It is hard for me to believe this, because Microsoft is one of the friendliest GBTL companies. However if it is verified that this has indeed occurred it would make me furious. And MS should be wary about its ramifications. This bad publicity would not do well for MS. GBTL groups would line up and call national attention to MS policy, because MS is such a huge presence in the world. If MS does not address this travesty I for one will stop purchasing games and other product from MS. I will fly into Apples hands or Linux. I am certain many others would feel the same.
If I remember that question was asked a long time ago. If I remember correctly the producers answered by reminding people about the "Keepers of Traken" story. It was with the introduction of Nysaa's character. I think it was episode 18. The story had the "Master" returning and he had used up all of his 12 regeneration but found a way to extend his regenerations.
So I think the good Dr. has a way.
Absolutely No.
It is immoral and not just from a religious stand. Forget religious objections. It is simply ethically wrong.
Where would it stop? It would go beyond just satisfying some intellectual curiosity to cloning species to harvest their organs.
The most important reason to vote against FISA is because for all the arguments and romantic notions that it is a compromise, is the lesser of 2 evils or that Obhama was merely biding his time ignore the fact that a prison no matter how pretty or comfortable is still a prison.
It is a bad idea that government should be whittled down to almost nothing, so much so that it would cease to function. The idea that the democrat wants to turn the USA into a communist country is just plain propaganda. It is fear mongering.
The republican is just afraid that what they have might be taken away from them or be expected to play fair. And whatever tools are available are used to keep you in check. The republican is guilty of using the fear of socialism all the way to claiming it is a gods plan to push their agenda. It is ironic that many of the ideas that are spewed from these people end up being more socialist than what they accuse the other side of doing.
I agree the state should not be responsible for everyone's does and don'ts, but a measure of reason is in order. The state should be "not too much government and not too little either". The middle way.
I think you should also go after the police officer. Get him terminated.
If you can get this in the local news you could get a tremendous amount of pressure placed on the police department. It would raise awareness that apparently the police in that community consider themselves above the law.
Basically the officer broke the law by arresting you. Remember the officer is not the law they are to enforce the law. Apparently this officer was so arrogant he thought he could break the law-probably that you were just a stupid kid or guy and he was going to teach you a lesson.
Make an example of this officer and what he did was wrong. And violating the law will not be tolerated by the very people responsible for enforcing it.
Some scientist always come out and says this or that is impossible and we have reached the end. Just 50 or so years ago the same minded scientist were declaring everything had been discovered with the four forces and they were made up of protons, neutrons,...ect. We just needed to tidy up some ends. Everything had been discovered. Low and behold we find out that our universe is far more complex. The universe is made up of even smaller subatomic particles all the way to string theory.
The point is or lesson. The universe is not absolute. There is always a way. And no matter how improbably it may be at the moment someone somewhere will find a way. We will eventually make it out there. Provided we don't destroy ourselves first.
Part of the problem is a common affliction of the software developers, engineers and the like to design stuff from there point of view. This makes sense but only from there position. To the user it can be confusing and difficult to use. Stop relying so much on the devoted parts of the community to tell you if it's a good design, or if it works well. These parts of the community have been at it a long time, they know a lot, and particular how to hack and work around a problem. In fact there is a kind of status from being smart enough to be able to problem solve some of the OS short comings. To a laymen it means nothing, but hours of frustration trying to find or figure out how to do something.
Usability has been the key. I have had to test out many different Linux distributions for work and home. It depends largely on what you are using it for and the level of familiarity. At my job they decided to use Linspire, because of its ease of install and use. The users are just using it for normal stuff like email, word processing,...etc.
Other distributions you have to hunt around and guess how to do something or worse for someone that is not Linux savvy you have to hack something to get it to work.
One of the biggest pluses is how to install and update software. The process is crystal clear.
As for some other distributions tested Ubuntu was nice install, but frankly its just plain ugly. It's not always clear what it is doing or were to go to get what. I liked SUSE, but it is not smooth such as the recent fiasco with the ZNetwork, Yast, YOU, RUG stuff. It had many people pulling there hair out. And even though SUSE is getting better you still have to get into the OS to get it to behave.
A plus and lesson from SUSE is what they did before there last release. They literally for the Enterprise Desktop 10 went out to the streets, and asked people who had none or little experience on computers to come to there labs and test the level of ease of use and design of there OS. Some of the question they wanted to know was:
Did it make sense? Was it easy to find stuff? Could you figure out quickly what to do?
