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Comment Linux should work for me because ... (Score 1) 1154

... I use a surprisingly small number of applications. In the last decade the types of applications I always run on my computer are one each of the following:

  • Photo software to grab from camera/phone and put into albums on my computer
  • Text editor to update my homepage
  • Interactive fiction authoring and interpreter software
  • Some kind of office suite - usually not Microsoft Office and I'm happy
  • Music management software to store my files and copy them to my phone
  • Calendar and contact manager that syncs to my phone
  • Email, RSS, Web, FTP, Jabber software

Having tried this with Windows, Linux, and MacOS I can say the solution that works out-of-the box for me is MacOS. I'd rather use open source software because I like donating money to software I use rather than paying for a silly license that puts a smile on the face of an attorney somewhere.

When I tried this with Linux I have to do a lot research to make sure the phone works with the OS and the software available for the OS. I've tried using Songbird and Lightning/Sunbird as well as the full suite of Mozilla-based applications. Inevitably something I use a computer for is not available in a single Linux distribution. If the phone works the calendar is crappy or Songbird doesn't sync with that phone.

So for me it does boil down not just to the software that's available but to device compatibility. I'm sure it's possible but computers are less hobby and more appliance for me. On an odd notes I was able to do all of this on an older MacBook I didn't know what to use for. So with the exception of the OS, obviously, I had all my music in open source applications: OpenOffice, Songbird, Thunderbird, Instantbird, Inform 7, Sunbird and a small handful of text editors. I couldn't find the right Linux counterparts.

Comment Re:How about percentage of the LAND AREA? (Score 1) 105

Because it's stupid to have cell coverage in vast swathes of uninhabited areas?

What does habitation have to do with anything? Some uninhabited areas have lots of travelers. Airports probably have a population of zero, yet those travellers I'll bet use a lot of the provided cell coverage. Same goes for the endless stretches of Interstate in places like Wyoming and Montana. Population zero but lots of people using the road.

Comment Re:I might be a hardass, but (Score 1) 729

You could be scarring him for life you know. If he doesn't have an aptitude for math, this will not help him.

I agree. Education is more about discovering yourself than learning geometry or calculus - two things that directly benefit few people; but obviously their work is to the benefit of the rest of us. Presumably when a kid leaves high school they have an idea of what they want to do next - study to become a writer or mathematician, for example. Forcing Hemingway to do math problems in the summer would have wrecked his writing ;-)

Comment Re:Suggested by someone who has forgotten (Score 1) 729

That's a good point. My son is in school for seven hours a day. Minus one hour for lunch leaves six. That's six periods each 50 minutes, for a total of five hours of scheduled instruction. When you factor in roll call for attendance, the normal hustle and bustle of teenage kids it's probably closer to four hours of actual instruction, on a good day.

We have friends who home schooled their kids. They completed (and exceeded) minimum curriculum in our state in four hours a day. And she educated two very smart and confident kids.

Comment In my son's 9th grade algebra class .... (Score 1) 729

One of the students did not know 8 x 4 is "32". He did know 8 x 2 but, according to my son, could not double "16" to get to "32".

I don't think he forgot that over the summer - he never learned it. This high school is a popular public school in my city many students "choice" in if they are not in the school's immediate vicinity. Even the silly statewide proficiency tests let this kid fall through the cracks.

He wasn't failed by summer but by a school system that allows a fourteen year old boy to enter high school not knowing 8 x 4.

There is noting wrong with summer than a year-round school will fix.

Comment Look at truck stops when you're on Interstates (Score 1) 365

I've done a lot of driving in the American west - and I've been impressed at the proliferation of WiFi at truck stops; even those in ten people towns in Montana and Wyoming. Of course, this restricts you to interstate travel for the most part, but that's the same case with 4G I'm guessing.

The Trucker's Guide to the Internet gives some advice on this, and talks a little about MiFi, which may or may not be of use to you. Truckers have solved many of the problems you may face and I'm guessing will have some sound practical advice.

Good luck in this. My approach is similar but involves a sailboat with up times doing software testing when I'm in a marina with WiFi. I can break software from a sailboat salon in the Bahamas as easily as I can in the Rocky Mountains. I won't have any access while sailing, of course, but like truck stops most marinas offer WiFi and many of those have free access.

Comment Re:Not safe (Score 1) 301

... since driving only requires a set of rules and environmental awareness.

If you replace the word driving with any verb your statement is true. I can't imagine the mayhem this will mean - in part because I don't think anyone knows how 'autonomous cars' will be implemented. In the simplest since we are talking about putting our safety into the hands of something engineered. Fair enough - we do that every day of our life - most of it unwittingly. However, engineering it seems to me, is best when solving a specific problem we're having with a conflict between our sets of rules and the environment. Homes and bridges were probably the first things experienced, if not hunger or thirst, solved by engineering. I can't for the life of me think of a problem solved by 'autonomous cars' that won't create more problems requiring more engineering.

Android

Submission + - Going all-Google to replace your PC and TV service (infoworld.com)

GMGruman writes: "James Curnow writes "Google's vision of computing involves tossing your PC or Mac and moving to a cloud-centric, all-Google ecosystem. Call it the Googleplex: a mix of the Chrome OS-based Chromebox PC or Chromebook laptop, one or more Android tablets — perhaps a 10-inch model for work and a 7-inch Nexus 7 for entertainment on the go — and a Nexus Q home entertainment system that you control via an Android device." So he takes the "Googleplex" for a test drive to see how well it delivers on the Android/Chrome OS vision."
Robotics

Submission + - Robots are Revolting - Tourist Killed (excite.com) 4

pubwvj writes: "In Denmark the robots are revolting, killing and maiming innocent bystanders. "Police in Denmark say an American tourist was killed and four people were slightly injured when hit by a runaway electric vehicle on a Copenhagen pedestrian street. ...the small garbage collecting vehicle started rolling by itself after the driver had stepped out to empty a trash basket... the tourist was hit by the vehicle and dragged for several yards. Four other people sustained minor injuries Wednesday.""

Comment Re:Making airplanes is all about regulation (Score 3, Informative) 100

Making airplanes isn't about technology, it is all about regulation and certification of components and complete product. Open sourcing wont help you with that.

Not necessarily in the United States, where the Federal Aviation Administration "... does not certify, certificate, or approve aircraft kits. Also, the FAA does not approve kit manufacturers." Though I'm sure there are regulations for the person piloting the aircraft.

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