Posts by Chika 1774 publicly visible posts • joined 2 Oct 2007
I use Firefox 2 at work as not all the plugins I need work on Firefox 3. I use a mixture at home depending on what I'm working on at the time; Firefox 3 on openSUSE or WXP, NetSurf or Oregano 1 if I'm on RISC OS.
Yeah, I still have IE6 but it's only there to do things that lazy coders or greedy corporates with sponsorships to consider refuse to code up properly (hello, Juniper!)
Actually, the whole point of "cloud" computing is that we wrest the control of all but the surface application layer from those that currently have it, know not what to do with it and, as a result, screw it all up and leave the real control in the hands of...
...hey! Is Simon Travaglia reading this?
A computer bought for hundreds of pounds a few years ago will depreciate over time. That much is true even without the onset of new code, whatever the source. I do, however, agree with some of the thinking behind this.
Yes, there are other operating systems out there which run on lower spec machines. Let's face it, it is a running gag given that Microsoft cannot make its current desktop flagship OS run on the systems that are catching on the most right now. The bloated, cripplingly expensive laptop has finally been shown up for what it is by the low-cost netbook type computer, yet Microsoft can only continue to wheel out its ageing XP to challenge the mighty penguin.
As for aero, well, I don't know how to tell you this. It's all hype, bloat and candyfloss. As somebody else already said, alternatives are available that run on much lower spec machines than those required for Vista. I run a few of them myself. One of them is a 450MHz PIII, which happily states its Vista credentials even though it is actually running XP.
As far as the alternatives go, they are out there. I've tried a lot of them, with varying results and, in the main, the answer is that Microsoft Vista is a poorly thought out marketing ploy. It could have been better.
XP isn't dead yet. It's just pining.
And as for Paris Hilton, um... right!
It's only a survey!
Having said that, I can't totally disagree with this. It suffers enormously from Gus Hedges Syndrome, with so many buzzwords that you can never be totally sure what you are answering. Indeed, I had the feeling by the time I had got through much of it that I was being badgered towards a particular conclusion, or being sold to.
Let's face it, folk. Vista has been a marketing disaster. There may be those that think it's the dog's wobbly bits, but it has never caught on.
Remember, XP also had its early disaster period and it took two service packs and a lot of convincing to get people to switch over. That's seven years, roughly, to get XP into a state that people actually trust enough to finally let go of the previous two stable releases, Windows 2000 and Windows 98SE, and their buggy relation, Windows ME.
Vista was released into a very different world to that of the first releases of XP. Back then, Apple were still trying to claw back their early trust, Linux was still very much a hobbyists' pipedream. The only serious contenders back then were smaller folk such as RISC OS, Amiga and so forth, each suffering from their own particular brands of mismarketing and corporate disaster. In other words, XP had it very easy. All it needed to do was wean the baby off its 2000 bottle and the 98 chew toy. Vista, had it been released into a similar world, might have made it had it been given the time, but the situation that occurred with XP also gave the developers of the main competition the required impetus to get their own product up to scratch, hence the current problem for Vista.
Whenever something comes out about Vista or its impending successor, there is the inevitable slew of folk with their sob stories about how Vista stung them in the but and how they went off to another OS platform. And there, it seems, is where the problem lies. XP only realistically had to deal with the pre-existing Microsoft stuff. Vista has to deal with that AND the various Linux distros AND what Apple is now offering. All these are far more inviting to the great unwashed than they were back in 2001. That means that Microsoft can no longer get away with launching half-completed crud onto the market in the hope that we will do their beta testing for them unpaid.
It's all a matter of the technical folk at Microsoft, the people that are supposed to do all the work, getting off their lazy fat Merkan duffs and doing something worthwhile, notably telling the Marketing folk to SHUT THE FUCK UP. Then they should listen to what the market actually wants. Instead of launching a tarted up bit of bloat with hundreds of wizards to hold the hand of the idiots that should never be allowed near a keyboard, they should deliver something that works. Something lean enough so that they don't have to resurrect the code of the past just to slim down enough to fit on the latest low cost machines, but with the scaleability to work well on the high end kit. If Vista can't be slimmed down enough, then chuck it and get back to XP. There's nothing wrong with evolving an OS, whatever the morons in marketing might say.
To avoid marketing disaster, to sum up, give the public what they want. Don't claim "NEW" if it isn't, and don't load it down with useless tat.
