The problem is that your local Mom & Pop cafe isn't managing their wifi properly.
Our cafes all offer free wifi, and it will always be free, and not tied to transactions.
I was dragged into a Starbucks once a couple of years ago. Annoyed the crap out of me that I would have had to pay for wifi.
I just upgraded one of our locations to 16/2, and another will get upgraded next week.
I monitor usage to weed out activities that that can cause us liability - but that's about it.
We've received two dmca letters to date, which caused me to go OpenDNS to block the p2p websites and I block unencrypted p2p at the router. The only dns block categories I use are p2p and phishing sites.
Am I blocking the ability of someone to download the latest Ubuntu distro? Only if they are running unencrypted. And if they do hit a blocked site, customers are given a page telling them why and email and phone number are listed if they have any questions or concerns.
I've had zero calls/emails so far.
Our strategy may not work for everyone, but I like to think we have a better class of customer than most cafes. Certainly much higher than the mouth breathing foofoo coffee denizens of Starbucks.
$95 a month is cheap to ensure a fast, reliable connection.
IP theft isn't going to stop, and all this will do is cause the mfg's product to become the hardware to avoid.
I strongly suspect this is merely a test baloon to see how roundly the idea is panned. Once Thompson realizes that such a 'feature' is going to deal a death blow to their sales, they will shelve this nonsense and accept potential lawsuits as a cost of doing business.
This is fair in a way.
The RIAA et al have a legit bitch about people stealing their product.
The problem is that the media cartels have zero cred with the general public due to crap like the original $16/cd pricing that they promised (25 years ago)would come down 'in a few months,' and asshats like Garth Brooks trying to claim royalties from used cd sales, and the industry's steadfast refusal to stop clinging to 'cost of piracy' figures that everyone knows are utter bullshit.
They also have a long history of abuse of the artists they now claim to protect, as well as a pattern of bribery and corruption.
They have become a lightening rod for irritation and disgust at money-grubbing, out of touch, repressive overlords - whether or not that mantle is truly deserved.
Because there is so much deeply entrenched animosity against them, I find it difficult to believe that they will ever make a dent in piracy via a tech solution.
Perhaps they've realized this and have instead chosen a path of social engineering. Too bad they chosen fud to implement it instead of making an honest effort to mend fences with their customer base.
Most likely upgrade path for us is to linux - but only when we either change our accounting package to one supported on that platform, or Intuit ports to linux, or Crossover Office fully supports the latest QB enterprise.
Second likely path would be an OSX server -if and only if the price and licensing were not as heinous as they are with M$.
Of course, the third option would be not to migrate at all.
Somewhat offtopic, but many Broadcom cards have issues. My Presario 2500 laptop came with a Broadcom mini-pci nic. After updating the drivers, it would never accept a dhcp offer from some Linksys routers. Other routers including same model Linksys, it was fine. I had 4 different drivers handy - 3 exhibited this behavior - one did not. All drivers had the same version number - one was preinstalled, one came from HP's site, one from Broadcom, one from Windows Update. The only difference is that when I changed to the driver that worked, one file was overwritten. The problem with Broadcom is that the hardware is ubiquitous. Unfortunately, the drivers are not. It seems like much the same issue we used to have with display adapters where oems would venture so far off the reservation that reference drivers would no longer operate the hardware.
The following, while a bit course, made a valid point and was modded flamebait:
"Shit Casserole (Score:0, Flamebait) by Brandybuck (704397) Alter Relationship on Sunday December 03, @12:12PM (#17091934) (http://www.usermode.org/ | Last Journal: Monday May 22, @08:53PM) These are people doing a truly thankless job... and they deserve a few thank-yous
Like a shit casserole, the thanklessness of the job is irrelevant. The good intentions of a chef cannot overcome the poor choice of ingredients. In the case of Wikipedia, the poor choice was in an anarchic methodology that assumes a consensus of anonymity can product accuracy."
<b>This post, which was devoid of content, was modded "Insightful"</b>
" * Re:Shit Casserole by 0123456 (Score:1) Sunday December 03, @12:17PM
*
Re:Shit Casserole
(Score:4, Insightful)
by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03, @12:18PM (#17091992)
an anarchic methodology that assumes a consensus of anonymity can product accuracy.
That's hardly an inaccurate assumption. For example if myself and other AC's came to a consensus that you are a asshole, I'm sure that would be accurate."
