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User: piojo

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  1. Re:Should it be any different? on Mom Blasts Ballmer Over Kid's Vista Experience · · Score: 1

    Mod #20943409 down for being inaccurate and reductionist. There are many Linux Distributions that simply work. Especially now. Your information is out of date and you're clouding the issue. I think you ought to read my post again, and perhaps its parent. I can't imagine what you are responding to. Would you explain how I'm being inaccurate or reductionist? (And it's pretty funny for you to call my information out of date.)

    I think you misread my post. Perhaps you should read it again, and it's parent. I don't even know how to interpret your response--you seem to think I implied something about Linux not working well? Sometimes my wireless card stops working after my laptop comes out of suspend, but overall, I find that my distros of choice (using the newest kernels) work quite well.
  2. Should it be any different? on Mom Blasts Ballmer Over Kid's Vista Experience · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I love how people like Ballmer throw around the word 'value' The product is actually a hook, designed to get you tied into Microsoft's other products and services - Office, MSN, media content through their partners, etc. If it was about an operating system it would fit on one CD, require a few megabytes of memory and be secure. Windows is not an operating system, it's an environment bundled with an operating system. Look at this from someone else's perspective for a bit. These are decent products that microsoft is offering, and integrating them and preinstalling as much as possible is good for the consumer, provided they can afford it. After all, how many people find it worthwhile to use Linux From Scratch? Sure, it's a great learning experience, but most computer users don't want a learning experience, they want a fully functional computer.
  3. Re:school is boring... if you're an idiot on SAS CEO Blasts Old-School Schooling · · Score: 1

    I guess being able to SIT STILL, PAY ATTENTION, and FOCUS on a single activity (that doesn't include flashing lights or music) is such a useless, obsolete skill. I have a very low tolerance for classes that don't provide enough information--for teachers that continue to talk on a subject after I already understand it, for teachers that explain what I consider common sense, and for any and all intro classes. It isn't because I'm part of the first generation that grew up with the internet (I didn't, actually), but because I have a low tolerance for boredom. The new technology isn't the problem -- it's just a new avenue for escape. (But when I can't bring my laptop to class, I'll bring scientific papers or a good book.)
  4. Re:H1-B on Examining Presidential Candidates' Tech Agendas · · Score: 1

    You have good points, but I think you are wrong to call this racist. It's not, because favoring those who were born in my country over those that weren't has nothing to do with race.

  5. I can't say on Owning a Wireless Camera, Its User and Its Network · · Score: 3, Funny

    I can't say I've ever owned a wireless camera or its user.

  6. Re:This is exactly why I hate GUIs on The GIMP UI Redesign · · Score: 1

    You should learn to use your WM. Being able to pin the main window (so it appears on every workspace), roll up, minimize and place windows on different workspaces is more powerful and flexible than any MDI or app-specific approach. My desktop also automatically groups taskbar elements when I have more than 10 windows open for a single app.

    To me it sounds like you don't actually use GIMP. Sheesh. Sounds to me like you have come up with a bunch of workarounds for an annoying behavior, and now you're advocating that the annoying behavior does not need to be fixed.
  7. Re:In a blind taste test.... on Debating the Linux Process Scheduler · · Score: 1

    actually, whenever I load amazon.com in firefox, my mp3 player (xmms) will temporarily stop playing (2.6.18 on debian etch).

    So I, for one, would welcome our new completely fair scheduling overlords, if it can fix this annoyance! Maybe it will help, maybe not. What it will do is make sure that firefox and xmms each get 50% of your processor if nothing else is asking for it. If that's not enough for xmms, you need to use "nice" to change its priority. If you don't know how, the easiest way is probably to use the process manager "top" and press "r", enter the process ID of xmms, and give it a niceness of -5 or -7. (Tweak to taste. and you need to run "top" as root to do this. And yes, this is all done on the command line.)
  8. Re:Can someone provide some insight? on Debating the Linux Process Scheduler · · Score: 1

    You know, it's stuff like this that shows Linux is NOT meant for consumer use, and why attempts at making user-friendly desktop distros still feel rather patched together. A -20 to 19 scale? What the hell? Yes, but it works fine without any of that stuff. Normal users don't need to know about nice. It's more useful for those of us that want to compile two software projects at the same time (one going as fast as possible, while the other can starve for all we care), while listening to audio and running firefox, thunderbird, and one huge momma of a text editor. (On a pretty old laptop.)
  9. Re:Can someone provide some insight? on Debating the Linux Process Scheduler · · Score: 1

    Err...only slightly. Unix based operating systems separate user space from the rest of the system. Nothing much can be done without root access. On a properly configured system, you don't need to be root to send spam, nor to install a keylogger as a firefox extension. On an improperly configured system, it's easy to get root access from sudo by waiting for the real user to type it on a different terminal. (I have never tried writing a script or program that did that, but it seems possible based on my understanding of the semantics of sudo.)
  10. Re:I've never understood the desire to use an Ipod on Apple Cuts Off Linux iPod Users · · Score: 1

    Name a few. I'm currently using a 20GB iPod, but I'm entirely open to the idea of upgrading to something more open, with better battery life and better sound. The iRiver H100 and H300 lines fit that description (H140/H340 for 40GB, H120/H320 for 20GB), but they are no longer being manufactured (so they might actually be more expensive). I put RockBox on my iriver and like it better than the original firmware, but I dual boot so I can use the mic. This player seems better than the iPod in every respect except the size. Unfortunately, you might not want to buy used electronics. I usually don't like to risk that.
  11. Re:One month on Apple Cuts Off Linux iPod Users · · Score: 1

    What's DAAP encryption?

  12. Re:Causality on Gates Successor Says Microsoft Laid Foundation for Google · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Hey, you know. My grandfather was a Canadian soldier who met my oma in Holland during World War 2. World War 2 was started by Adolf Hitler. THEREFORE, I would never exist without Adolf Hitler.

    I guess I'd better be thankful... Causality is a fun and complex thing. Some things (most) create ever-growing waves of effects that expand polynomially (or is it exponentially?) throughout time. Other things are engulfed (I think)--I suspect that some movement of molecules turns to friction and energy and whether the molecule bounced in this direction or that direction has no effect. Perhaps the actions of a person that starves and dies on a deserted island are engulfed--their effects on the world diminish with time. A man like Hitler, however, forever altered the world, and this world is constantly getting further from a world where he didn't exist (the changes are still growing, we will never return to what the world would have been).

    I'm not sure what differentiates an event that is "lost" from one that catches on and expands polynomially? (Or maybe all actions are engulfed, eventually--the Earth is going to be swallowed by the sun in pretty much exactly the same way as it would be if Hitler had not lived.)

    Sorry for my ramblings, and nobody had better mention Godwin's law.
  13. Re:What's worrying me... on Compiz Gets Thumbs-Up for Gutsy Gibbon · · Score: 1

    I have to agree with GP. In my experience, although the 3d effects aren't implicitly useful I agree, usually, but I have found a lot of use in the scale plugin (comparable to and possibly a little better than expose on a Mac). It makes managing many windows on one virtual desktop much less annoying. Viewing all windows (scaled down) at once helps find one much more easily than looking at the task bar or alt+tab. Same goes for closing windows by middle clicking their scaled versions.
  14. Re:Sure, but on Theo de Raadt On Relicensing BSD Code · · Score: 1

    The problem is that the BSD license adds restrictions that the GPL itself does not include. Ergo, a BSD-licensed bit of code cannot be changed to a GPL-licensed bit of code without violating one of the licenses. This seems to imply that the FSF does not view the requirement that the original copyright notice be kept as a restriction (and hence, people are free to use BSD code in GPL code without dropping the copyright requirement).
  15. Re:What's the point? on Debian win32-loader Goes Official · · Score: 1

    If Linux isnt as simple as installing a program in Windows then Linux isnt ready for the typical windows user You know, people always say that sort of thing, but I wouldn't want Joe Nobody to have to install Linux any more than I would want him to have to install Windows. Reinstalling an operating system has always been the sort of thing that the average person asks their geekiest friend for help with.

    And you can say what you want about, "Well, it's what we need to get the same market share that Windows has," but I would question why it is that you really feel you need the same market share that Windows has. Linux is easy enough to use for me, a few of my friends, and my girlfriend (most of the time). It is a great tool (and toy), but I don't really see the need to shove it down the throat of every man, woman, and child in the world.
  16. Re:So how big is this thing? on Russia Tests World's Largest Non-Nuclear Bomb · · Score: 1

    Many argue that the bomb impractical, however, imagine what would happen if a series of them would be deployed by submarines in the Atlantic Ocean close to the New York shore. And then detonated simultaneously, creating a tsunami wave. This bomb won't function underwater, it needs air. Of course, it could still destroy the submarines, if they were close enough.
  17. Re:Hey Stallman, how's Hurd coming along? on Richard Stallman Proclaims Don't Follow Linus Torvalds · · Score: 1

    That's part of what (clearly) annoys Stallman about Torvalds. Stallman's making this huge principled stand for freedom, and all Torvalds really cares about is his kernel.

    You may not consider freedom important, but Stallman does. And despite his difficult persona, he should be applauded. Come on, man. Do you even know what Linus' views are? Have you ever read one of his e-mails explaining what he thinks of the GPLv3? You need not think he's right, but you oughtn't just dismiss him implicitly like you just did.
  18. Re:RIAA loosing a jury trial on RIAA Trying To Avoid a Jury Trial · · Score: 1

    I believe they are not "loosing" it, but rather trying to prevent the jury trial from being loosed.

  19. Re:Backup Device on Forensic Computer Targets Digital Crime · · Score: 1

    rsync? The options are there.

  20. Re:somebody needs to stop... on Anti-Scammers Become Storm Botnet Victims · · Score: 1

    Microsoft has caused these problems by shipping a faulty product. If Linux had 85% market share, I guarantee you that there would be Linux-based botnets running around. How? Find an application vulnerability that allows execution of arbitrary code. I hear about a few of these every year, and there would be more if Russia and China's most devious minds were dedicated to the task. To send spam, you don't even need to be root. If you want to hide your presence, you must be root, but that is easy on any moderately badly configured distribution that uses sudo (I'm thinking of popular distributions, here).

    Microsoft has made some design decisions that make it easier for a worm to get control of a machine, but it's an overstatement to say that the whole issue is their fault.
  21. Re:In other news on Mindbridge Saves "Bunches of Money" In Switch To Linux · · Score: 1

    Oh man, I fucked that post up...

  22. Re:In other news on Mindbridge Saves "Bunches of Money" In Switch To Linux · · Score: 1

    Yep, and the ratio of software cost to support cost for both Windows and Linux is roughly the same... Not so. limit(200/x) as x->infinity = infinity, while limit(x/x) as x->0 is 1.
  23. Re:And why they shouldnt bar it ? on Barrier to Web 2.0 — IT Departments · · Score: 1

    What does JavaScript really offer that can't be done more securely using PHP, Perl, ColdFusion, or some other server-side language? I can expand and hide posts and threads without reloading the page. Can you?
  24. Re:And.... on Why Myths Persist · · Score: 1

    No. The fact is that there have been NO observed miracles, ever. Just tales of them.

    Even a single observed miracle would shatter the world as we know it, including all of science. Trust me, if that happened we'd know about it. Come on. Science has a hard enough time accepting claims made by scientists. There have been no miracles published in peer-reviewed journals that were experimentally reproducible and sufficiently convincing to draw funding for further research.

    In fact, I once saw a teacup shift an inch when I was eating in a restaurant with my dad. We both saw it, and were completely stunned. There was no explanation for this cup's spontaneous movement. Now, I don't consider this any more than a curiosity that I can't explain, but this could fit the profile of a miracle. The world as we know it wasn't shattered.
  25. Re:Can you say "class action" ? on Comcast Forging Packets To Filter Torrents · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Major ISP's in the US have told me in meetings that P2P makes up 70-80% of their total traffic. Do you really believe that the majority of this is legal content? I wonder how much of it is legally grey? For example, anime that is not licensed for distribution (completely unavailable) in the US. Yes, it's still copyrighted, but that doesn't mean it's a copyright violation. Perhaps it's not even copyrighted in the US. I don't know international law that well. My point is that it's a legal grey area (unless I'm totally wrong), and a series of anime consumes a lot of bandwidth. One episode is typically 175-250 MB, and these episodes come out once per week (unless someone is downloading an old series, whereupon they might download all of it at once).

    In any case, it doesn't matter whether most bittorrent use is legal. It's not okay to filter a protocol that customers are paying to use (unless they filtered individual torrents, but that's too much work, and it's asking for lawsuits).