gparted is a graphical tool for editing partitions and already has a raft of dependencies. One more won't make a difference especially since python is used increasingly in core distributions for scripting instead of bash.

Secondly, perhaps the reason that gparted is considered a mess is precisely because it mixes up the graphical parts and the low level stuff in one package, a problem compounded because the installer also has its own partition editor. Fedora appears to have written a layer called blivet to abstract out partitioning from the installer GUI and therefore it makes sense that they use it in the desktop also.

It's a neat idea but what happens if a fish gets stuck in one of these things, or if a tear develops and they're unceremoniously dumped onto a concrete sidewalk? What sort of pressures are involved if there are 30 or 40 fish in them at once? What's the maximum incline that can carry them? If the incline is low, are the fish going to shoved up a big spiral to reach the top in one go or are there staging pools? The tech in its current form seems more useful for fish farming where the need to move fish around is probably an every day issue.

Given that many dams (including the Three Gorges) have a boat lift and locks, perhaps the answer is to adapt these so that they also transport fish at the same time. Or adapt fish stairs so that they apply a principle similar to a lock where sections automatically raise and fall to give fish some respite and assistance to reach the top.

A better reaction - state you are not interested. Don't explain or elaborate, state. Don't give reasons that will be turned against you "Too expensive? Well what about if we...". Just say not interested and prepare to wrap it up. Better yet, don't go to a sales pitch in the first place. Anything that involves attending a "free seminar" or a "presentation" to collect some cold called prize is probably a scam.

I'm not even sure why anyone thinks the resale market is any better either. Yeah you avoid paying a full lump sum but you're still whacked with fees and hidden charges and have to deal with shysters. What's the point?

I can't see why anyone would agree to timeshare or possibly contemplate it representing good value. It's easy to book a hotel or rent apartments virtually anywhere in the world, usually from private owners for reasonable fees according to time of year and location.

All these timeshare deals involve a very large lump sum down up front and then resort management fees and other hidden charges. And I'm sure they'd be pushing to loan this lump sum for usurious rates. By the time it's all added up it's probably far more expensive than booking somewhere and that's before considering the lump sum is in the bank or there is no debt to furnish.

It's a scam pure and simple. Even "reputable" timeshare companies are pushing a bad value product. I don't quite understand why the rules governing it aren't stricter or the practice outright banned.

I suspect it will be enough for them to rebrand themselves. They probably run several brands already. The sad part is the way they are allowed to operate that way at all.

I used to read books on a Palm Pilot and I still read them on my phone. Handy for a train other idle moments although nowhere close to ideal.

Anyway, I see a $20 e-reader as something which is viable and useful particularly if governments started issuing them to kids instead of a heap of text books. It's not even clear to me why governments pay (or expect parents to pay) for text books from publishers when they could use the same money to commission the text books and then distribute them electronically and DRM-free for nothing.

On Windows services.msc is the snap-in GUI for services. It's the thing that tells you what is running, has options to stop / start them and property sheet to see what user they're run as and what they depend on. It's not a pretty GUI but it does its job. The biggest issue with Windows services is there are too damned many of them. I think Microsoft should implement some kind of higher level grouping so that it's easier to figure out what can be safely turned off. Another tangential peeve is MMC isn't hi-dpi aware which means all the snap-ins are blurry on my laptop.

I don't see that it has much bearing to systemd or init beyond implementing the same basic concept of having system processes that can be started and stopped (and a manual or automatic method of ordering their launch). Unix daemon monitoring GUIs have had start/stop buttons and status for the fundamental reason that Windows does.

And therein the analogy becomes obvious. Find some elitist niche of the car world, or the plane world, or anywhere else where the choice is self assembly or buying something off the shelf and you will find people looking down on you. It's fine for them that they enjoy building their "thing" (whatever it may be) from scratch. It doesn't mean people who choose to buy something ready made with the intent of using it for something are somehow sheep.

The typical reason that the word "sheep", "sheeple" etc. comes into a conversation is because the person throwing the word around has already decided they are morally and intellectually superior and cannot countenance another point of view.

Yup I guess I did - not sure how since I posted it in the same window as another post I made which ended up in the correct thread.

Oh dear oh dear. Just because someone buys a PC and expects it to work out of the box (the horror), does not make them a "sheep". Are you a "sheep" for buying an assembled car instead of building one from parts?

Besides that, I bet most Linux users tend to be quite conservative in their hardware choices. They know that new hardware + Linux is a recipe for disaster and it's better to wait and see what works reliably. Some may even only run Linux on older or even hand-me-down hardware which is known to work.

That might change if Steambox / SteamOS took off and became a viable choice for gamers. Perhaps then the likes of Intel / NVidia / AMD and the board makers may pay more attention to supporting Linux properly from the beginning. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

It neglects to say which cities, which direction the ash is likely to spread, or provide a diagram to aid in that understanding.

No, it would just turn you into a delicious pool sized bowl of soup.

The internet facilitates reason, criticism, satire, and alternate points of view. And yeah porn, fun, shopping and irreverence. All things which an authoritarian theocracy has reason to fear.

But at the same time it is interesting how many shills leap out of the woodwork in any news article which is critical of Russia or Israel. Clearly these countries have teams of people who make concerted efforts to drown out, berate, brow beat or otherwise pooh pooh any story no matter how credible it is.

One person with perhaps enough battery / oxygen to go a few hours. No where to sleep or eat or go to the toilet. I think the cartels could do better than that for their money. And while I'm sure the inventors would love a continuous flow of orders for subs, I'm sure they wouldn't like the continuous police heat that comes with it.