<b>This is why I never use my mod points. It's like teaching a pig to sing.</b>
I know. I was firing for effect. Once upon a time I engaged in a pissing contest with a LtJg with a degree in library science by following his incompetent commands explicitly. My punishment was to be sent to the sonar shack for two weeks and I almost qual's as an op. His punishment was an ass chewing by the CO and being placed in hack for a month. I learned a fair amount and listened to a lot of whale-speak during my tenure there.
The same jg later almost took the Scorpion and Thresher out of port and starboard.
The US Navy has for years used a system called the Prairie Masker that is essentially a belt of bubble generators linked to a low pressure/high volume steam driven compressor. The reduced density at the water/air interface masks the water/hull interface by causing sound attenuation.
So are we going to have submarines crashing into tankers that they can't see and which have reduced maneuverability?
Since most judges have decided to twist the role of the jury by not explaining - and prohibiting counsel from mentioning - that the juror is the final arbiter of both fact and law, I took it upon myself to conceal my stance.
You can call this civil disobedience, dishonesty, gross malfeasance of duty - I don't particularly care.
Jury nullification has a long tradition with much debate on both sides.
The law is a set of guidelines left to men to interpret in any given situation. It isn't always a good fit - and sometimes it's flat out wrong.
The role of the judge is to ensure a level playing field.
Opposing counsels' job is to present the legal positions of their respective clients in a form understandable and accessible to the jury.
It is the jury's job to determine facts, law and fairness.
I feel no more obligated to enforce a drug prohibition law than I would enforcing a fugitive slave law.
Some crackhead gets busted for theft - sure - I'll convict in a heartbeat if the evidence supports it. But I'm not sending him to the state sponsored school for criminals for a $20 rock.
"you know.. that OJ is just such a good football player and such a beloved public figure.. i just don't believe he could have murdered anyone.. therefore I'm tossing out the prosecution's case without even scrutinizing the facts"...if a member of the jury decided to act thusly.
I was on a jury in a drug case.
Even if I did not have a personal policy of "no guilty verdict" in any drug case, I still would have had reservations regarding the lead detective. At the risk of sounding trite - he just didn't sound believable. A couple of years later, he was indicted for fraud.
When you give no specs or prices, I find it difficult to believe that you can find a situation where a compable Mac isn't significantly more expensive than a wintel PC.
What do you mean by "top of the line?"
If you mean that you simply picked the most expensive options on each model - then the comparison is nonsense.
If what you meant was "best for your needs" - then of course this is entirely subjective.
If you compared architecture for architecture with same sized/types of drives, memory, video - there is just no way I can think of to obtain your numbers.
Here are my comparables:
Micron PC: www.mpccorp.com Total Price $2,685.00
Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Professional w/SP2 Dual-Core Intel Xeon 3.0GHz Dual Processor (2x2MB Cache, 667MHz FSB) 1GB (2X512MB) ECC DDR2 FBDIMM SDRAM 500GB RAID Edition SATA II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Hard Drive (7,200RPM) 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7300GS Graphics Card PCI Express (VGA DVI-I TV-OUT) Integrated Dual Gigabit Ethernet Mouse already included in Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop NF640 Base Chassis w/Fixed 550w Power Microsoft(R) Office 2003 Basic Edition Sv.1st-3rd Yr.Manufacturers Ltd Warranty.Tech Support & Parts SV Customer Selects No Uplifted Server Service
Apple Computers: www.apple.com Total price: $3857
Two 3.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon 1GB (2 x 512MB) 500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB (single-link DVI/dual-link DVI) One 16x SuperDrive Apple USB Modem Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple wireless Mighty Mouse - U.S. English Mac OS X - U.S. English AppleCare Protection Plan for Mac Pro/Power Mac (w/or w/o Display) - Auto-enroll
I really doubt that their objection is based at all or in part on any perceived dilemma of being forced into using "black hat" techniques.
Firstly, they haven't really stated what they consider to be a "black hat" technique, though I strongly suspect they mean that they object to actually having to actually develop and maintain code instead of relying on existing redmond-authored api's that provide a spoonfed data conduit.