Reading through the 120 posts (so far), I think anyone with half a brain can get the idea. Chris Mole has gone about this in the wrong way, has made himself look like a total Mail-reader, and Jezza comes out of it with a lot more respect generally for exhibiting a sense of humour rather than covering everything up in political correctness, something which so many politicians do to avoid the drubbing they so fear.
Could this be the beginning of the long awaited backlash against political correctness? I really hope so.
Yay! I knew I wasn't alone on here!
Mind you, I think that the last bit of software I got involved with on RISC OS that was as bloated as that was the Firefox port. When I consider the size of some of the software we use, I have to giggle.
Pity that the OS is dying. I really wonder what it would have become if the various idiots that supported the Merkan Pooter effort had given the home market a bit of support. Hmm... sounds like csa fodder to me!
But, from reading this review, you might be forgiven for imagining that the author thinks it is. And the alternative isn't necessarily dropping back to an old version of RedHat either.
Having said that, I can categorically state that I am in no hurry to download something that big if it doesn't give an appreciable improvement in usability. That can wait for when my distro gets its next upgrade, if at all.
The trouble with articles like this is that we rely heavily on Microsoft handouts for the substance, and they are willing to say anything that is likely to get the punters interested in buying. It's good that they have finally realised how much Vista is flawed, but they still haven't quite got it through their thick skulls that completely replacing an OS to satisfy the whims of the marketing department is doing them more harm than good.
Why does XP need to be completely replaced? If the only reason you have is "because it's old", then the marketing oiks have won and you may as well forget any good intentions you might have with W7. Vista is a dead end, a flawed release that should be left behind. Start again and produce something that is actually an improvement on XP rather than try to find excuses and cut chunks out of the flawed body. Don't just put out loads of buzzwords to try to placate the people having to make sense of the mess and, above all, don't make promises you can't keep.
After all, there's a reason why I still have a working RISC OS system under the desk beside my more up to date kit. It might be dated, and it might not do everything that a modern system can do, but it does what it can do well, without fuss and without the shedloads of bloated wizards and "helpful" crud that Microsoft feel I should have. When I want it to. Not several seconds down the line once the system decides I need to do it or when some process finishes analysing every nuance of my request. And it does it on a processor that is considerably less powerful than the systems in common use these days.
So go on, Microsoft. Bite the bullet. Admit Vista was a mistake and consider the alternatives, OS X included. Drop the bloat, the resource hogging crap and the DRM and put out something decent for once. It's only your profit margin that you need to consider.
I'd almost forgotten those! Actually, I rather liked it, except for the odd case. That was a loooong time ago! They seemed to disappear around the same time as Xemplar, probably when Acorn went bye-bye and Apple had to tighten its belt prior to the iMac saving their collective arses.
As for AC's assertions about what an Apple netbook will be like, it will probably be lauded as the best because that will probably be true, but it won't stop Apple charging through the nose for it. £600 is probably a low estimate!
And yes, Gnash, I agree with you. Proprietory interfaces have no place on the internet, IMHO.
...and people start believing you.
Do you know how many times I've heard that "linux is hard to install" jibe over the years? When I first heard it, then yes, it was certainly true, but no longer and not for some considerable time. I can vouch for both openSUSE and for Puppy, both of which I have installed more than once and Ubuntu which has any number of recommendations and first hand accounts as being as easy as 1: Put in the CD, 2: Follow the instructions on screen and 3: Wait for it to finish. Now where does that differ from any Windows installation since W95?
...is whether the people suffering are really the creators and whether the people making to most noise about piracy are the people that should really be making the noise. There have been so many examples of artists being ripped off by media companies over the years, yet they never get anything out of complaining about it. Now the media companies are getting screwed, especially as some fairly big and successful artists are now finding ways to bypass them and get control of their stuff. If that gives the various media companies a problem, then tough luck to them!
The whole subscription method currently in place is a bit of a con anyway. I can remember talking to an insider whose view was that Sky continues to hike the price until somebody squeals. What nobody has ever adequately explained is why you are charged for access to so many channels when you can only ever watch one at a time (or two if you have the necessary kit).
Also, why do I have to put up with shedloads of adverts on subscription channels? I can understand it on free channels where they need the funds, but... sorry, this could become yet another gripe!
Paris because. Just because.
Consider, if you will, the sorry tale of the LD. In theory, it whopped VHS but it had a very low uptake. Why? Well, think about what VHS gave us back then. OK, it was lower quality but it was recordable, it had been around for a while and it was cheap.
