Posts by Ben 12 publicly visible posts • joined 21 Aug 2007
Didn't I read that Psion were getting all shirty about the industry using their Netbook trademark? Surely MS are just avoiding future legal action when some troll buys the remains of Psion's carcass.
IMHO the 5mx was a fantastic bit of kit in its day. It was the Windows support that let it down ... now, where have I heard that before .....
Of course we all know they are just spouting typical marketing nadgers, but the average non el-reg reading sheep might sit up and take notice of this. They might buy some MS hardware instead of PCworld own brand gear - but honestly, this is no bad thing. I too have plenty of MS mice and keyboards around that my kids and employees have unsuccessfully tried to break over many years.
And in case you were wondering, I despise MS's bloatware and their anti-competitive behaviour. I also recognise good stuff when I see it.
>>>Debian, OTOH, is a delight on the 901
Really? Can you honestly say that everything works as intended - you know, blue Fn keys, WiFi toggling the blue light too, OSD popups....? I've actually gone back to Xandros after trying half a dozen Linux distros (and even Win7) and decided that the only thing that works properly is what came with the 901!! For normal netbook use it's perfectly OK. Not pretty, not hackable, but it does work....but do keep clearing out enough diskspace for the dreadful update manager to function properly. **
My point is that Xandros *IS* good enough for its intended purpose. My missus uses my Eee in preference to her corporate (bogged down) laptop, and hasn't even asked about the OS. She clicks on "Web" and off she goes. Simples.
I suspect the real problem is that the average user just doesn't understand the ethos of a netbook, and expects to run Photoshop / GTA etc on it. They need the XP interface, and I suspect a great many of them will abandon the whole concept as they are too underpowered for normal laptop use. Time will tell.
** If you have got Debian running absolutely perfectly, then I will graciously eat humble pie if you tell me how you did it!
For those moaning about compatibility, maybe you should ask Microsoft for fully documented file formats that allow interoperability with 3rd parties.....*now* do you see the real problem? I mean, how many of you can honestly say that the formatting hasn't been borked every time MS changed the .doc format over the last few decades. Did any of you moan to anybody? No, you just dealt with it like I did.
At least now you have a choice. Pay to keep up with MS's latest features, or do a bit of reformatting and use a free office suit from now on. No one is forcing you to do anything. You can choose.
And as for the MAC critics, have any of you actually bothered to file a bug report to fix the things you see as broken? I for one couldn't give a toss about the OSX version, as I doubt I'll ever use it (Again, my choice). So don't expect me or anyone like me to come to your aid unless you ask for help in a constructive way. That's how FOSS works. That's how you PAY for your software. YOU contribute in any way you can.
So, thank you Sun & the OOo community. You have created a fine office suite that is more than good enough for 80% of my company's users. Maybe by version 4 you'll get to the other 20%!
If I recall correctly, the original argument put forward by Sun was that corporate IT departments had a fundamental mistrust of anything that's free. If it's given away it must be worthless. Furthermore, the whole open source thing was perceived to be alien when it came to support.
By offering something packaged in the same way as the other alternatives, enlightened IT people could show the beancounters how much of a huge saving they could make, rather than try and get them to take a risk on something free.
As a result, Star/OOo has been accepted as a viable alternative to the older (better!) versions of MS office. Corporates pay a small amount and feel comforted by the warm glow of support, normal people just get it for free and Sun gets a few bucks for their troubles. Sounds good to me.
One final thought. Does anyone ever use the support? Has anyone ever had any help from MS when Word breaks? Or do people just STFW for the answer?
But don't tell the beancounters....
Oh yes they are! I stopped using them (pre BT) when Dabs refused to take back an order incorrectly supplied simply because they had no record that it had been delivered! Yes it was Amtrak, but as I policy I boycott any company that I have to write registered post letters to and then threaten with the small claims court. Dabs never had the courtesy to acknowlege that they or their couriers might just have made a mistake. Fools.
As for Ebuyer wanting proof of your address/passport, I would suggest that you probably wanted your first order delivered to an address other than the cardholder's address. GOOD for them! It's a simple security policy that works - unlike the idiots at Dell and Misco who delivered againt my cloned credit card (Thank you Shell).
Let's be careful out there ....
I've just been giving advice to someone who has already bought a BT Home Hub - WEP only, no mention of WPA anyware in the user guide. The I saw the email account default password: "Welcome1". Words fail me.
These products are sold to the great unwashed and really should be far more secure out of the box. At least give them the option to change the defaults easily.
<Cynic>
Or does this mass insecurity prop up the entire anti-malware industry and keep BT's £50 home visit business in profit.
</Cynic>
I'll get my tin foil hat
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