Pangloss

Let's examine a hypothetical: An off-duty (non-uniformed) policeman is walking down the street and sees a man wearing heavy winter coat, standing outside a playground full of children. The policeman thinks "july.. overcoat.. hmm....", and he pulls his weapon and points it at the man, instructing him to lie face down on the ground. The man, an atmospheric scientist, was on his way home from the airport following a trip to Antarctica, was watching his son play ball on the playground. He has a hearing disability, and he does not understand the officer. All he knows is that he's done nothing wrong, and there's a man with a weapon pointed at him, screaming. He turns and runs. The policemen catches him, but because he's near the playground and the threat of terrorism has been high lately, he decides to plant five bullets in his brain, just to be sure. What you're saying is that that's okay? You have no problem with this? I think you're going to find yourself in a minority. Right, but there was no evidence that he had a bomb, he was only running from police. Would the shooting have been more justified if he were a purse snatcher? He'd be running from police then too, but surely that crime wouldn't warrant an instant death sentence. The fact that he wasn't responding to commands may simply mean he didn't understand the language. And the policemen weren't uniformed. Nor did he reveal a bomb on his person. Is that really enough to warrant an instant death sentence? Which is better? A 10% chance that a number of people will die, or a 100% chance that one person will die who may be completely innocent? I don't know the answer to that question, because I am not (a) God, or (b) an utterly inflexible ideologue. I submit that only one of those two types can answer that question. I think most people are going to say that that question is way too difficult to answer, and that therefore some additional cautions and constraints are called for. The police should add the additional standard of having to see some evidence of an actual bomb on the person before planting bullets in their brain. I believe you will find that this standard will be enacted very soon. In fact I'd put money on it, if it hasn't happened already.

Well this is a fair point, although it should be said that the process each OS uses is technically more or less the same (i.e. "automatic"). And no matter how good the distribution is, Linux can't include a driver for a piece of hardware that doesn't yet exist. (grin) So whether it's Linux or Windows, the manufacturer has to put the driver for a new device on a CD or a web site. Linux is really in the same boat as Windows when it comes to that, although it seems like most manufacturers do make Linux drivers available day-and-date with Windows drivers now, so any advantage Windows used to have in that area has more or less evaporated. Anyway, the main difference between Windows and Linux in this area (and why I think your point is fair) is that a newly downloaded and burned set of Linux CDs will have a much newer set of drivers than a three-year-old Windows XP CD-ROM. This is one of the good things about Linux, in my book, that you can go to the Linux distro's web site and grab a new set of CDs frequently and they'll have new drivers and whatnot, so if you do a lot of installs it can be a real time saver (as you point out). Windows is going years between new CDs, and Linux distros are going months if not weeks. Hence, they have newer drivers on the OS CDs more often than with Windows. This is something Microsoft could learn from. They do have a "slipstreaming" method which does work pretty well, but it's a pain (and mainly designed for Service Packs) so it's not something you'd do for a home user. Even the big houses like Dell will generally opt for a separate configuration CD bundled with a raw Windows CD. I think it's clear that a typical non-computer-savvy home user is not going to download a distro and burn CD-ROMs. But I think the gist of this point is that a techie can make an appropriate set of CDs for that home user (friend, business customer, whatever) and they'll be set for the life of that computer, or at least until they want to update to a later driver off a web site. I do like Microsoft's "Windows Update" feature better than most of the Linux approaches I've seen (even Red Hat's, which is pretty darn professional), but the down side of it is that companies have to pay a lot of money (many thousands) to have their driver listed there. Most companies don't bother, simply putting driver updates on their own web sites. It's a shame, really, because it means that in a practical sense you have to update Windows from Windows Update, and then check each manufacturer's web site for drivers. From what I've heard recently (although I haven't really seen this for myself), you can get most 3rd party drivers from a typical distro's online update site. One-stop shopping. Of course these matters are more along the lines of "logistics" and "distribution", rather than "technical" in re Windows v Linux. But logistics and distribution issues are big deals for the people who have to deal with them all the time. On the other hand, it's also fair to say that none of those indicates that Linux is really "better" than Windows in any really major way. I have learned over 20 years of computing that you can't get too hung up on these kinds of issues, because they tend to change frequently. And again, what matters is not that it's "Linux" (cheer, shout, rah-rah), but that it's better. If it's worse, you need to use something else, otherwise the competitive environment fails. Competition only works when people are willing to USE the competition. After all, Linux wouldn't be here today if people weren't willing to try it out and see if it worked. Put another way, people need to be willing to use Windows, if for no other reason than to keep Linux sharp and competitive. This would be more obvious if 80% of the market share were on Linux's side, but it wouldn't be more true. As computer people, we have to be smart and recognize this sort of thing BEFORE it becomes desperately necessary.

Wow, those are interesting points about the foreign versions of American shows, and whether they're reflecting local culture or not. You know many of those shows are based on shows from other countries, right? Both of the two cited above (American Idol and Big Brother) have foreign origins. Big Brother was based on a program in the Netherlands, and American Idol was based on the British program "Pop Idol".