Symantec's AV/Security products rely on MS' file access api's - as do most other major AV packages. This means that they inherit all the weaknesses of the underlying win api's. This in turn is why they cannot detect, clean or prevent access to malware which cannot be addressed via the MS api's. I have had one virus and one trojan that Norton could not detect or clean, but which AVG and Kaspersky had no trouble blocking access and tossing into quarantine. Neither relies of MS file access api's in it's scan engine. Is this a "black hat" technique? If so, then black hat techniques are pretty much a requirement for effective security, and Symantec should wise up and get to work.
"It won't happen in the long term either. Yes, Ubuntu is becoming ever more popular, but this is an expanding market. There are new users arriving on the 'Linux' scene every second. Red Hat may not grow at the same pace as Ubuntu in the short, medium, or long term, but it will grow."
Don't foget the smb (small to mid business) market.
Most don't/can't hire experienced *nix admins - they grow them from geeky employees.
Geeky employees use and recommend what they are comfortable with.
RH cut that supply stream off not because they focused on their commercial product, but because they abandonded any effective oversight of Fedora. Releasing a home/hobbyist distro with broken Soundblaster support and then shrugging their corporate shoulders and saying "well, it's an experimental release - maybe someone will fix it...someday..." is a clear statement that they really don't give the slightest shit about the non-corporate user.
Neophyte Ubuntu users are presented with an OS that pretty much just works - right out of the box.
I have a long and strong windows background, with a smattering of linux exposure. I was able to install. Previous attempts to install useful apps on *nix have been fraught with the irritations of convoluted dependency issues requiring much wailing and gnashing of teeth to resolve.
Installing Hula groupware took only a couple of minutes.
This means I now can offer an Exchange server alternative appropriate for a small business - as long as they aren't concerned with shared calendaring in Outlook - with minimal pain.
Groupware, file and web servers are where most smb's get their feet wet. RHEL really isn't compelling for these folks.
People buy what they know. With a smaller base of people using RH as their initial distro, RH will necessarily have a smaller base of potential RHEL customers.
1> Drag and drop functionality - windows still has much better application integration - one of the benefits of closed source - you can shove developers into a sandbox of your choosing.
2> Audio/Video in general - aside from drm issues, Windows has better driver availability, and opensource linux vid drivers pretty much universally suck ass with regards to frame rate.
3> Faxing - in windows, it just works
4> Laptop setting. I honestly haven't tried wireless in Ubuntu yet - but in the last version I tried of Mandriva, wireless was not it's strong suit. Home wifi with no mobile platform? sure. Hooking up to an open access point to send an email? Not happening for a n00b.
5> Synchronization with other devices (pda/smart phone.) Not truly an OS issue - more of an app issue, but from a user perspective - there isn't much difference.
Don't get me wrong - I am chomping at the bit to go opensource with a client who supports the idea, is willing to spend a moderate amount to get there, and is willing to put up with a few speed bumps. Unfortunately, we can't ditch Quickbooks Enterprise yet. I would dearly love to. If the equivalent were available opensource at the same cost - or even a little more - they'd be all over it. I have an exchange server in place that all I have to do is edit our mx records to implement. I've been avoiding it because I don't want users tied even more strongly to MS. I really want to give Hula a fair shot.
I think Linux is only a version or two away from being viable from a technical perspective. Things in Ubuntu largely "just work." Other distros seem to be coming along as well.
I except RH from this - they have made great strides in backing away from the home/small biz sectors by forcing folks into either RHEL - which is too costly in many cases - or Fedora - where RH doesn't particularly care about functionality or stability. RH has become the M$ of Linux.
Xover Office supports only a few apps - and there are a lot of very common ones - like Quickbooks where only certain versions are partially supported - which makes it useless for that purpose.
These folks may not be power users - but it's a safe bet that there is plenty on their system that Xover won't support - now or in the forseeable future, as Xover development moves at a snail's pace.
Don't get me wrong - I love Ubuntu - but I've been in a cycle of "try Linux - evaluate it's shortcomings - delete Linux and reinstall windows" ever since my first ZipSlack foray in '96. Ubuntu is just now approaching "viable desktop replacement" status. I'm thinking of implementing it in a mixed WinTel/OSX environment for select users. Linux still can't replace my Exchange Server, though Hula is close.
OpenSource is a neato idea, but the financial realities preclude it for both n00bs and those that need to run specific biz apps.
There are vectors other than the core OS. There is a slew of apps and utes and extensions that have their own autoupdate functionality, but are not as scrutinized as Windows.