They set up cameras during the testing phases and watched peoples reaction, movements and how easy it was to navigate the OS.
I think why many just stick with windows is because you plug it in and it just goes.
Almost want to say they deserve it, but won't quite go that far all I can share is my experience with Vontage and how this is no surprise. I had Vontage for a year and had very little problems with them, until I wanted to cancel my account. Perhaps this is a demonstration or indicative of there business attitude, philosophy and practices that travels all the way down there organization.
To share my experience this is what I posted on another Vontage blog for people that have had numerous problems with Vontage.
I have similar story, but have found little on what you can actually do to cancel the account?
Other than go through the trouble they put you through and from many of the post it actually may not work.
Anyone know?
I signed up almost a year ago actually Apr 2 2006 and today I wanted to cancel it. I was informed to my surprise I would be assessed a 39.99 charge to do that. I did not recall seeing that notification when I signed up. It was advertised as hassle free no contracts. But after looking at the Terms of Agreement it does say if cancelled before 1 year you get charged a fee.
I informed the rep I want to cancel it then on that day the Apr 2nd 2007 so I not get a fee she told me she could not do that. And instead launched into a high pressure sales tactic to switch my plan at the end of my billing cycle the Apr 2, 2007 date to a 2 month free then charged 9.99 for 100 minute plan each month instead.
I asked her to speak to someone else that could help me she told me that she would not transfer me and she was not going to escalate the call any further. She then told me after the free months if I still wanted to cancel I could and would not incur a charge for cancelling my account and to just try and see if it worked better for me.
Another point she kept hounding me as to way I wanted to cancel. I do not consider that any of Vontages business. I am the customer if I want to cancel I should be able to with out being badgered. I did not want to tell her that I was cancelling because my house caught on fire and I lost everything including my father to the fire. I have almost nothing and am staying with relatives temporally and that I simply could not afford to have Vontage anymore. I just did not want to bring that up or think about it. But I was being forced to relive the whole thing just to justify to her why I wanted to cancel when it was really none of her business.
So apparently she has made a change to my account that I am going to get the first 2 months free because in her words they are helping me. And then be charge the 9.99 a month after. The point for me is I don't want Vontage anymore I just wanted to cancel the account. And if I was literally 3 days shy from the 1 year agreement, how hard and uncompassionate is that? She simply could have told me to call back or that she scheduled it to be cancelled on the 1 year mark. Instead I was badgered and subjected to strong arm tactics to keep me on Vontage.
And for me I actually liked Vontage. I had very few connection problems. I thought after I was well and better on my feet I would subscribe again to Vontage because I liked it so much. I told her this at the beginning of the call and she thanked me then preceded to badger me about why I wanted to cancel.
It turns out one day after my end date they attempted to charge my account again. Even though the CS rep told me there would be no charge for two months. She lied.
So your reason for getting SO wound up over an article claiming Linux will never unseat Microsoft as "top dog" is because that conclusion hurts "the people"? That *is* what the gp poster asked -- why does this article elicit so much of an emotional outburst?
umm No. See the rest of post about choices. It means it hurts you as a consumer.
I call bullshit on THAT claim of yours --
Well then you simple are wrong!
I'm a little skeptical of anybody I don't know who claims to have "MY" best interests at heart as their sole reason for doing something.
Hummm... Interesting you are a little skeptical? And exactly what has Microsoft been doing this entire time? Or did you miss that? They offer up there solutions and convince you they have your best interests at heart. Again you must have you missed that?
If you're so altrusitically-minded, why aren't you out there evangelizing against McDonald's and cigarettes? After all, in terms of harm, I think that smoking & fast food do more harm to people than Microsoft's monopoly status ever will.
And exactly how would you know that. You assume far too much. My post was in response to a question posted by antifoidulus and was not a evangelizing of anything. I gave a reason why people might be upset. You see it ties back to Microsoft and the tactics they use. Many people feel linux and other software vendors have not had a level playing field. Your supposition of what I wrote was to the next level almost to the fanatical response. You did not read carefully what I wrote. You assumed many things and projected I can only guess issues you have.
For the rest of your post, about geeks and the four points you list. Well you just come off hateful. And you cannot be taken seriously.
