A real boost to the economy.
You likely have a few rips of material that you didn't use your middle class disposible income to purchase, too.
I was just, kinda, making sure the stench of hypocrisy wasn't getting too rank around here.
Here's your blunt crayon, dude.
I used to like punk rawk, too. In the early 80's I would carry around a thriftstore monophonic cassette recorder blasting the Suicide Commandoes and the Sex Pistols.
Don't worry. You'll grow out of it.
Actually, that has everything to do with manga.
But probably we shouldn't bring it up for discussion.
I use it to rip CDs from the library. I'm sure a bunch of other people do, too.
On the other hand -- what is it with CD meta-databases and going non-free? Is it just that they seem like tempting revenue sources or what?
They are sort of a achilles heel of the CD ripping process. If there's no database on the 'net to pull down the titles for ripped CDs, it makes it less attractive to check CDs out of the library to rip.
I can think of a number of deep-pocket interests that wouldn't mind forcing us all to type in titles manually. Anything that makes it more of a hassle is going to encourage people to go out and buy the 'whole package' with all those liner notes and filler content.
The claque of liberals you refer to would just as soon have Saddam Hussein still be in power. They're not ready to acknowledge there was any value at all in 'liberating' Iraq. Things were 'fine the way they are.'
We're not talking about people who understand World politics or 'Human Rights' beyond the level of bumper sticker slogans, you know...
Yes, hyphenated names are a good way of insuring that a woman bears both her husband's and her father's name.
I've never understood why anybody of a 'feminist' bent would consider that a good thing.
Actually, what Microsoft should be discovering is that people like me, who used to in good faith buy retail box copies of Windows (95, 98, Me, 2000), Office (4.3, 97, 2000, XP), and Visual C (1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0) will no longer purchase their products.
I used to be a 'Microsoft Preferred Customer' according to their records. Game over.
(I ended up reselling the Office XP on eBay, after leaping over the hurdles that Microsoft puts in place to prevent people from selling legitimate licensed copies of their product there. Wasn't able to find all the bullshit paperwork, just CD with CD key and some of the packaging, to get rid of the Office 2000 that way.)
I'm probably not part of their 'demographic' anymore, but I actively support other people in their decisions NOT to purchase anything from Microsort.
Computers and components cost a lot. Anyone with the extra scap around to build a custom PC would be more than willing to shell out $99 for WinXP Home.
Hmm, well let's see. I'm typing this on a machine running NetBSD. It's a Dell Optiplex P3 system that I bought at a university auction for $3, complete with RAM (I had to add a hard drive). Added to this, the most recent hardware upgrade I made was a new ATX motherboard for my 'Windows/gameplaying' system (low end of the spectrum). It cost $79 including the Sempron 2600 processor. I also upgraded my video card at that time with a generic Nvidea card that was $59. My last 'Microsoft' investment was an OEM copy of Windows 2000 back in 2001. I think it may be the last dollars Redmond ever sees from me.
You're telling me $99 for Windows is reasonable? I have broadband and can download NetBSD for free, ya know.
You need to name some names, or at least cite some examples. Repeatedly referring to 'the fat cats' makes you sound like you're quoting from some 1930's socialist leaflet. Who are these 'fat cats'? Can you cite a few credible examples?
True, but Google would then be forced to become an ISP with real customers to service in the 'grass roots' of the real world. Somehow I feel they will instead continue to hire only PhD's to work in their 'dark tower.'
Right now they only have to interface with marketing types (fellow 'carnys') as customers. The rest of us are just 'marks.' A switch to a 'retail' operation just doesn't seem like a natural transition for Google.
Or, as a corellay, until Microsoft has 90% of the WordProcessor/Spreadsheet market.
having pulled too much shit (unlimited access as long as you don't use more than the secreet number).
Abusive use of bandwidth has never been anything 'evil' and that goes all the way back to the days of the BBS. Sysops would line-kill warez nuts then (who often contributed NOTHING to the community, going directly to the transfer area and sucking down files,) and it's no different now.
