the empty calorie

Yeah, some poeple do not like change, but I still see them yanking their hair out and banging on their keybaords and yelling "WORK, YOU PIECE OF ****!!!!" To their Windows computers, then throw it away in two years and think "I'll never have those problems again", buy a new computer with Windows pre-installed, and the cycle continues. I couldn't believe they threw away the computer, saying there was nothing that could have been done to help...these people have no idea what an OS actually is. When I do tell them that there are alternatives to Windows, they cringe. These people have never seen, or heard of UNIX or GNU/Linux even. Of course they'll ask how I manage to keep my computers up to snuff, and how they can, and I tell them "Debian GNU/Linux" and then they say, "No, something besides that. It can't just be that, what do you use to get rid of your viruses and spyware?" Of course, I just end up laughing... But anyways...Unfortunately, as much as I hate to admit it, but there are only two ways GNU/Linux will see widespread acceptance in the home.1. Make all distros conform and Commercialise it. (Personally, I don't want this happening, and I know it never will.)2. The majority finally realise that GNU/Linux is actually better than what the native OS for an x86 machine is (which would be Windows)This reminds me of back in the day, when (relatively) lots of people used the Tandy TRS-80. Now, was the TRS-80's most popular operating system the one included? TRS-DOS? No. It wasn't. An alternative, third party OS was accepted my the masses because it functioned better. This was NEW-DOS. And no, I was not an owner of a TRS-80. My first OS was Apple DOS 3.3 B)But anyways, it may be slow for the second option to happen, because there are a LOT more consumers using computers now than there was in 1978. But it will happen, eventually. According to Darwin's law of "survival of the fittest", Windows will not survive.

Allow me to modify a movie quote to fit this..."The more you tighten your grip, Bill, the more your customer base will slip through your fingers."I still wonder to this day whatever happened with the court cases against Microsoft being a monopoly. I would at least hope that for domination of the world's computers, that Bill would at least give us quality software. Of course, the computer market has drastically shifted from 20 years ago. No longer are the majority (of computer owners) looking for software that is rock solid and gets the job done, despite how "unpretty" it may look. The market has shifted to the average consumer, who doesn't care how well it works, but rather, how it looks. Of course, consumers care to a certain point about performance, but not much of one. If they did, Microsoft wouldn't be where they are today. People just kind of hope, or automatically assume, when a new version of Windows is released, that it will work better that the last. Of course it doesn't. It never does. But, at least it looks prettier, never mind that it makes your computer run slower.I've never seen any actual improvements in Windows, since the days when versions were actually numbered with a 1,2, or 3

I don't ever have to do any of this with my computers.....they all run fine, for months, even years at a time. Oh yeah....you just don't have those problems unless you're using Windows *grins*

We'll be lucky? How would that make us lucky? Because it will give people more reason to move away from Windows, because of all the bugs?

The proper term is Window Manager, not a "Windows Environment". All it deos is well, Manages Windows. Many have menus you can use to run programs without having to use the shell. In some cases, you have to hand edit a config file to set up a menu, but most of the time, you don't have to. A dektop Environment is not one program, but an entire suite of programs to create your graphical user interface. I tend not to like them myself, because I have better things to use my resources with that wasting my power on that extra crap running. I hate desktop icons myself, they tend to create a mess.To answer someone's question, XFCE is a desktop environment.

Looks aren't everything. Badly written code. Besides, GIMP is much better.

MAybe someday you'll grow a pair, and actually stick with Linux-Linux, not WannabelikeWindows-Linux.

Hello.Recently, I moved to another city, and in the process, my site got suspended...Well, I did read that after you have 7 hosting credits, your site is automatically unsuspended...Well, I'm still suspended....Can something be done about this?Ugh, an edit button would keep me from having to do this, but yes, I posted and got my credits back up past 7.

and I hit enter too early....Once again, an edit button would be great so I don't have to double post. But the government is just getting a bit....invasive. Besides, what do they want with pornography? If they get the information, most of it will be bogus anyways...

Big Brother is watching.

Well let's see, a lady sued McDonald's because she spilled coffee on herself in her car and it was actually hot....what else... oh yeah, people who ate McDonald's multiple times day sued McDonald's because the food made them fat...and I do remember a case where a burglar fell through a kitchen skylight and onto a knife in someone's condition, and sued thew for an "unsafe work environment". The american legal system is absolutely horrible. Those people filing those lawsuits, if they really are that stupid, should not be getting compensation, but they should have been taken out back and beaten with a rake.

Forgive me for this, but I absolutely don't see how this could be happening...It wouldn't normally. But send them through email, or something of the like, like xDrive or something. Those files contain absolutely no program code whatsoever...I really don't know how some people manage to have these problems.

