ljc86 - Slashdot User

Comment Re:Yeah, and that's wrong. This game is almost ove (Score 1) 386

by ljc86 on Wednesday March 14, 2007 @08:40PM (#18356649) Attached to: Shuttleworth Tells Linux Users to Stop Being So Fussy For OEMs

All anyone cares about is to have hardware with free drivers, from there any distro can be installed.

All *we* care about (as current Linux users) is that. It will help boost Dell's sales of hardware to current Linux users, if they did take up that kind of policy.

Perhaps, though, the wider picture is that a pre-installed Linux would speed up adoption. Certainly, a pre-installed (and thus a configuration with hardware issues ironed out) Linux distro such as Ubuntu is perfectly capable for what, probably, a majority of people need. There are certainly very few users who actually *need* features which are difficult to use or install on Linux (gaming, complete compatibility with MS Office or a Windows specific program).

The audience Linux should be targetting is those who use their computers for the simple things - Web Browsing, E-mail and simple word processing/office suite work. By including Linux pre-installed on big manufacturers such as Dell, you will be hitting a large part of that audience. So what if someone buys it without understanding the difference between the OS's - it surely helps resolve ubuntu bug#1.

Journal Journal: Is it hard to bold or note new comments in a thread? 3

Journal by NeMon'ess on Monday March 05, 2007 @05:05AM

I remember how some forums used to show posts and replies in a threaded Usenet-style. Only the title was visible until clicked on and unread ones could be in bold.

I can't remember any recent forums letting me easily see which replies are new since the last time I viewed the page. I find it hard to believe people wouldn't like this feature. I'd like to see which are the new comments on multiply, slashdot, fark, and so on.

Submission + - Ubuntu Feisty Fawn gets closer

Submitted by daria42 on Tuesday February 27, 2007 @08:46PM

daria42 writes: Ubuntu developers are finalising preparations for the release of the next version — dubbed Feisty Fawn — of the popular Linux distribution in mid-April. Overnight, Ubuntu developer Tollef Fog Heen announced Ubuntu's main software repository had been frozen — with no changes allowed to the code — as developers got ready to issue a fifth major test version ("Herd 5") of the next version of Ubuntu.

Submission + - Work unhappy or move on?

Submitted by

dunnowhat2type

on Monday February 26, 2007 @09:09PM

dunnowhat2type writes: "I grew up around a big city (suburbs of NY) and went to college in a relatively different area (upstate NY.) After graduating last May, I took a job in the area where I went to college. I started in July and was given a relocation package contingent on me staying for a year. Since August I haven't been happy with the area I have been living in and have actively been pursuing employment back in the city. In January, the program I was working on got cancelled and my manager didn't want to commit me to something long-term with the knowledge that I didn't plan on staying more than six months. He made me a time-based offer (probably expiring soon) that he'd take every effort to get the relocation payback waived if I were to resign, find an internal transfer, or another job. I had a couple of interviews a month ago, but nothing else has happened, and this uncertainty, with the pressure of having to make this decision has made the last two weeks really hellish. I wanted to make this decision within the next couple of days and have spoken to friends, but I wanted to pose the question here. What am I better off doing, being miserable around here, but at least having money, work experience, and health insurance, or going home and being happy, but being unemployed?"

Submission + - The ghost of the Newton haunts Apple's iPhone

Submitted by

PetManimal

on Monday February 26, 2007 @06:28PM

PetManimal writes: "David Haskin has looked back at why the Newton failed to succeed in the early PDA market, and warns that Apple may be setting itself up for a similar failure with the iPhone. The iPhone appears to have a revolutionary interface, and the product has generated tons of interest from the Mac community — just like the Newton did, back in the 1990s. But the iPhone also shares with the Newton a hefty starting price — $500 for the iPhone, vs. $700 (in 1993 dollars) for the Newton. And Joe Public may not be so keen on the cost, as recent survey data suggests (see Slashdot discussion). Moreover, Haskin notes that the iPhone will have to deal with two additional factors that were not issues for the Newton: Competition, and wireless service providers: 'Besides overcharging for iPhone, Apple faces significant competition, something it didn't face in 1993 when it launched Newton. And you can bet that competition from the likes of Samsung and LG will both be good (although probably not as good as iPhone) and most assuredly cheaper. It's also becoming clear that Apple may be suffering from excessive hubris. That is evident by its strong demands on its partner in the U.S., Cingular/AT&T. The demands, including a slice of the cellular revenues and control of the sales channel, were so strong that Verizon Wireless turned the deal down. I'm more convinced than ever that, after an initial frenzy of publicity and sales to early adopters, iPhone sales will be unspectacular. If Apple doesn't respond quickly by lowering the price and making nice to AT&T, which surely will be ticked off, iPhone may well become Apple's next Newton. Remember that two years after Newton was introduced, a smaller, cheaper PDA appeared — the Palm Pilot — which truly did rock the world.'"

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