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User: ToasterTester

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  1. It all depends on Only Thieves Block Pop-Ups · · Score: 2

    Like everything the answer is, it all depends. Some users are getting free or dirty cheap internet access and part of the deal is you will be bombarded by ad's. If you are in that category and block popups you are stealing. BUT again that is the popup ad's coming from the ISP, not ones from any site you happen to surf to.

    Now I pay regular rates for my internet access and feel its my right to block popups. IMO opinion its no different than when I channel surf or hit the mute button on my TV when commercials come on. Being that I was a marketing slime at one point I know advertisers aren't expecting everyone to see their ad's. They pray for a large percentage to view the ad, but only hoping to get one or two percent to actually generate sale. Same as bulk mail and Spam, you only expect a couple percent return.

    Like everything no one really was that annoyed by popups until advertisers started to abuse them. Once popups started spawning other popups, or browser windows. Then they went to long daisy chains of windows opening that can take minutes to close all, then popup blockers became a necessity. Now you are steal from my time I'm paying for, you are keeping me from my work in many cases. We should sue them.

    But with America's first dictator in office George W. Bush nothing will be done. If anything helps big business make another penny he not only won't stop it, he'll bend over backward to help them.

  2. PCU's are stilling idle on No Need to Upgrade that PC? · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Once you hit 1Ghz you hit the point of diminishing return on CPU's. Unless a hard core gamers or running some high end graphic or simularion software you aren't going to see much difference and Joe Public is seeing it. IMO the main contribitor is software, there is no popular with the masses software that needs that many CPU cycles. Most software is sitting waiting for the user to give it something to do. Then the rest of the computer system memory, buses, cards, and devices are way slower, again a lot idle cycles for the CPU. Intel has noticed this and has said they are going to start focusing more on power usage. Also this is part of the reason for HyperThreading, trying to take advantage of all those idle CPU cycles.

  3. Sounds like Motorola on AMD Announces A Shift In Focus From PC Processors · · Score: 4, Informative

    Motorola did the same thing a few years ago and that's why IBM is now Apples only source of PPC.

    I bet there are a lot of motherboard engineer that will be looking for work when this happens.

  4. Re:Foot in mouth on Microsoft Just Says No to .Doc Replacement Panel · · Score: 2

    Try the MS version of Kerberso, its Kerberso, but their tweaks create compatibility issues.

  5. Foot in mouth on Microsoft Just Says No to .Doc Replacement Panel · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Tell your writers to check what MS is doing before putting their foot in their mouth and auto-bashing MS. MS has been talking about Office 11 for weeks now with their new XML based file format. Also they said on this issue they are taking a wait and see approach. Now I fully believe MS will tweak their XML so it's not fully compatible with others, but I'm going wait and see so I can legitimately complain.

  6. RMS had his blinder on in India on Slashback: Newton, Wal-Mart, Eats · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Guess RMS didn't do his homework. MS actually got in trouble in India years ago for hiring so many Indian programmersand shipping them off to the states. India told MS their programmers are a natural resource and MS can't drain any more. So MS has built a large development facility in India. So RMS is asking India's developers to work for free, Gates is giving them paychecks.

  7. No, not my laptop... on Ants Invade iBook · · Score: 2

    But it does sound like some of the people in tech support. Between the human Bio-Hazards and the Goth's walking through the support department is quite an experience. customers are lucky it phone support.

  8. Have to work in the real world on What's Keeping You On Windows? · · Score: 2

    I'm SA and SE in a large Windows and Unix shop. I would like to use more Unix, the Unix I mainly use is Solaris, but would like to use more Linux. But I need to use Windows app's to deal with the company execitives, to work with vendors, and others. So my desktop and laptop have Windows. Don't say StarOffice or OpenOffice they don't support the lately version of MS Office and all the embedding of Office apps in each other. For servers we are moving to more Unix, but many of our users develop app's and start using them, but for they come to us to officially become a production app. The Windows world with RAD tools like VB, ASP, and so on are so easy to use department can easily build tools they become dependent on. By the time they come to us to become a support app and server it too late to try and make them start over. On the other hand this is how some Linux projects first got started. Then for using Linux instead of Solaris is all about have support and a company who you can hold their feet to the fire when things go wrong. The executives are leary of Linux because there isn't a brick and mortar business to say that's who were using. Also Linux isn't ready for mission critical project that require HA features. I even I won't use Linux for a "Five-9's" project that I need HA. The work is going on for Linux HA, but its not ready for prime time. Now at home I split my time between Linux, Solaris and Windows. Which I use depends on what I'm doing and who its for.