So, when you say something like, O/S choice isn't that big a deal, what the geeks hear is, "It doesn't matter how big your dick is." And of course, to the insecure, that's just not true.
again..ummm no I did not say that.
The point I was making was the taking away of choices. Limiting your choices. But then in your next paragraph you talk about freedom.
What the zealot evangelists in the "Free" software movement don't understand is that true freedom also means the ability for the individual to make BAD choices, even if they hurt that individual. Freedom comes with the responsibility to be informed, and choose wisely. They step beyond "educating" users and into the realm of harassment of other users, and this is both counterproductive to their case for Linux, and detrimental to their stated goals of freedom
Freedom of choice was pretty much what I was talking about. Apparently you also missed this to. That all I have to say about your post except for one last thing.
When you write STOP! using the words "gay" and "dick". You come off as an ass, or some bigot. Like a little boy running around the playground playing with the other boys calling each other fag. Grow up!
Some of this comes from the fact that Microsoft behavior and tactics are akin to a monopoly. You ask then how can people feel so strongly about this. Microsoft has basically destroyed competition using tactics not so ethical.
By acting like a monopoly they have limited your choices to what you can buy or use. Someone made the analogy in an other post comparing a toolbox and the tools to the different OSS. You reach into the toolbox to get the tool you need for the job. What Microsoft has done is made it so that when you reach into that toolbox you only have one choice of tool to use, there's. You don't get to choose a different brand or kind of tool.
Something was on the verge of being done about this, but then the Bush Administration and there buddies stepped in and save Microsoft. Think about it there are plenty of reasons to not be a fan of Microsoft.
Actually at my job many of the desktops were switched to linspire. Worked great for many of the employees. I think the company did not mind the fee because it gave them that security if anything went wrong they could get support. The entire time I have been there they have not once had to call for support. Now granted the vast majority of the users are just using it for normal stuff like email, word processing,...etc.
I personally like it because it is easy to set up and use much is clear to understand what does what. Not like many of the other distros you have to hunt around and guess how to do something or worse for someone that is not linux savvy have to hack something to get it to work.
One of the biggest plus is how to install and update software. The process is crystal clear. Unlike many other distros where it almost always does not work the way it says it is suppose to. Many times you have to go hacking around the config files to add a repository or change some obscure setting that just does not mean anything to the average employee / user.
The key is ease of use. It installs very fast, one of the fastest to install out of all the distros. It does not ask a lot of complicated questions, it just does it and it works.
As for other distors I like SUSE, but it is not smooth such as the recent fiasco with the ZNetwork, Yast, YOU, RUG stuff had many people pulling there hair out. And even though SUSE is getting better you still have to get into the OS to get it to behave.
Ubuntu was nice install, but frankly its just plain ugly. Its update and install software is a bit more refined, but needs additional work. Its not always clear what it is doing or were to go to get what.
Linspire is an excellent choice for those that are not linux or geek heads, it was never meant to be that. It was meant to be an alternative to windows and it fulfills that very well. You just plug it in and it goes.
I think Fedora 4 release was the best one so far. Fedora 5...well they kind of just dropped the ball. Seems as if it was rushed to get it out the door. On the web you can find countless complaints about stuff being broken in it. As for the UI I don't think they bothered to ask anyone other than the engineer, designers about its practicalibilty and usability.
Sure the way it was designed make perfect sense to the designer, but to an average Joe its confusing and does not make since.
Perhaps take a page from SUSE on this issue(SUSE has there problems to, but they did good with this one). They literally for the Enterprise Desktop 10 went out to the streets, literally and asked people who had none or little experience on computers to come to there labs and test the level of ease of use and design of there OS. Did it make sense, was it easy to find stuff, could you figure out quickly what to do. These were some of there core questions and issues they wanted to address.
So many complaints about usability. It's a common affliction of software developers, engineers and the like to design stuff from there point of view. This makes sense but only from there position. To the user it can be confusing and difficult to use. Fedora should try to incorporate some of these ideas and practices into there design model. Stop relying so much on the devoted parts of the community to tell you if it's a good design, or if it works well. These parts of the community have been at it a long time, they know a lot, and particular how to hack and work around a problem. In fact there is a kind of status from being smart enough to be able to problem solve some of the OS short comings. To a laymen it means nothing, but hours of frustration trying to find or figure out how to do something.
Stuff to fix or improve.