There are sometimes very valid reasons for not autoupdating - especially when vendors attach egregious conditions to "security" updates. MS requiring users to accept Microsoft intrusion as a prerequisite for security updates is a laughable example.
The java byte.verify hole existed for a long time. This was the one where properly executed, a user clicking the X to close a popup would be granting full remote access.
It would be naive to presume that no other such exploits will ever again occur with a future combination of updates.
We grab all the regular shows we watch from Bittorrent - sans commercials and usually in HD.
We have cable - we have capture cards - it's faster to download then to rip it myself.
Being on the west coast of the US, I can often have a show downloaded before it's actually been broadcast in my area.
Those of us who choose not to view commercial advertisements will continue to avoid them. There isn't a damned thing that the networks can do that wouldn't be worked around before the first commercial break.
Additionally, for them to attempt to coerce viewing of commercials gives cover to intellectual property thieves like me.
Slashdot Mirror
The problem is that your local Mom & Pop cafe isn't managing their wifi properly.
Our cafes all offer free wifi, and it will always be free, and not tied to transactions.
I was dragged into a Starbucks once a couple of years ago.
Annoyed the crap out of me that I would have had to pay for wifi.
I just upgraded one of our locations to 16/2, and another will get upgraded next week.
I monitor usage to weed out activities that that can cause us liability - but that's about it.
We've received two dmca letters to date, which caused me to go OpenDNS to block the p2p websites and I block unencrypted p2p at the router. The only dns block categories I use are p2p and phishing sites.
Am I blocking the ability of someone to download the latest Ubuntu distro?
Only if they are running unencrypted. And if they do hit a blocked site, customers are given a page telling them why and email and phone number are listed if they have any questions or concerns.
I've had zero calls/emails so far.
Our strategy may not work for everyone, but I like to think we have a better class of customer than most cafes.
Certainly much higher than the mouth breathing foofoo coffee denizens of Starbucks.
$95 a month is cheap to ensure a fast, reliable connection.
I don't see gaming any time soon for umpc's - that a 'convergence' or two down the road.
UMPC's don't have the gusto to replace a desktop, or even a notebook.
Run one app on it and it pretty much takes the wind out of it's sails.
What I've been using one for is to rdp to a win box running some timeclock software.
Basically, it's a not-so-thin client.
I expect to see more of this type of activity, especially if solid state disks become more cost effective.
That's a pant load.
The poster's tone was a bit testy, but nowhere near troll standards.
He was modded troll because someone didn't like what he said.
Trying to say otherwise is disingenuous and unconvincing.
IP theft isn't going to stop, and all this will do is cause the mfg's product to become the hardware to avoid.
I strongly suspect this is merely a test baloon to see how roundly the idea is panned.
Once Thompson realizes that such a 'feature' is going to deal a death blow to their sales, they will shelve this nonsense and accept potential lawsuits as a cost of doing business.
This is fair in a way.
The RIAA et al have a legit bitch about people stealing their product.
The problem is that the media cartels have zero cred with the general public due to crap like the original $16/cd pricing that they promised (25 years ago)would come down 'in a few months,' and asshats like Garth Brooks trying to claim royalties from used cd sales, and the industry's steadfast refusal to stop clinging to 'cost of piracy' figures that everyone knows are utter bullshit.
They also have a long history of abuse of the artists they now claim to protect, as well as a pattern of bribery and corruption.
They have become a lightening rod for irritation and disgust at money-grubbing, out of touch, repressive overlords - whether or not that mantle is truly deserved.
Because there is so much deeply entrenched animosity against them, I find it difficult to believe that they will ever make a dent in piracy via a tech solution.
Perhaps they've realized this and have instead chosen a path of social engineering.
Too bad they chosen fud to implement it instead of making an honest effort to mend fences with their customer base.
We won't be migrating to Vista either.
Most likely upgrade path for us is to linux - but only when we either change our accounting package to one supported on that platform, or Intuit ports to linux, or Crossover Office fully supports the latest QB enterprise.
Second likely path would be an OSX server -if and only if the price and licensing were not as heinous as they are with M$.
Of course, the third option would be not to migrate at all.
Why would you want linux on an xbox? Bragging rights?
pffft....
Who cares?
Turning a nice gaming console into a mediocre desktop is pointless.
Somewhat offtopic, but many Broadcom cards have issues.
My Presario 2500 laptop came with a Broadcom mini-pci nic.