But what criteria did they use to decide that he needed to have five bullets placed immediately in his brain without any recourse whatsoever? In other words, what is to stop them from deciding that YOU need to die right this second? In the US at the moment, there is significant outcry over police use of force on suspects who do not comply with verbal commands. The force in question? *Tasers*. Not bullets in the brain. When the police actually *shoot* unarmed people, the only time it's ruled justified is if there are witnesses who say they thought the person was armed, or they were threatening people's lives in some other clear and obvious manner, such as driving a car at them. Again, I'm not saying they were wrong, but this question of criteria, I think, is the most pressing issue at the moment.

That can be a bit problematic, as XP Home's networking capabilities are a bit thin and unreliable. You may have trouble finding the XP Pro computer on the network. But give it a shot, it USUALLY works, and it would be much faster. This is a three-step process: 1) Configure the networking components on each computer. This is usually more or less automatic, but you will want to have your Windows CD-ROM ready. 2) Configure a share on one of the two computers (the one you want to pull files from or push files onto, your choice). You do this by opening Windows Explorer, right-clicking on a folder, and clicking on Sharing and Security. In the lower half of that window you'll see the Network Sharing section. I'm having to go by memory on this at the moment, because I've disabled it on this computer, but if I remember correctly you just click on "Share this Folder". Then you click on the Permissions button and give the "Everyone" group "Full Control" (click the checkbox). 3) Open Windows Explorer and click on My Network Places on the left side. In My Network Places you click on "Entire Network", and then "Microsoft Windows Network", and then "Workgroup", and it should show all of the available computers on your network in the main window on the right. Expand the computer's icon and you will see the shared drives. That should be it, but if you run into any problems, feel free to holler.

Yeah you can do it across the network, and it's really pretty automated to set up networking across a home router/hub/switch these days, but you have to learn how to access another computer through the network. I'm not sure what operating system you're using (maybe I just missed it), but there are various ways to do it, and I'm sure we'd be happy to help you figure that out. An external hard drive is a pretty good solution as well, yes.

Well I think American sitcoms should be banned in America, but I guess that's a whole 'nuther discussion. (grin) Just to toss another wrinkle into the discussion, my wife and I have been fascinated lately by the films of Japanese animation wonder Hayao Miyazaki (god help my spelling). Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and so forth. They're amazingly different from the kind of movies we see coming from Hollywood. For example, the lack of traditional "good guys and bad guys" separation is just stunning -- people who initially seem to be pure evil turn out to be actually pretty decent people! And the idea of having that kind of complexity in a film intended for young adults and older children is just astonishingly different from Hollywood. (Come to think on it, I gues J. K. Rowling has shown us this as well, in her own way, hasn't she?)

That's why I mentioned that particular bit of info, but I have not yet read whether that was the same guy or not. Do you know for sure? Or is this one of those things that we're still waiting for the full story on?

That's the story I've read, that they chased him into a subway car, pinned him to the floor, and plunked five rounds into his skull. Presumably the reason for this would be that he would have some sort of trigger that would allow him to blow himself up after being caught. Unfortunately I think you need something more here than just "well he looked like a Pakistani, he came from Leeds, he had a dark overcoat on, and he didn't respond to verbal directions from police". That's not sufficient to warrant an instant death sentence. You need some evidence of an actual device, like wires trailing out of his coat, and I'm hoping something like that will come from office testimony as the story develops. In the US, such a case would have Jesse Jackson marching on Washington in a matter of hours. But I still have a very positive impression of British law enforcement at the moment in spite of this incident (and I'm keeping an open mind about the incident itself). The fact that they have so quickly apologized is a very positive sign, and I'm certainly not left with an "LAPD" kind of impression. I think it's clear that the British people can still trust their law enforcement officials. It's understandable that this will raise doubts and uncertainty, but the long-term outlook is still way positive. Just my two bits, of course.

What if I happen to want to use Visual Studio to write ASP.NET applications for secure, high availability, high volume e-commerce portals, as I've done four times in the past 18 months, not because I think it's better than LAMP, but because it's what I happen to know? Should I switch to Linux, or stick to Windows? Please advise. I'm very worried that my desktop may not be attractive enough, and maybe I should stop earning money and spend several hundred hours mastering a completely different programming language because my icons look like somebody spilled the teletubby custard. Thanks!

Apparently it's okay to consider that LINUX is the "end-all-be-all" of OS's, though. At Science Forums, Linux is politically correct.

So now we're going to judge the current quality of an operating system by issues that were resolved three years ago? You sure you want to go there?

George: Condi! Nice to see you. What's happening? Condi: Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China. George: Great. Lay it on me. Condi: Hu is the new leader of China. George: That's what I want to know. Condi: That's what I'm telling you. George: That's what I'm asking you. Who is the new leader of China? Condi: Yes. George: I mean the fellow's name. Condi: Hu. George: The guy in China. Condi: Hu. George: The new leader of China. Condi: Hu. George: The main man in China! