If a gamer with plenty of time in his hands (think teenager and/or young adult) is a bit techy-hungry or just techy-curious, that person will download and try to install a Linux distribution.
If on his freshly installed free OS he can *very easily* install Steam and start playing any of the Steam game in no time with proper voice support and Steam-community support, that guy will think: "Hey, this is cool!". Nothing else is cooler on Linux for someone that age. The stability, the OS performance, the virus-free hassle, the constant kernel optimisation etc, is just an added bonus but nothing as cool as going online and play Left 4 Dead (or any other Source-based game) on your freshly-installed totally-free new Linux OS. It is then, and only then that the desktop market will start to really change.
Dual-boot is a pain in the neck. Virtualisation isn't strong enough to run a AAA game within Linux at decent FPS and Wine is only a temporary solution (sometimes working very well, sometimes not so much).
If Valve is thinking about bringing a native Linux version of their gaming platform, they're simply investing on making sure they can still sell their games no matter what tomorrow's OS platform will be. Funnily enough, I believe that if they release a native Linux port of their gaming platform, they will incidentally be a key factor in bringing more people to Linux, by thousands if not millions.
Thanks to all, we have now a nice and pretty much complete list of things to check to make sure pretty much everything gets scanned while going through the U.S. customs.
Maybe the average guard won't read Slashdot but if anybody in the entire U.S. customs administration is concerned by security and stumble upon this, it'll take nothing much than an hour or two for this smart head to read all the comments, make a nice and complete list of all the 'alternatives' and send it to his superiors for a future U.S. customs agent training udpate.
You can now forget about using any of your USB sticks, memory cards, dual boot, etc to pass the US customs.
Is Bruce Schneier secretly working for the U.S. customs?:)
The real question is: Are people ready to migrate to Linux?
I'm using Kubuntu for more than a year now. I'm a web developer (PHP/MySQL) and Linux makes me feel at home. But certainly not since day one.
It took me ages to get my head around the overall different ways of managing files, drivers, devices and the OS (and I'm still learning). But this was hard for me because I'm behind a Windows machine since 1995, which is 13 years of Windows experience and habits.
The vast majority of regular Windows users tend to forget that they have very often spent hours trying to install a new PCI/ISA/Device/Software on their Windows machine and had to learn everything from scratch on Windows (drivers, software settings, registry, install location, reboot, test again, etc). Those same people now say that 'Windows is easier to use than Linux' simply because they have a better experience with it and know how to do stuff and they tend to forget that, they just feel 'comfortable' using Windows and now that they have reached that point, all the hassle and frustration they've been through is only a bad memory that is fainting rapidly.
When you migrate to another OS, you're lost. For ages, I was looking for something similar than the Windows Explorer on KDE. I was using Konqueror --profile filemanagement for that and I thought at the start that the Windows Explorer was better (because I was used to the view, the shortcuts, the overall usage of Windows Explorer). It's only after using Konqueror on an everyday basis and spending a bit of time to discover Konqueror's features that I realised that Konqueror is miles ahead of Windows Explorer on any front. Me having difficulties to use something else than Windows Explorer has to do with my previous habit, not with Linux (or KDE).
Habits are hard to break, it is a big part of our Human nature.
A friend of mine puts computer together (old and new) and sells them to his clients with Windows XP on it. 90% of those clients aren't computer litterate and they come back to him for:
- Defragmenting the system
- Fixing Spywares/Viruses
- Installing a new device (or new drivers for an existing device)
- Backup and reinstall (generally when defrag/antivirus/antispywares won't do anything to make the machine more responsive)
- Installing a software they bought at the local store
This is, to me, ridiculously simple to do on a Windows machine, but it's not the case for 90% of the population. For a total newcomer who isn't computer-litterate at all, learning Linux from scratch and learning Windows from scratch represents the same challenge. It is completely different for people who have already aquired knowledge of a given system.
Here are the three major problems with migrating to Linux:
- Device drivers compatibility (has nothing to do with Linux or any distribution)
- Computer games compatibility (has nothing to do with Linux or any distribution)
- Computer software compatibility (has nothing to do with Linux or any distribution)
None of them has anything to do with Linux or any distribution what so ever. Those issues are related to hardware developers, game developers and software developers (or to a certain extend, schools and colleges as they seem to be more encline to teach the Microsoft way of using a computer than the Open Source way, although this is starting to change).
- If your device driver doesn't work, it's not because of Linux but because of the device's manufacturer that decides not to supply Linux drivers
- If your favorite game doesn't run on Linux, it's because the game makers didn't bother making the game using open-source technologies (*)
- If your favorite software doesn't run on Linux, it's here again because the software maker doesn't have a clue on how to write a software that would run on any platform, not because of
1) Single sign-on is very important for intranets and corporations, Microsoft has a winner there if they can drag the vast majority of PHP devs onto IIS.
2) True, although Gartner forsees a 90% Open Source implementation in businesses between now and 2012. You don't have to be an expert analyst to see the true benefits of Open Source (it's a bit daft not to like Open Source tbh. I like to call Open Source "Programming 2.0")
3) I think they can, they are fighting hardcore on that front.
4) It's not going in that direction: it's not for current.NET users to start to use PHP, it's for current PHP users to start to use IIS.
5) Hosting providers don't care about using Apache or IIS, all they care about is making money. Maybe the technical guys and admins in those hosting companies have a word to say but if the clients ask for IIS, they will implement IIS solutions.
6) It's not about PHP, it's about bringing the market share of IIS servers up, if PHP is in the way, they'll use it. Microsoft and Zend are already working closely together to 'optimise PHP on IIS' through FastCGI.I don't think it's a good idea to play with the devil but its definitely (and unfortunately) making sense for Zend/PHP.
7) It's the other way around here also: bring the PHP devs into IIS.
Do you really think that Microsoft is after Yahoo!'s 'community' when they have MSN? Or trying to make money out of taking over the company? Do you really think that the real value of this deal lies in what Yahoo! is worth now? Advertising is a real good source of income alright, but Microsoft isn't an advertising company, they're all about computer OS and software, that's their core business (although having a share of the advertising business pie is probably a good operation too). And within that core business, if there is an area where Microsoft isn't leading, an area where there is a lot of potential improvement, it definitely is in the webserver business.
I'd say Microsoft is really interested in having a marketing tool, a showcase for their IIS/FastCGI system and Yahoo! is ideal for this.
If the deal goes through, Microsoft will bring IIS/MSSQL in Yahoo! and use it with PHP (I don't know when but it will happen, that's a given).
This would be a major showcase for IIS and it will help the vast majority of PHP developers to eventually switch to IIS instead of EasyPHP or any other Apache/MySQL system (remember people that most of the PHP developers are on Windows, NOT Linux).
If the deal goes through, Microsoft will be able to showcase FastCGI on a worldwide scale and through this, they will dent (or take over) the webserver business with IIS.
This is, to me, the most important aspect of the whole deal.
They have their.NET platform with ASP and C# (which is supposed to be a fantastic language). What is the reason behind trying to optimise PHP on Windows Server 2008?
Is it to push the vast majority of PHP developers to deploy on a Windows platform to be able to, in a few years, say: "Hey, now that you're on a Windows platform, why don't you have a look at.NET?"
I'm amazed to see how a subject on computer security is turned pretty much from around the first replies into a "smoking pot" flamebait. Does this reflect on anything true? Should we think of hackers as pot-smokers? I'll be interested in seeing the stats on this, but as both activities are illegal, there is little chance of seeing any serious studies on this anytime soon...
Slashdot Mirror
If a gamer with plenty of time in his hands (think teenager and/or young adult) is a bit techy-hungry or just techy-curious, that person will download and try to install a Linux distribution.
If on his freshly installed free OS he can *very easily* install Steam and start playing any of the Steam game in no time with proper voice support and Steam-community support, that guy will think: "Hey, this is cool!". Nothing else is cooler on Linux for someone that age. The stability, the OS performance, the virus-free hassle, the constant kernel optimisation etc, is just an added bonus but nothing as cool as going online and play Left 4 Dead (or any other Source-based game) on your freshly-installed totally-free new Linux OS. It is then, and only then that the desktop market will start to really change.
Dual-boot is a pain in the neck. Virtualisation isn't strong enough to run a AAA game within Linux at decent FPS and Wine is only a temporary solution (sometimes working very well, sometimes not so much).
If Valve is thinking about bringing a native Linux version of their gaming platform, they're simply investing on making sure they can still sell their games no matter what tomorrow's OS platform will be. Funnily enough, I believe that if they release a native Linux port of their gaming platform, they will incidentally be a key factor in bringing more people to Linux, by thousands if not millions.
Building rockets as an alternative business seems to be a new trend in the software industry, after Carmack, now the KDE team ...
No excuses, typing this on your iPhone has probably taken you just as long as uploading the videos ...
...
Focus is a matter of deciding what you're not going to do
(Jokes aside, gratz on the prize, well deserved after all the hard work)
That's the remedy ...
You're such a masturbating monkey ...
Thanks to all, we have now a nice and pretty much complete list of things to check to make sure pretty much everything gets scanned while going through the U.S. customs.
:)
Maybe the average guard won't read Slashdot but if anybody in the entire U.S. customs administration is concerned by security and stumble upon this, it'll take nothing much than an hour or two for this smart head to read all the comments, make a nice and complete list of all the 'alternatives' and send it to his superiors for a future U.S. customs agent training udpate.
You can now forget about using any of your USB sticks, memory cards, dual boot, etc to pass the US customs.
Is Bruce Schneier secretly working for the U.S. customs?
me too ...
I'm using Kubuntu for more than a year now. I'm a web developer (PHP/MySQL) and Linux makes me feel at home. But certainly not since day one.
It took me ages to get my head around the overall different ways of managing files, drivers, devices and the OS (and I'm still learning). But this was hard for me because I'm behind a Windows machine since 1995, which is 13 years of Windows experience and habits.
The vast majority of regular Windows users tend to forget that they have very often spent hours trying to install a new PCI/ISA/Device/Software on their Windows machine and had to learn everything from scratch on Windows (drivers, software settings, registry, install location, reboot, test again, etc). Those same people now say that 'Windows is easier to use than Linux' simply because they have a better experience with it and know how to do stuff and they tend to forget that, they just feel 'comfortable' using Windows and now that they have reached that point, all the hassle and frustration they've been through is only a bad memory that is fainting rapidly.
When you migrate to another OS, you're lost. For ages, I was looking for something similar than the Windows Explorer on KDE. I was using Konqueror --profile filemanagement for that and I thought at the start that the Windows Explorer was better (because I was used to the view, the shortcuts, the overall usage of Windows Explorer). It's only after using Konqueror on an everyday basis and spending a bit of time to discover Konqueror's features that I realised that Konqueror is miles ahead of Windows Explorer on any front. Me having difficulties to use something else than Windows Explorer has to do with my previous habit, not with Linux (or KDE).
Habits are hard to break, it is a big part of our Human nature.
A friend of mine puts computer together (old and new) and sells them to his clients with Windows XP on it. 90% of those clients aren't computer litterate and they come back to him for:
This is, to me, ridiculously simple to do on a Windows machine, but it's not the case for 90% of the population. For a total newcomer who isn't computer-litterate at all, learning Linux from scratch and learning Windows from scratch represents the same challenge. It is completely different for people who have already aquired knowledge of a given system.
Here are the three major problems with migrating to Linux:
None of them has anything to do with Linux or any distribution what so ever. Those issues are related to hardware developers, game developers and software developers (or to a certain extend, schools and colleges as they seem to be more encline to teach the Microsoft way of using a computer than the Open Source way, although this is starting to change).
1) Single sign-on is very important for intranets and corporations, Microsoft has a winner there if they can drag the vast majority of PHP devs onto IIS. .NET users to start to use PHP, it's for current PHP users to start to use IIS.
2) True, although Gartner forsees a 90% Open Source implementation in businesses between now and 2012. You don't have to be an expert analyst to see the true benefits of Open Source (it's a bit daft not to like Open Source tbh. I like to call Open Source "Programming 2.0")
3) I think they can, they are fighting hardcore on that front.
4) It's not going in that direction: it's not for current
5) Hosting providers don't care about using Apache or IIS, all they care about is making money. Maybe the technical guys and admins in those hosting companies have a word to say but if the clients ask for IIS, they will implement IIS solutions.
6) It's not about PHP, it's about bringing the market share of IIS servers up, if PHP is in the way, they'll use it. Microsoft and Zend are already working closely together to 'optimise PHP on IIS' through FastCGI.I don't think it's a good idea to play with the devil but its definitely (and unfortunately) making sense for Zend/PHP.
7) It's the other way around here also: bring the PHP devs into IIS.
Do you really think that Microsoft is after Yahoo!'s 'community' when they have MSN? Or trying to make money out of taking over the company? Do you really think that the real value of this deal lies in what Yahoo! is worth now? Advertising is a real good source of income alright, but Microsoft isn't an advertising company, they're all about computer OS and software, that's their core business (although having a share of the advertising business pie is probably a good operation too). And within that core business, if there is an area where Microsoft isn't leading, an area where there is a lot of potential improvement, it definitely is in the webserver business.
I'd say Microsoft is really interested in having a marketing tool, a showcase for their IIS/FastCGI system and Yahoo! is ideal for this.
Ever heard of FastCGI? PHP on IIS?
If the deal goes through, Microsoft will bring IIS/MSSQL in Yahoo! and use it with PHP (I don't know when but it will happen, that's a given).
This would be a major showcase for IIS and it will help the vast majority of PHP developers to eventually switch to IIS instead of EasyPHP or any other Apache/MySQL system (remember people that most of the PHP developers are on Windows, NOT Linux).
If the deal goes through, Microsoft will be able to showcase FastCGI on a worldwide scale and through this, they will dent (or take over) the webserver business with IIS.
This is, to me, the most important aspect of the whole deal.
Is this their first official UNG release? Maybe they should have called it SiUNGlarity ...
They have their .NET platform with ASP and C# (which is supposed to be a fantastic language). What is the reason behind trying to optimise PHP on Windows Server 2008?
Is it to push the vast majority of PHP developers to deploy on a Windows platform to be able to, in a few years, say: "Hey, now that you're on a Windows platform, why don't you have a look at .NET?"
Not sure about Aero but I wouldn't be surprised if compiz runs fine.
I'm amazed to see how a subject on computer security is turned pretty much from around the first replies into a "smoking pot" flamebait. Does this reflect on anything true? Should we think of hackers as pot-smokers? I'll be interested in seeing the stats on this, but as both activities are illegal, there is little chance of seeing any serious studies on this anytime soon ...
Shit, I'm using KDE and Vim, am I 50% right or 50% wrong?
Isn't Bill Gates big into poker?
(defence turret voice:) "I don't hate you"
Very true, two weeks will do it if you're really willing to force yourself to use Vim only for any text/code editing you do.