Posts by JEDIDIAH 2525 publicly visible posts • joined 26 Jan 2009
PCs are typically small or cheap but not both. The PI takes both to a new level. It's like an AppleTV or Roku in this regard. You can try to make PCs smaller but then you end up with a $1000 Steam Box or a Mac Mini. It's also nice that the PI achieves it's cheapness without being some ancient thing you retrieved from a dumpster.
Who wants their cool project to fail because it's made of parts that finally decided to die of old age?
RAID5 is only a problem if you are trying to artificially constrain yourself with a system that is itself a single point of failure. At least when a rube thinks like that (all eggs in one basket) they have an excuse as they don't know any better.
...and yes, my storage setup can take a bullet and live.
There's a lot of old gear out there. All of the various iThings have already been through several iterations of updated product. You can't say the same for Microsoft's flavor of the month.
The Apple based comparison would be more like pawn shops being full of iPhone 5's and iPad 3's.
Otherwise you're trying to pretend that an Apples an oranges comparison is relevant.
> If you use a PC until it's obsolete...
Then I probably took advantage of the modular nature of that PC to turn it into something else once it was no longer suited (or wanted) for it's original purpose. The problem with Macs is that they are intended to be closed boxes that are difficult if not impossible to maintain. So a slightly used Mac may become obsolete more quickly than it's PC counterpart.
Not enough RAM. Tiny hard drive. GPU that really really sucks.
So instead of getting a new Mini, I can use that P3 and just buy a new video card.
Not everyone needs to prove how quickly they can waste money.
The advantage of the command line is not the syntax of individual commands but how you can string them together in an arbitrary fashion and then package them up. This is a concept that doesn't generally exist in GUIs because GUIs are designed for morons. Everyone is so busy running around preventing people from needing to think that shiny happy interfaces focus on the stupid first use rather than the grind of your daily routine.
It's AUTOMATION, not "ease of use".
> Sure, you have your entire family using and loving Linux. But that's because you install it, you maintain it, you upgrade it, you fix it when it goes wrong.
The same goes for any OS my family runs.
This "just works" stuff is generally a myth. Even on MacOS you will find yourself retraining n00bs to deal with those annoying secret handshakes and gratuitious bits of deviation.
Helpless twits will find a way to be helpless regardless of what OS they run.
> A normal user will panic when they have to decide what filesystem, what size of partitions, what DE,
Fine. Then don't go out of your way to subject them to Gentoo.
Give them a copy of the Linux they've probably actually heard of. Give them a copy of Ubuntu instead.
I think Slackware 96 was the last Linux installation that bothered me with a lot of the fine grained details.
...except I can already do that with Linux.
I can use an actual Unix rather than something that is only Unix when it's time for a sales pitch.
I can also use the same virtualization tools to run all of the same Windows stuff too.
The only thing missing are MacOS only tools that no one seems to be able to name.
Running MacOS apps just isn't a good enough reason to be stuck running Apple hardware.
> The problem is that all those distros mean different toolchains and underlying software.
No it doesn't.
It just demonstrates that you have a highly superficial view of the situation.
Any Linux distribution is just a collection of the same set of upstream projects. Any Linux distribution is just shorthand for a list of those upstream projects and their versions. That applies to any Linux executable from Applixware to Oracle to Steam.
> "It's easier to make coffee in my coffee-maker than on the stove with a saucepan."
You will probably get a better result in the saucepan though. If you care about the result, you will go to the extra effort. That even applies to the coffee-maker and making sure that you use fresh beans and only grind them when you're actually ready to use them.
Coffee is a perfect example of something that can be quickly destroyed by cutting corners.
> If I had to deal with a different Linux distro every time, I'd waste alot of time getting to grips with the environment.
...which would be GNOME or KDE on top and standard GNU userland underneath.
Underneath it is so standardized that not only you can move from one Linux to another but from one Unix to another with very few inconsistencies to worry about.
That's also handy for when MacOS doesn't live up to it's hype.
> Do you have any idea what users really want in a desktop OS?
Yes. Like many Linux users, I am the local unpaid PC support tech.
Joe User more than anything doesn't want things to change. Joe User has finally gotten used to whatever it is that he has. He doesn't want Unity or Windows 8. He doesn't want MacOS either.
MacOS isn't easier. It's just gratuitously different. It's also a little crippled.