1. The setup procedure need to be revamped. Fedora 5 did a nasty thing by removing your ability to make choices. Is is like they wanted to homogenize your choices. You only had a few types of setups to choose from and that's what you were left with once chosen. You were not able to add or subtract certain packages from the initial setup.
The whole having to have a internet connection for YUM after setup to be able to install software from the DVD or CD's is a nightmare. I know many, many people that simple do not want the machine connected to the internet. For the solution you have to go hacking around config files to bypass this fopa. That is simple unacceptable to a user.
2. If your going to update over the internet using YUM. Make it far easier than it is now. You still have to go into the config files and set mirrors and such. Many of the mirror names have no common convention for naming. So you have to guess at what is the correct way to enable a mirror or server for updates. The update tool should automate this. For example it should contact a central server for a list of update and package mirrors in your area. Did you get that in your area. A dialog box pops up asking you for your zip code or such and uses that information when communicating with the central server for a list of local mirrors. It then nicely writes the location or info the update program needs to contact those update, software mirrors for you, automatically. You don't have to dig around in config files its done for you. Of course you should retain the ability to pick other update, package server, mirrors, far away if you like.
3. And last don't rush it. If it takes an extra 2 to 3 months just so you can get it right then that is absolute fine.
It depends on what your doing. I have used Mac and PC for development even different flavors of linux, and it just depends on what your trying to do. Sometimes Mac is fast and intuitive other times you just want to pull your hair out because of all the extra steps you have to go through.
Just depends.
Maybe not all of us have a stick up our a_ _ so it does not bother us much. Seriously if your just too damn stupid to figure it out maybe you should not be reading it.
The top 2 ideas are very good. I remember hearing a story about a little girl being awarded a patent because she developed a style or way to swing on a playground swing. And although the story was cute it was just plain stupid. It demonstrated by far how out of control patent system has become.
Another is medical and chemical companies have been getting patents on peoples genes. People who have rare genetic conditions. The company patents there gene so that no other company can work out a cure for the condition. And they don't have to ask you if they can patent your gene. Apparently even though it does not belong to them they can patent it.
It has just gotten way out of hand. It no longer serves the original intent. Huge companies can use patents to stifle innovation and such from small companies or the lone inventor. On the other side the companies that have to continually fiend of the patent troll also loose out by drawing there resources.
This all is kind of like a karma response to the years of backwater deals in which the large companies lobbied congress to weaken the patient laws. And the countless judges who are appointed to oversee many of these cases have absolutely no experience in patent law. Its all coming back around now to bite those who contributed to the sorry state our patent system is in now.
Slashdot Mirror
It is hard for me to believe this, because Microsoft is one of the friendliest GBTL companies. However if it is verified that this has indeed occurred it would make me furious. And MS should be wary about its ramifications. This bad publicity would not do well for MS. GBTL groups would line up and call national attention to MS policy, because MS is such a huge presence in the world. If MS does not address this travesty I for one will stop purchasing games and other product from MS. I will fly into Apples hands or Linux. I am certain many others would feel the same.
If I remember that question was asked a long time ago. If I remember correctly the producers answered by reminding people about the "Keepers of Traken" story. It was with the introduction of Nysaa's character. I think it was episode 18. The story had the "Master" returning and he had used up all of his 12 regeneration but found a way to extend his regenerations. So I think the good Dr. has a way.
Absolutely No. It is immoral and not just from a religious stand. Forget religious objections. It is simply ethically wrong. Where would it stop? It would go beyond just satisfying some intellectual curiosity to cloning species to harvest their organs.
The most important reason to vote against FISA is because for all the arguments and romantic notions that it is a compromise, is the lesser of 2 evils or that Obhama was merely biding his time ignore the fact that a prison no matter how pretty or comfortable is still a prison.
It is a bad idea that government should be whittled down to almost nothing, so much so that it would cease to function. The idea that the democrat wants to turn the USA into a communist country is just plain propaganda. It is fear mongering.
The republican is just afraid that what they have might be taken away from them or be expected to play fair. And whatever tools are available are used to keep you in check. The republican is guilty of using the fear of socialism all the way to claiming it is a gods plan to push their agenda. It is ironic that many of the ideas that are spewed from these people end up being more socialist than what they accuse the other side of doing.
I agree the state should not be responsible for everyone's does and don'ts, but a measure of reason is in order. The state should be "not too much government and not too little either". The middle way.
Diversify your toolbox of course, but pick on thing and become real good at it.