After updating the drivers, it would never accept a dhcp offer from some Linksys routers.
Other routers including same model Linksys, it was fine.
I had 4 different drivers handy - 3 exhibited this behavior - one did not.
All drivers had the same version number - one was preinstalled, one came from HP's site, one from Broadcom, one from Windows Update.
The only difference is that when I changed to the driver that worked, one file was overwritten.
The problem with Broadcom is that the hardware is ubiquitous. Unfortunately, the drivers are not.
It seems like much the same issue we used to have with display adapters where oems would venture so far off the reservation that reference drivers would no longer operate the hardware.
The word is not used correctly.
You 'imply' an event, the existence of something etc.
You implicate an entity.
"John Doe was implicated in the theft" is correct.
"The crack found in John Doe's pocket implicates him as a drug user" is correct.
"Gabriel believes that making the pricing information public would implicate the labels as engaged in antitrust activities..." would be correct.
The text as quoted is not correct.
The following, while a bit course, made a valid point and was modded flamebait:
"Shit Casserole
(Score:0, Flamebait)
by Brandybuck (704397) Alter Relationship on Sunday December 03, @12:12PM (#17091934)
(http://www.usermode.org/ | Last Journal: Monday May 22, @08:53PM)
These are people doing a truly thankless job... and they deserve a few thank-yous
Like a shit casserole, the thanklessness of the job is irrelevant. The good intentions of a chef cannot overcome the poor choice of ingredients. In the case of Wikipedia, the poor choice was in an anarchic methodology that assumes a consensus of anonymity can product accuracy."
<b>This post, which was devoid of content, was modded "Insightful"</b>
" * Re:Shit Casserole by 0123456 (Score:1) Sunday December 03, @12:17PM
*
Re:Shit Casserole
(Score:4, Insightful)
by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03, @12:18PM (#17091992)
an anarchic methodology that assumes a consensus of anonymity can product accuracy.
That's hardly an inaccurate assumption. For example if myself and other AC's came to a consensus that you are a asshole, I'm sure that would be accurate."
<b>This is why I never use my mod points. It's like teaching a pig to sing.</b>
I know. I was firing for effect. Once upon a time I engaged in a pissing contest with a LtJg with a degree in library science by following his incompetent commands explicitly. My punishment was to be sent to the sonar shack for two weeks and I almost qual's as an op. His punishment was an ass chewing by the CO and being placed in hack for a month. I learned a fair amount and listened to a lot of whale-speak during my tenure there.
The same jg later almost took the Scorpion and Thresher out of port and starboard.
The US Navy has for years used a system called the Prairie Masker that is essentially a belt of bubble generators linked to a low pressure/high volume steam driven compressor. The reduced density at the water/air interface masks the water/hull interface by causing sound attenuation.
So are we going to have submarines crashing into tankers that they can't see and which have reduced maneuverability?
"It sounds to me like they have, once again, given it far more features than it needs, resulting in, as usual, exorbitant prices."
That's just silly.
Mp3 player hardware - even *if* it had to be added in, onlys cost a couple of dollars at most.
What it adds is the ability to also play audiobooks.
The pricing is based on what Sony's marketing department has determined the traffic will bear - just like every other product.
Since most judges have decided to twist the role of the jury by not explaining - and prohibiting counsel from mentioning - that the juror is the final arbiter of both fact and law, I took it upon myself to conceal my stance.
You can call this civil disobedience, dishonesty, gross malfeasance of duty - I don't particularly care.
Jury nullification has a long tradition with much debate on both sides.
The law is a set of guidelines left to men to interpret in any given situation. It isn't always a good fit - and sometimes it's flat out wrong.
The role of the judge is to ensure a level playing field.
Opposing counsels' job is to present the legal positions of their respective clients in a form understandable and accessible to the jury.
It is the jury's job to determine facts, law and fairness.
I feel no more obligated to enforce a drug prohibition law than I would enforcing a fugitive slave law.
Some crackhead gets busted for theft - sure - I'll convict in a heartbeat if the evidence supports it.
But I'm not sending him to the state sponsored school for criminals for a $20 rock.
"you know.. that OJ is just such a good football player and such a beloved public figure.. i just don't believe he could have murdered anyone.. therefore I'm tossing out the prosecution's case without even scrutinizing the facts" ...if a member of the jury decided to act thusly.
I was on a jury in a drug case.