  9. What's stopping you? on Ideas for a Recording Industry Alternative? · · Score: 2

    Unsigned bands are always willing to give away their music to get a starting and eventually get signed by a evil recording company. Why, they want and need to make money to pay their bills like everyone else. They want to make money doing what they like. So put together your site for artists and musicians willing to give away their work. But don't be surprised when most only use it as a way to showcase themselves. Starving artists all get tired of starving at some point and want to make money.

  10. Most are still missing it. on Larry Rosen on the Microsoft Penalty Ruling · · Score: 2

    Near the end he made the key point most are missiing. The anti-trust lawsuit was about business practice not technology practice. Most of you are looking at this from a developer point of view and in reality very little of this lawsuit was about technology issues. You wanted it to be, and talked about it as if it was, but bottom line it was about MS's business practices. From that standpoint MS lost and it will help you when it comes the the MS tax and other companies getting their app's in the Windows desptop, but in trying to force MS to give up all their source and so forth it doesn't.

  11. Re:It only makes sense on Solaris Might Become LSB-compliant · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Speed has nothing to do with real production servers. Solaris is a fine example of that, it appears sluggish to newbies, but as the load increases Solaris and your app's don't bat an eye. Plus all the features it has to support dynmaic reconfiguration and other HA features. Linux is good and will continue to mature. Yes, Linux Beowuld clusters are fast, but they are special purpose servers not day-to-day production workhorses. Linux is still mainly used in the same small niche it always has. Also Solaris scales better than Linux, but a lot that is Sun hardware. Intel systems can't scale as well as Sun systems. IBM and others are working on Intel based NUMA systems that will address scaling with Intel. Also Linux HA features are still in very early development stage.

  12. Re:It only makes sense on Solaris Might Become LSB-compliant · · Score: 2

    But you need Solaris in order to take advantage of their advanced hardware features. So the salaries are necessary expense. Linux has a LONG way to go to come up to being a enterprise class OS like Solaris.

  13. Re:No you saved $70 on SCALE Talks Now Online · · Score: 2

    I went to UCLA in the early '80's and got what I thought was a good basic CS education. Though my years of working in the industry I talk to all the people still in school or recently out and I'm surprised by how watered down the CS programs in general have become. Things that were requirement for us are electives now.

    Also it felt like such a pain back then to have to work the over crowed terminal rooms, but I look back now and miss it. we had a lot of good times waiting for terminal to get our homework done. We talked out ideas and helped each other. Weekends were great, We were stuck there trying to get more terminal time, but being the weekend we made it fun. All the pizza delivery place knew where the terminal rooms were and peole would bring in boom boxes, Even the occasional dogs were hanging out. We were brothers in arms writing code and partying. Now people all people work on PC's or online and miss out on that community of thought and keystokes.

    The only thing I don't miss was the sadistic print queues. You'd submit a print job and 90% of the time it would get routed to a printer on the other side of campus.

  14. No you saved $70 on SCALE Talks Now Online · · Score: 2

    Instead of having to pay $70 to hear the speakers now you get them free. Because didn't miss anything with the exhibits.

    Most were a couple people who dragged their 'puters down and sat in a chair to hang out. The LinuxChix were only ones who appeared to take some time and put a booth together. IBM and Sharp brought a machines, booth personal and brochures. Sun dropped a few Sun Blades off running Linux and left. MSC had lots of posters and lit', but couldn't get their demo cluster to work (well at least by the time I left.) Tollis was there with Bru lit'. FSF got bored talking to themselves and left. Debian sold t-shirts. The Darwin guys were too busy talking to each other than to talk to anyone else. Best was FreeBSD was there giving out full copies of the BSDMall distro. Sony was there and a couple other small companies I don't remember the name of.

    So for a Expo to promote use of Linux by coporations it was a major failure. As a place for a bunch of user groups to get together and hang and shoot the shit it was fun. But not $70 worth of fun, especially not that the speakers videos are available over the net.

  15. as time goes by on NASA Cancels Moon Hoax Book · · Score: 2

    I believed in NASA, but as the years pass I'm becoming suspicious of the landing. I wonder why haven't we been back. Why hasn't any other country been to the moon if possible. Wouldn't the moon be useful as a research lab at a minimum.

  16. Re:Pirates screw us again on BMG Stops Producing CDs · · Score: 2

    the only person who would call this a troll is a pirate themselves.