It's more of a departure than Linux while having nearly none of the stuff that runs on Windows.
Been there. Done that.
ALL of the things he's talking about have been non-issues for me for years.
The whole reason I switched to Ubuntu 6+ years ago is that it "just worked" with a random company laptop.
The advantage that a Mac as a product is that it comes in a ready to consume package. It's like a machine you might buy from Dell or Sun. You expect that the basics are already covered.
Get beyond that and there's no advantage. Buy something without a fruity logo and you're on your own.
It's probably been 10 years since I compiled a kernel. The thing is modular. Even if I wanted to rebuild a driver, it would still just be that driver.
I expect to use a PC until it's obsolete.
At that point, I would feel GUILTY getting a kings ransom for it when it really isn't warranted.
I would be EMBARRASED at the idea you are describing.
If you're starting in with "resale value" then you've completely lost the argument.
I am not a trivium merchant.
For years, the Windows Trolls have been trying to trash every new release of Ubuntu claiming that it will break your wireless and eat your cat. Now after all of these years I have managed to experience such an OS update.
Yes. An OS update finally managed to trash my wireless. (Although the cat is fine)
Guess what? It was MacOS.
HA!
...as far as the futzing goes: It sound entirely self inflicted. If you want to futz, you can find something to futz with. It's not the necessity that he wants to make it out to be.
Real Unix users are actually quite lazy.
Silent Running is overrated and painful to watch. It's also feels terribly dated and hokey based on when it was made and especially silly given the real horticultural preservation going on right now planet side.
Zardoz is also a bit painful but it seems to be a valiant effort.
What really seems out of place on the list is the first Star Trek film. It's basically one of the old original episodes dressed up with a lot of fluff to make it go on for a feature length run time. That makes it a failure as film making and not so interesting intellectually either.
The first Star Trek film needs to be sterilized.
Collectively we all squander a lot of money on entertainment. Cable is one big culprit here (at least in the US). At least over here, if you take what you're spending on your subscription service and apply that kind of money to something you get to own, then you will end up with a nice media hoard in short order.
> I don't honestly see 5 minutes of adverts to be a legitimate reason to pirate.
You don't have control over your own property.
That's a pretty compelling reason to engage in remedies that reside in a legal grey area.
> I have to queue for 5 minutes to pay for my shopping,
...or you could just shop online. It's great for avoiding nonsense that exists only because not enough people have sufficiently demanding expectations.
> I honestly don't see it as particularly fair that there is an expiry date on their professional profitability that is shorter than their lives. Imagine owning a shop, and after thirty years everything has to be sold at cost price, or is free.
That sounds about what the real world is like. If you have a small shop then YOU ARE the small shop. As soon as you go, so does the shop. Your worthless next of kin can't leech off of your success. They have to go fend for themselves (as it should be).
Why is anyone even arguing for this kind leech anyways?
The value of my labor ENDS as soon as the hour is up. Why should anyone else be any different. Why should "artists" be special?
Got kids? F*cking plan ahead and don't stick it all up your nose.
> Really? Care to share the pearls of wisdom that came forth or is your incredible "Movie stars are paid a lot so I shouldn't pay for films" revelation all you've got?
Clearly there is some industrial engineering that can be done here. It just goes to show that you don't have to blow a million bucks just to produce 60 minutes of hair metal. Perhaps this industry should adjust and not pretend that it can burn money.
I can certainly understand why people who can't burn money would resent those that act like they can.
> Is widespread copyright infringement an issue? Without a doubt yes especially if you are a small time (yet popular) writer/musician or whatever.
If you a a small time producer, piracy is really the least of your worries. If you are fixating on it, then you are distracting yourself from what you really need to be doing. You need to be making up for the fact that your publisher isn't doing squat for you in the way of the advertising and marketing department.
It's not really productive for you to waste your time fixating on "thieves".
> New films are under a fiver on Virgin and you don't want to spend a fiver to see it. That's fine.
5 pounds?
What is that? A rental? If so then that's highway robbery.
On this side of the pond, bargain bin movies go for $5 on spinny disk. If you don't want to wait that long you can just use the Netflix mail service. Plus there's Redbox.
It sounds like you have a small number of really bad options.
> I give a crap about the artists who work hard and get next to nothing, partly because it's not seen in any way as morally wrong to steal from them
If you want to shed crocodile tears for the artists, start with the gatekeepers.