Even if I did not have a personal policy of "no guilty verdict" in any drug case, I still would have had reservations regarding the lead detective. At the risk of sounding trite - he just didn't sound believable. A couple of years later, he was indicted for fraud.
Jury nullification works.
Given that 3ghz 5160's are less than $900 to begin with?
3 05&dept_id=2522
http://www.ajump.com/ajump/product.asp?pf_id=5240
The price of each already includes a 2nd processor.
The more I consider it - the more convinced I am that your claims are wholly fabricated.
When you give no specs or prices, I find it difficult to believe that you can find a situation where a compable Mac isn't significantly more expensive than a wintel PC.
What do you mean by "top of the line?"
If you mean that you simply picked the most expensive options on each model - then the comparison is nonsense.
If what you meant was "best for your needs" - then of course this is entirely subjective.
If you compared architecture for architecture with same sized/types of drives, memory, video - there is just no way I can think of to obtain your numbers.
Here are my comparables:
Micron PC: www.mpccorp.com
Total Price $2,685.00
Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Professional w/SP2
Dual-Core Intel Xeon 3.0GHz Dual Processor (2x2MB Cache, 667MHz FSB)
1GB (2X512MB) ECC DDR2 FBDIMM SDRAM
500GB RAID Edition SATA II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Hard Drive (7,200RPM)
256MB Nvidia GeForce 7300GS Graphics Card PCI Express (VGA DVI-I TV-OUT)
Integrated Dual Gigabit Ethernet
Mouse already included in Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop
NF640 Base Chassis w/Fixed 550w Power
Microsoft(R) Office 2003 Basic Edition
Sv.1st-3rd Yr.Manufacturers Ltd Warranty.Tech Support & Parts
SV Customer Selects No Uplifted Server Service
Apple Computers: www.apple.com
Total price: $3857
Two 3.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
1GB (2 x 512MB)
500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB (single-link DVI/dual-link DVI)
One 16x SuperDrive
Apple USB Modem
Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple wireless Mighty Mouse - U.S. English
Mac OS X - U.S. English
AppleCare Protection Plan for Mac Pro/Power Mac (w/or w/o Display) - Auto-enroll
I really doubt that their objection is based at all or in part on any perceived dilemma of being forced into using "black hat" techniques.
Firstly, they haven't really stated what they consider to be a "black hat" technique, though I strongly suspect they mean that they object to actually having to actually develop and maintain code instead of relying on existing redmond-authored api's that provide a spoonfed data conduit.
Symantec's AV/Security products rely on MS' file access api's - as do most other major AV packages.
This means that they inherit all the weaknesses of the underlying win api's. This in turn is why they cannot detect, clean or prevent access to malware which cannot be addressed via the MS api's. I have had one virus and one trojan that Norton could not detect or clean, but which AVG and Kaspersky had no trouble blocking access and tossing into quarantine. Neither relies of MS file access api's in it's scan engine. Is this a "black hat" technique? If so, then black hat techniques are pretty much a requirement for effective security, and Symantec should wise up and get to work.
"It won't happen in the long term either. Yes, Ubuntu is becoming ever more popular, but this is an expanding market. There are new users arriving on the 'Linux' scene every second. Red Hat may not grow at the same pace as Ubuntu in the short, medium, or long term, but it will grow."
Don't foget the smb (small to mid business) market.
Most don't/can't hire experienced *nix admins - they grow them from geeky employees.
Geeky employees use and recommend what they are comfortable with.
RH cut that supply stream off not because they focused on their commercial product, but because they abandonded any effective oversight of Fedora. Releasing a home/hobbyist distro with broken Soundblaster support and then shrugging their corporate shoulders and saying "well, it's an experimental release - maybe someone will fix it...someday..." is a clear statement that they really don't give the slightest shit about the non-corporate user.
Neophyte Ubuntu users are presented with an OS that pretty much just works - right out of the box.
I have a long and strong windows background, with a smattering of linux exposure. I was able to install. Previous attempts to install useful apps on *nix have been fraught with the irritations of convoluted dependency issues requiring much wailing and gnashing of teeth to resolve.
Installing Hula groupware took only a couple of minutes.
This means I now can offer an Exchange server alternative appropriate for a small business - as long as they aren't concerned with shared calendaring in Outlook - with minimal pain.
Groupware, file and web servers are where most smb's get their feet wet. RHEL really isn't compelling for these folks.