Granted, the ISPs should be more clear about their business being a managed cooperative of people sharing a portal to the Internet.
I still remember the Windows 95 Beta era. Anybody with a copy of the Windows 95 beta could use dialup to connect to MSN 'beta' for free. Since there was a relatively straightforward way to gateway through MSN (which was Not 'the Internet', it was targeted as a Microsoft 'online service' with connections to 'the Internet') to the 'net, it was a way to download a bunch of Linux and free software stuff without having to pay for an ISP.
Then, after MSN 'went public' with the Windows 95 release, they offered a 'free t-shirt' to anybody who signed up for a pay account. And the t-shirt went out wether you paid for said 'paid account' or not. Plus, for the first several years after the Windows 95 release, you could 'try' MSN for a month, month after month and cancel at the end and sign up again.
Let's hope Google provides as useful a resource to the people with their 'perpetual Beta' attitude.
Sure we do. I definitely would not contradict Steven Hawking in his field of expertise. But global climatology is an area where he's a layman just like the rest of us.
Some of us buy things on eBay that are no longer available in any store. It boggles my mind sometimes to think of going to eBay to buy something commonly available retail today and expecting to get a deal. That's very unlikely. And it's where the scammers operate.
I buy things like tubes of TTL logic and Macintosh Software from the early to mid 90's. Hard drive sleds for old workstations and servers that I have collected, where you *might* be able to still get a sled from a 'dealer' but you'll pay three figures if you're not careful (real computers still cost 'real money' list prices, as long as there are still installations where SGI, Sun, etc. hardware is still in service, and there are STILL workstation vendors willing to charge those top dollar amounts)
Cool stuff, in other words. Just like anybody else having fun on eBay is buying 'their' type of cool stuff.
I, for one, sell mostly vintage collectable electronics types of things (they sell to enthusiasts and devotees, not regular-type non-nerds,) and I am actually happier if I can sell to someone overseas (non-US) because I like having friends all over the world.
I have used people's 'bidding history' against them in competition. I've seen people who regularly buy a particular item that I want one copy of. By checking, you can see what they're used to paying for it. In 'shrinkwrapped software' buying, there are people who specialize in snapping up things like 'fully licensed' Microsoft Office.
Once, one of them even pissed me off. So I made sure that she paid her 'top dollar bid' for the particular item I wanted for awhile, before 'winning' the copy that I actually purchased. I did this by simply bidding her proxy up on a number of instances to just below what I knew she would pay.
It's a big worldwide marketplace, not just a place where people swap Pez dispensers anymore.
If someone snipes $102 in the last second, then they're paying more than I was willing to pay for the item anyway, and so should win the auction.
Yes, but they're only bidding a petty amount more than your $100 limit. The person who 'sniped' $102 may have bid just that $102 or $150 and you can't know. But if the bidding was at $86 up until the last seconds of the auction, he might have bid $96 and your snipe of $100 would have gotten the item.
Add to this the fact that bidders can review what other bidders are bidding on. I can identify an ebay account as belonging to someone interested in the same things that I am and then watch what they bid on. In effect, letting them do the search, then snipe the items they find if of interest to me. It's a common practice, and there are even GUI-based tools to use for said purpose (i.e. AuctionSentry.) This practice is not possible if it's a snipe bidder, someone like that can't be 'tracked' except after-the-fact.
For this reason, in addition to other reasons cited in this big discussion, I almost always use a sniping program to make my bids for me.
The thing Union Workers don't "dare" do is stand out as more productive, or ambitious. The Union Steward is looking out for people who think they can jump into a higher position by means of skill or hard work. That's what the seniority system is for, and by golly, they can learn to LIKE it.
Also, don't dare suggest any improvement that 'Management' (the 'enemy, ya know) might use to eliminate worthless positions.
Uh, the toll takers 'won' what they have through the political process.
The largest 'growth' area for Unionization is government workers. Because the political process gives them the leverage, and because, frankly, their 'management' is a bunch of people in the civil service, too.