Direct your moral outrage at them first. Then focus your attention on the amateur thieves.
> and they should carry on getting away with getting for free
Sure. The cost of enforcement is too high. You are too hell bent on some moral crusade to bother considering the cost of your crusade. It might not be worth it.
This is reflected in the general unwillingess of law enforcement to persue the matter. They have better things to do. This is also reflected in the fact that the industry wants to avoid the costs of enforcement in civil courts. They don't view enforcement as worthwhile either really.
If you are "looking for both", then you are probably looking for a mix of drive types or just multiple drives.
I've seen improved response times just by adding conventional spindles. It's like having multiple cores. You don't have all your eggs in one basket and all of your work funneling through a single shared resource.
That way Plex can do whatever it does to hammer the disks it's on and it won't necessarily impact anything else. '-p
> How is this really any different to plugging in a USB module to deliver some functionality not included on the device itself?
It's only compatible with Apple products.
I can use an OTG cable on an Android device and use it to swipe the USB NIC that's hooked to the back of my Mac. Or I could plug in a USB hub and really go to town.
An Apple only version of a common standard interface sounds like nonsense out of the 80s.
> The part you are missing is that, pay attention now, IT IS NOT A VIDEO PORT. Did you get it? It is a generic, multi-purpose, serial link providing raw information.
Like USB? Except not standard.
They could have just put on a standard port and not re-invented the wheel, defied the EU, or screwed over their customers. They could even have left the old connector on the new phones.
You know it's bad when Archos manages to do something better than Apple.
> Pfft, rounding errors... what is .223 to 2 decimal places? ;)
It means that the guys that actually know what they are talking about called you out on your obvious lack of precision. Computing isn't the only area where minute differences matter.
Although you usually don't get sent to the sand pit with the rest of your platoon for misplacing a semi-colon.
> Ignorance of the law is not a legitimate justification for breaking it
That's a red herring.
If an intruder is not identified as a cop, he's fair game. End of story. That's how these "stand your ground" laws get created. People hear horror stories from California or the UK and think they need extra legal protections because liberal idiots in another jurisdiction entirely are willing to put up with nonsense.
People hear these "you must flee your home" stories with relevant members of the peanut gallery chiming in their full support and an obvious backlash ensues.
> @JEDIDIAH - Not with "Dark Knight" you don't, buy the DVD and try it for yourself.
ls -altrh *vob
-rw-r--r-- 1 jedi jedi 6.8G Jan 4 2009 The_Dark_Knight.vob
Very few DVDs need anything more than mplayer. Most of those are Disney movies. Commercial products are available to handle those rare exceptions.
> the bluray rip with the changing ratios
...is probably moot unless he has a projector.
Check out those viewing distance versus display size charts. It's very hard to easily get into a "can notice a difference" zone unless you aggressively scale up the size of the display.
When it comes to a "proper presentation", the media is really the last thing to sort out.
> Could I get the movie on to the server? Only with a lot of frustration.
A DVD? Are you kidding? Push one button on a suitable ripping program and you're done.
Hardly a burden. Certainly not something likely to induce "a lot of frustration".
I know of no one that views Saw as "socially acceptable entertainment" and I know some really sick f*cks.
The fact that it exists only means that it's legal to produce. Based on that, there's nothing you can really imply regarding it's level of social acceptance.
Theft is theft. These j*ck*sses are trying to take ownership of something that is not theirs to take. The fact that it might not be anyone's to take at all just makes the situation WORSE. This is the worst kind of virtual land grab. If it is allowed to stand then all manner of people and corporations will be subject to bogus litigation and completely unecessary extra costs.
Taking from the public domain is as much theft as "piracy". More so even.
The water into wine incident happened with a group of JEWS.
If you want to get a good handle on the Xian attitude towards booze, just compare what you get during communion to what you have to drink during a Seder.
Xians are uptight and always have been starting with that monk that created that whole "deadly sin" nonsense.
No. The average human body that's at best pudgy and out of shape is not beautiful. There is good reason that you don't typically see your average schmuck as the subject of high art. It doesn't matter what the age or civilization. Most people simply don't measure up.
The Germans had a great PSA regarding exercise that featured an "average" David demonstrating what lack of exercise would do to you. Nobody wants to see the that version of David.
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