I've had yot to try Gmail, but now that I have a cellphone, I guess I can get myself an invitation sent to my cell phone...I actually am mostly a bluebottle user, but now they added the premium service, which basically took a lot of good features away from their accounts, and they now charge for POP3, and so they have lost me. I hate it when you have free POP3, and then all of a sudden you don't have it because they want to charge for it. I'm going to see if Gmail offers POP3 access.

BeOS is no longer in development, smart one. Haiku is currently being developed, a replacement for BeOS, but they are not releasing anything until Haiku is completely compatible with BeOS. But as far as MEDIA goes, BeOS in its current state is superior to Linux. BeOS is the Media OS, and that being the strong focus. Now, that is not the goal of Linux, so this is by no means a fair comparison. Do a bit more research next time.

Well, considering that MIDI is written a completely different way, there really is no way to drectly covert it such as you would with AIFF to MP3 or WAV to MP3 and such, I have done it though in BeOS and Mac OS X. I don't think Audacity does it, but if you take a browse through download.cnet.com, you might find something that will do it for you. If all else fails, a stereo minijack cable going from your line out to your microphone slot on your soundcard will do. Some sound recording prgrams will catch whatever sound the computer is putting out at the time, but just make sure your vosume settings are all muted except for your MIDI output. Hope that helps.

Anyways, I've been considering playing around with Gentoo lately, although I don't see myself leaving Debian. Possibly I'll try it on my laptop. But might I ask, what disros have you all used other that the ones listed in this poll?

Mine just added to it after a while, I'm guessing it was a bot of some sort...I actually didn't want it to come up on google, but it is, and I'm not really inclined to do anything about it, if I even can.

If I had four thumbs, I'd put them all down. Most of this stuff is nothing new at all. Microsoft is just putting more hype behind technology that already exists.Kind of like how you're supposed to be able to do more with your music in Windows XP, hyping up how you can store and play MP3 files, when you could already do that in Windows 95.

Personallyv I don't trust wireless ethernet. Insecure connections, as well as not having the best support for non-commercial operating systems. So for hte most part, for me, wireless is not an option. Plus, I've already ivested a lot of money in wired equipment. I have a 5,000 foot spool of CAT-5 cable, cable ends and cable crimpers, a big box of 100Base-T cards, and in the case of my laptop, I made a 50 foot cable so I can walk around and move with it all I need. When my dad bought his laptop and brought it home, the first thing it did was logged into the neighbours' wireless router. I'm sure if I had a wireless card that was supported, I could skip out on paying for my connection and snag one of the neighbours in my apartment building (but i prefer to have a stable connection). But anyways, I'll be sticking to wires for a long time. I know how to make them, route them through the walls and under houses, and I've never minded doing it. Why stop now? Besides, I hate coffee anyways, so I don't need anything wireless.

Lately, I've been playing around with OLVWM and FVWM...Although I do love TWM I just recently got an old Compaq Armada with a P166-MMX and 64M RAM. The thing actually flys pretty good as a Debian system, and it's funny seeing people get confused because it's using TWM.

Well let's see...I'm runnung Debian sarge, have been since mid 2005 and I've been running a 2.6 kernel the entire time. I honestly don't see too much validity in what you say. For the most part it seems like either something you took off of a google search, or, some of it is complete hogwash. Why don't you run Debian for a few months yourself and then see what you think. I doubt it will happen, you're too much of a SiSE.

>shakes head<I was not asking about Desktop Environments. I was asking about Window Managers. Please read the post with care before response.

If you feel you may want a bit more over time, I would definetely recommend Debian. As far as package management goes, it is by far the best i've ever worked with (although, I've had yet to try gentoo, I've heard the portage system is quite good) I like debian myself because I like the package management system, and I just like to start with a base system and piece it all together from there.

Maybe because it's being phased out, going the way of the 1.44M floppy disk? Broadband internet has gotten ridiculously cheap. You can get broadband cable connections for less than the price of dial-up AOL these days. Apple does tend to phase out aging technologies before anyone else.

Ummm....excuse me....but the computer you are referring to does indeed have a BIOS. Not a PC BIOS of course. Just because it uses an Intel chip, does NOT mean it's a PC. Remember, the BIOS is the BASIC INPUT/OUTPUT SYSTEM. What would a modern computer be without that basic function? Now, because it uses Open Firmware, it's not exactly a BIOS you are used to. There's a different key combination to get into it, and it works more like a command line than a menu. There's a lot more I could say....and I'm not trying to get on you about this, but I think maybe you could do a bit more research before posting bogus information.