It took some time for DVD to really take off but, now that it has, what possible reason do we have for suddenly repurchasing our entire back catalogue on a new, more expensive format? Higher quality picture? As LD proved years ago, that just isn't enough.
(And yes, this was posted from my Acorn!)
My own belief is that (a) I totally agree with the above where PEGI is described as an industry body just trying to look out for its own interests rather than any constructive position and (b) some parents would rather abdicate their responsibility for their children to bodies such as the BBFC and PEGI rather than make an informed decision on what their children can do.
The "C" in BBFC stands for "classification" and, though there are legal reasons why a shop or company cannot sell a video or game to a person under the age that it has been classified for, the rating is meant to inform everyone of its contents, hence a parent should exercise control and deny a title that is unsuitable rather than gripe about it to the media when their neglected child is hauled up because of any antisocial behaviour caused, allegedly, by exposure to a video or game.
That's why I always viewed the blue-rinse folk as hypocrites of the highest order.
I did say that I'd reserve judgement until after I'd let Netsurf loose with it.
Just fire up my Risc PC...
Hmm... well, it isn't perfect but at least the designer didn't try anything really stupid so it's readable. I'm still not convinced by the fixed width argument but I guess I'll let you off as long as the bozo behind the icon change is suitably chastised.
In public.
By the BOFH of our choice.
wHollyWeird has already realised that it can make easy money out of revising hits and cult classics. You don't need to put any effort into thinking up new ideas and even the disapproving fans will have a look if only because they will want to be able to say "I saw it, and it was crap". All that the Beeb and company are doing is following the Merkan example.
Heh
I knew this would happen all those years ago when the various governors insisted on putting PCs into schools rather than whatever they had before because they thought that it would provide them with the most relevant start in their careers, ignoring the teacher's pleas to leave things be. You see, teachers don't necessarily use a PC for teaching about computers - they use it for all sorts of things. I knew that as soon as the government let M$ loose on our classrooms, it would all turn into a drive to fleece our education budgets.
As for OpenOffice being bad, my response is not to knock it until you have used it in anger. OK, I'll never want to replace my DTP kit* with it but for the basic necessities of an office system, it is no worse than the M$ offering. In some ways, indeed, I prefer it (I haven't been totally happy with M$ Office since Office 2000). And that's using both Windows and Linux versions.
* Even a blind pig stumbles over an Acorn now and then!
I'll say more once I have tried the new site on NetSurf, but I can sympathise with those that complain about fixed width. It flies in the face of all that has been said and done wrt accessibility.
And yes, the new icons also suck. Redesign if you must, but please don't do it at the expense of your users!
I'm not convinced that this isn't just Google themselves peddling this stuff to give Muckysoft a quick dose of the heebyjeebies or something like that. I'm just glad that somebody is finally debunking at least one myth about the technology that is being peddled under the guise of all new buzzwords and hype but, when you look closely at it, it's just a return to the same old stuff I've been seeing in the industry since day one.
Yes, I'm yet another one that shifted from Piscali, er Tipex, whatever, as a result of poor service and dubious billing practices, and got well and truly shafted during the transition, which took three attempts and was eventually expedited by my new ISP because Tiscali seemed incapable of issuing a valid MAC.
In my case, following lengthy battles, I threatened to take the whole matter by snailmail to Ofcom (since their complaints procedure online was deeply flawed - their usual method was to say that they couldn't proceed because they needed more information, no matter what information you supplied!)
ANYONE still with a Tiscali account or one of the many companies that they have taken over should, IMHO, seriously consider getting out ASAP. The sooner this nightmare of a company goes to the wall, the better I shall like it.
..because a number of us started with Acorn and a few of us still keep them ticking over. My brace of Risc PCs have saved me time after time in situations where users of a certain US based operating system have been creaming their underwear over the latest bugs, not to mention the large amount of DTP and webbery I have put out since I first upgraded from the old BBC A-and-a-bit about 18 years ago.
As for the Dragon, couldn't they get together with the TRS-80 and Video Genie folk? They just might be able to get enough together to get into three digits. Mind you, I'm not necessarily using decimal here...
I'm not sure who the baddy is in this case since TfL and EDS both have their flaws and I'm not familiar with Cubic. All I do know is that I wouldn't trust EDS further than I could comfortably spit a rat, and while Boris isn't Red Ken, a change of figurehead doesn't change a regime overnight.
Perhaps PH will do a "PH for Mayor" video next? Maybe?
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