    I make a point of the costs we all have to pay because of piracy and theft. It happened with software, music on records, tapes, and now CD. Copy protection add to the cost of products. Crime in general costs everyone when people have to spend more on security guards, tags, car alarms, and on and on.

    Back to the music topic. I you don't like what a record company does, don't steal from them. Boycott their products, tell others to boycott them, support other record labels that don't use copy protection. Like or not in this country money is your best way to be heard. If a record company starts losing sales they will flinch. But two wrongs don't make a right.

  17. Pirates screw us again on BMG Stops Producing CDs · · Score: 1, Troll

    Yes, a few people are making legit' copies but the majority making copies are making illegal copies and swapping them. Because of that we now have to deal with sucky copy protection schemes. Same illegal copying brought about the extra cost for blank media. So scream and pout all you want about the companies, but it's your theft that casued them to do it and we ALL are having to pay.

  18. scary thought on Indecision 2002 · · Score: 2

    Republicians and Open Source together the new ANTI-TRUST.

    I can see it now you go to touch the screen for a non-republician canaidate, and the order on the ballet changes. Kind of like those joke dialog boxes that the OK button moves when you try to click it.

  19. Not dirty, stupid on The Ethics of Desktop Chips Stuffed Into Laptop PCs · · Score: 2

    Dell laptops and many other laptops have been speed stepping to improve battery life for a long time. If you didn't know this you didn't do any research before buying a laptop. You should of realized this the first time you used the laptop. Where I work I got a new Dell about a year ago. It was real obvious the speed differece the first time I undocket the computer. I like the feature, I don't mind the speed difference for the battery life.

    Next you will start bitching about how hot the laptop runs, because it doesn't use a mobile CPU. That is the big issue with putting regular P4's in a laptop.

    Do your homework!

  20. Outside US key to Linux inside US on Microsoft Alternative in Extremadura, Spain · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I was talking about this with people at the SCALE Linux expo yesterday. Linux will have a tough time gaining market share in the U.S. for assorted reasons. But countries outside the U.S. software and hardware costs make running cutting edge system cost prohibitive. With Linux using Linux they can save enough money on software and reinvest in hardware, but also invest in developers to support their business and contribute back to world community. This will help improve Linux and OSS an draw the attention of more U.S. users. Increased use of Linux by business outside the U.S. will give Linux the track record U.S. enterprises want to see.

  21. Way Cool! on OpenBSD 3.2 Song Now Available · · Score: 2

    Love 'em especially the Gold Flipper one.

    ~BSD Rocks!

  22. Scott you have real problems to fix on Sun To Continue To Go After Microsoft · · Score: 2

    Scott McNealy just has a bad case of Gates-envy and is wasting Suns money and resources. McNealy even said in an intervew a few years ago that Bill Gates is just doing what he has to for the MS stock holders, that if he (McNealy) ran MS he would do anything differently than Gates. Then his is poor track record with Java open source. Java licensing. And constant smoke on his support for Linux and open-source. It's alway I support
    Linux and open-source with conditions.

    McNealy is just a Unix version of Bill Gates.

  23. Re:Sun doesn't use 'em on New Tadpole SPARCbook RSN · · Score: 2

    I haven't seen recent prices but in the past they were about twice what a x86 laptop was.

  24. Sun doesn't use 'em on New Tadpole SPARCbook RSN · · Score: 2

    I work in a large Sun shop and work with Sun staff all the time and they have flown me into Sun in the Silicon Valley for visits. I have only seen one Sun staffer over the years use a Sparc laptop. Even that person griped about what a dog it was. Most the Sun staff I've seen have your typical x86 laptop. Some run Solaris x86 when they can (a lot of compatiblility issues) and the rest I see run some combo of Linux and Windows.

    Biggest problem with Sparc laptop are cost. Just not enough bang for the buck compared to an x86 laptop.

  25. Re:Supreme court next on Microsoft Anti-Trust Rulings Due Tomorrow · · Score: 2

    It's more than even law suits Microsoft uses delay tactics for. Classic example is what they did to Quicken. Microsoft was in talks to acquire Quicken and drug the negociations out. As part of the talks they asked Quicken not to release their new verison they just finished. Microsoft talked and talked and Quicken was getting upset, they needed to the revenue the new product would generate. Finally months later when Quicken said they couldn't wait any longer Microsoft broke off the negociations. Quicken released their new version, and a couple weeks later MS Money was released. Microsoft just wanted time to finish. Quicken was in deep sneaker for the next year or so before they eventually got back on there feet.