I think you should also go after the police officer. Get him terminated.
If you can get this in the local news you could get a tremendous amount of pressure placed on the police department. It would raise awareness that apparently the police in that community consider themselves above the law.
Basically the officer broke the law by arresting you. Remember the officer is not the law they are to enforce the law. Apparently this officer was so arrogant he thought he could break the law-probably that you were just a stupid kid or guy and he was going to teach you a lesson.
Make an example of this officer and what he did was wrong. And violating the law will not be tolerated by the very people responsible for enforcing it.
Slay the dreamer is what I hear in many of your post. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
WOOT!
Way to go Red Hat.
Obviously someone was listening to the community. Way to step up Red Hat.
Some scientist always come out and says this or that is impossible and we have reached the end. Just 50 or so years ago the same minded scientist were declaring everything had been discovered with the four forces and they were made up of protons, neutrons, ...ect. We just needed to tidy up some ends. Everything had been discovered. Low and behold we find out that our universe is far more complex. The universe is made up of even smaller subatomic particles all the way to string theory.
The point is or lesson. The universe is not absolute. There is always a way. And no matter how improbably it may be at the moment someone somewhere will find a way. We will eventually make it out there. Provided we don't destroy ourselves first.
Whomever you pick at least VOTE!
I pick Hillary Clinton for The Office of Supreme Commander(aka President of the United States).
Although it is getting better.
...etc.
Part of the problem is a common affliction of the software developers, engineers and the like to design stuff from there point of view. This makes sense but only from there position. To the user it can be confusing and difficult to use. Stop relying so much on the devoted parts of the community to tell you if it's a good design, or if it works well. These parts of the community have been at it a long time, they know a lot, and particular how to hack and work around a problem. In fact there is a kind of status from being smart enough to be able to problem solve some of the OS short comings. To a laymen it means nothing, but hours of frustration trying to find or figure out how to do something.
Usability has been the key. I have had to test out many different Linux distributions for work and home. It depends largely on what you are using it for and the level of familiarity. At my job they decided to use Linspire, because of its ease of install and use. The users are just using it for normal stuff like email, word processing,
Other distributions you have to hunt around and guess how to do something or worse for someone that is not Linux savvy you have to hack something to get it to work.
One of the biggest pluses is how to install and update software. The process is crystal clear.
As for some other distributions tested Ubuntu was nice install, but frankly its just plain ugly. It's not always clear what it is doing or were to go to get what. I liked SUSE, but it is not smooth such as the recent fiasco with the ZNetwork, Yast, YOU, RUG stuff. It had many people pulling there hair out. And even though SUSE is getting better you still have to get into the OS to get it to behave.
A plus and lesson from SUSE is what they did before there last release. They literally for the Enterprise Desktop 10 went out to the streets, and asked people who had none or little experience on computers to come to there labs and test the level of ease of use and design of there OS. Some of the question they wanted to know was:
Did it make sense?
Was it easy to find stuff?
Could you figure out quickly what to do?
They set up cameras during the testing phases and watched peoples reaction, movements and how easy it was to navigate the OS.
I think why many just stick with windows is because you plug it in and it just goes.
Sorry meant Vonage not Vontage...and meant to use sow not sew I was wondering if i had the right one.
Almost want to say they deserve it, but won't quite go that far all I can share is my experience with Vontage and how this is no surprise. I had Vontage for a year and had very little problems with them, until I wanted to cancel my account. Perhaps this is a demonstration or indicative of there business attitude, philosophy and practices that travels all the way down there organization.
To share my experience this is what I posted on another Vontage blog for people that have had numerous problems with Vontage.
I have similar story, but have found little on what you can actually do to cancel the account?
Other than go through the trouble they put you through and from many of the post it actually may not work.
Anyone know?
I signed up almost a year ago actually Apr 2 2006 and today I wanted to cancel it. I was informed to my surprise I would be assessed a 39.99 charge to do that. I did not recall seeing that notification when I signed up. It was advertised as hassle free no contracts. But after looking at the Terms of Agreement it does say if cancelled before 1 year you get charged a fee.
I informed the rep I want to cancel it then on that day the Apr 2nd 2007 so I not get a fee she told me she could not do that. And instead launched into a high pressure sales tactic to switch my plan at the end of my billing cycle the Apr 2, 2007 date to a 2 month free then charged 9.99 for 100 minute plan each month instead.