People buy what they know. With a smaller base of people using RH as their initial distro, RH will necessarily have a smaller base of potential RHEL customers.
1> Drag and drop functionality - windows still has much better application integration - one of the benefits of closed source - you can shove developers into a sandbox of your choosing.
2> Audio/Video in general - aside from drm issues, Windows has better driver availability, and opensource linux vid drivers pretty much universally suck ass with regards to frame rate.
3> Faxing - in windows, it just works
4> Laptop setting. I honestly haven't tried wireless in Ubuntu yet - but in the last version I tried of Mandriva, wireless was not it's strong suit. Home wifi with no mobile platform? sure. Hooking up to an open access point to send an email? Not happening for a n00b.
5> Synchronization with other devices (pda/smart phone.) Not truly an OS issue - more of an app issue, but from a user perspective - there isn't much difference.
Don't get me wrong - I am chomping at the bit to go opensource with a client who supports the idea, is willing to spend a moderate amount to get there, and is willing to put up with a few speed bumps. Unfortunately, we can't ditch Quickbooks Enterprise yet. I would dearly love to. If the equivalent were available opensource at the same cost - or even a little more - they'd be all over it. I have an exchange server in place that all I have to do is edit our mx records to implement. I've been avoiding it because I don't want users tied even more strongly to MS. I really want to give Hula a fair shot.
We *almost* agree on this.
I think Linux is only a version or two away from being viable from a technical perspective.
Things in Ubuntu largely "just work."
Other distros seem to be coming along as well.
I except RH from this - they have made great strides in backing away from the home/small biz sectors by forcing folks into either RHEL - which is too costly in many cases - or Fedora - where RH doesn't particularly care about functionality or stability.
RH has become the M$ of Linux.
Xover Office supports only a few apps - and there are a lot of very common ones - like Quickbooks where only certain versions are partially supported - which makes it useless for that purpose.
These folks may not be power users - but it's a safe bet that there is plenty on their system that Xover won't support - now or in the forseeable future, as Xover development moves at a snail's pace.
Don't get me wrong - I love Ubuntu - but I've been in a cycle of "try Linux - evaluate it's shortcomings - delete Linux and reinstall windows" ever since my first ZipSlack foray in '96. Ubuntu is just now approaching "viable desktop replacement" status. I'm thinking of implementing it in a mixed WinTel/OSX environment for select users. Linux still can't replace my Exchange Server, though Hula is close.
OpenSource is a neato idea, but the financial realities preclude it for both n00bs and those that need to run specific biz apps.
Then you really aren't qualified to comment.
I'm not trying to be catty here - just that this is one of those driving experiences you must experience to appreciate.
No, mp isn't required for general gaming - but keep in mind that just becauswe one games, it doesn't necessarily mean that they *only* game.
Let's say you have a high end box you use for rendering. It has a fast cpu, high end graphics and a speedy file system.
Would it make sense to build another box to use for gaming? Likely not.
I had to build a fat box once to process web server logs.
It really *required* dual cpu's and lotsa ram, and would have happily gobbled up 4 cpu's.
Having multiple cores also allows one to come closer to multiprocessing, rather than mere task switching.
Keep in mind too that certain high end apps are well known for gobbling all available resources.
Having 4 cores and running an app that will access two of them means that you can still do other work even when two of the cores are cpu-bound.
There are vectors other than the core OS.
There is a slew of apps and utes and extensions that have their own autoupdate functionality, but are not as scrutinized as Windows.
There are sometimes very valid reasons for not autoupdating - especially when vendors attach egregious conditions to "security" updates. MS requiring users to accept Microsoft intrusion as a prerequisite for security updates is a laughable example.
The java byte.verify hole existed for a long time. This was the one where properly executed, a user clicking the X to close a popup would be granting full remote access.
It would be naive to presume that no other such exploits will ever again occur with a future combination of updates.
We grab all the regular shows we watch from Bittorrent - sans commercials and usually in HD.
We have cable - we have capture cards - it's faster to download then to rip it myself.
Being on the west coast of the US, I can often have a show downloaded before it's actually been broadcast in my area.
Those of us who choose not to view commercial advertisements will continue to avoid them. There isn't a damned thing that the networks can do that wouldn't be worked around before the first commercial break.
Additionally, for them to attempt to coerce viewing of commercials gives cover to intellectual property thieves like me.