I asked her to speak to someone else that could help me she told me that she would not transfer me and she was not going to escalate the call any further. She then told me after the free months if I still wanted to cancel I could and would not incur a charge for cancelling my account and to just try and see if it worked better for me.
Another point she kept hounding me as to way I wanted to cancel. I do not consider that any of Vontages business. I am the customer if I want to cancel I should be able to with out being badgered. I did not want to tell her that I was cancelling because my house caught on fire and I lost everything including my father to the fire. I have almost nothing and am staying with relatives temporally and that I simply could not afford to have Vontage anymore. I just did not want to bring that up or think about it. But I was being forced to relive the whole thing just to justify to her why I wanted to cancel when it was really none of her business.
So apparently she has made a change to my account that I am going to get the first 2 months free because in her words they are helping me. And then be charge the 9.99 a month after. The point for me is I don't want Vontage anymore I just wanted to cancel the account. And if I was literally 3 days shy from the 1 year agreement, how hard and uncompassionate is that? She simply could have told me to call back or that she scheduled it to be cancelled on the 1 year mark. Instead I was badgered and subjected to strong arm tactics to keep me on Vontage.
And for me I actually liked Vontage. I had very few connection problems. I thought after I was well and better on my feet I would subscribe again to Vontage because I liked it so much. I told her this at the beginning of the call and she thanked me then preceded to badger me about why I wanted to cancel.
It turns out one day after my end date they attempted to charge my account again. Even though the CS rep told me there would be no charge for two months. She lied.
Well then you simple are wrong!
Hummm... Interesting you are a little skeptical? And exactly what has Microsoft been doing this entire time? Or did you miss that? They offer up there solutions and convince you they have your best interests at heart. Again you must have you missed that?
And exactly how would you know that. You assume far too much. My post was in response to a question posted by antifoidulus and was not a evangelizing of anything. I gave a reason why people might be upset. You see it ties back to Microsoft and the tactics they use. Many people feel linux and other software vendors have not had a level playing field. Your supposition of what I wrote was to the next level almost to the fanatical response. You did not read carefully what I wrote. You assumed many things and projected I can only guess issues you have.
For the rest of your post, about geeks and the four points you list. Well you just come off hateful. And you cannot be taken seriously.
again
The point I was making was the taking away of choices. Limiting your choices. But then in your next paragraph you talk about freedom.
Freedom of choice was pretty much what I was talking about. Apparently you also missed this to. That all I have to say about your post except for one last thing.
When you write STOP! using the words "gay" and "dick". You come off as an ass, or some bigot. Like a little boy running around the playground playing with the other boys calling each other fag. Grow up!
Some of this comes from the fact that Microsoft behavior and tactics are akin to a monopoly. You ask then how can people feel so strongly about this. Microsoft has basically destroyed competition using tactics not so ethical.
By acting like a monopoly they have limited your choices to what you can buy or use. Someone made the analogy in an other post comparing a toolbox and the tools to the different OSS. You reach into the toolbox to get the tool you need for the job. What Microsoft has done is made it so that when you reach into that toolbox you only have one choice of tool to use, there's. You don't get to choose a different brand or kind of tool.
Something was on the verge of being done about this, but then the Bush Administration and there buddies stepped in and save Microsoft. Think about it there are plenty of reasons to not be a fan of Microsoft.
Actually at my job many of the desktops were switched to linspire. Worked great for many of the employees. I think the company did not mind the fee because it gave them that security if anything went wrong they could get support. The entire time I have been there they have not once had to call for support. Now granted the vast majority of the users are just using it for normal stuff like email, word processing, ...etc.
I personally like it because it is easy to set up and use much is clear to understand what does what. Not like many of the other distros you have to hunt around and guess how to do something or worse for someone that is not linux savvy have to hack something to get it to work.
One of the biggest plus is how to install and update software. The process is crystal clear. Unlike many other distros where it almost always does not work the way it says it is suppose to. Many times you have to go hacking around the config files to add a repository or change some obscure setting that just does not mean anything to the average employee / user.
The key is ease of use. It installs very fast, one of the fastest to install out of all the distros. It does not ask a lot of complicated questions, it just does it and it works.
As for other distors I like SUSE, but it is not smooth such as the recent fiasco with the ZNetwork, Yast, YOU, RUG stuff had many people pulling there hair out. And even though SUSE is getting better you still have to get into the OS to get it to behave.
Ubuntu was nice install, but frankly its just plain ugly. Its update and install software is a bit more refined, but needs additional work. Its not always clear what it is doing or were to go to get what.
Linspire is an excellent choice for those that are not linux or geek heads, it was never meant to be that. It was meant to be an alternative to windows and it fulfills that very well. You just plug it in and it goes.
Use linux.
They should have bought Nvidia instead. :)
Nvidia Fan
I think Fedora 4 release was the best one so far. Fedora 5 ...well they kind of just dropped the ball. Seems as if it was rushed to get it out the door. On the web you can find countless complaints about stuff being broken in it. As for the UI I don't think they bothered to ask anyone other than the engineer, designers about its practicalibilty and usability.
Sure the way it was designed make perfect sense to the designer, but to an average Joe its confusing and does not make since.
Perhaps take a page from SUSE on this issue(SUSE has there problems to, but they did good with this one). They literally for the Enterprise Desktop 10 went out to the streets, literally and asked people who had none or little experience on computers to come to there labs and test the level of ease of use and design of there OS. Did it make sense, was it easy to find stuff, could you figure out quickly what to do. These were some of there core questions and issues they wanted to address.
So many complaints about usability. It's a common affliction of software developers, engineers and the like to design stuff from there point of view. This makes sense but only from there position. To the user it can be confusing and difficult to use. Fedora should try to incorporate some of these ideas and practices into there design model. Stop relying so much on the devoted parts of the community to tell you if it's a good design, or if it works well. These parts of the community have been at it a long time, they know a lot, and particular how to hack and work around a problem. In fact there is a kind of status from being smart enough to be able to problem solve some of the OS short comings. To a laymen it means nothing, but hours of frustration trying to find or figure out how to do something.
Stuff to fix or improve.
1. The setup procedure need to be revamped. Fedora 5 did a nasty thing by removing your ability to make choices. Is is like they wanted to homogenize your choices. You only had a few types of setups to choose from and that's what you were left with once chosen. You were not able to add or subtract certain packages from the initial setup.
The whole having to have a internet connection for YUM after setup to be able to install software from the DVD or CD's is a nightmare. I know many, many people that simple do not want the machine connected to the internet. For the solution you have to go hacking around config files to bypass this fopa. That is simple unacceptable to a user.
2. If your going to update over the internet using YUM. Make it far easier than it is now. You still have to go into the config files and set mirrors and such. Many of the mirror names have no common convention for naming. So you have to guess at what is the correct way to enable a mirror or server for updates. The update tool should automate this. For example it should contact a central server for a list of update and package mirrors in your area. Did you get that in your area. A dialog box pops up asking you for your zip code or such and uses that information when communicating with the central server for a list of local mirrors. It then nicely writes the location or info the update program needs to contact those update, software mirrors for you, automatically. You don't have to dig around in config files its done for you. Of course you should retain the ability to pick other update, package server, mirrors, far away if you like.
3. And last don't rush it. If it takes an extra 2 to 3 months just so you can get it right then that is absolute fine.
It depends on what your doing. I have used Mac and PC for development even different flavors of linux, and it just depends on what your trying to do. Sometimes Mac is fast and intuitive other times you just want to pull your hair out because of all the extra steps you have to go through. Just depends.
Maybe not all of us have a stick up our a_ _ so it does not bother us much. Seriously if your just too damn stupid to figure it out maybe you should not be reading it.
The top 2 ideas are very good. I remember hearing a story about a little girl being awarded a patent because she developed a style or way to swing on a playground swing. And although the story was cute it was just plain stupid. It demonstrated by far how out of control patent system has become. Another is medical and chemical companies have been getting patents on peoples genes. People who have rare genetic conditions. The company patents there gene so that no other company can work out a cure for the condition. And they don't have to ask you if they can patent your gene. Apparently even though it does not belong to them they can patent it. It has just gotten way out of hand. It no longer serves the original intent. Huge companies can use patents to stifle innovation and such from small companies or the lone inventor. On the other side the companies that have to continually fiend of the patent troll also loose out by drawing there resources. This all is kind of like a karma response to the years of backwater deals in which the large companies lobbied congress to weaken the patient laws. And the countless judges who are appointed to oversee many of these cases have absolutely no experience in patent law. Its all coming back around now to bite those who contributed to the sorry state our patent system is in now.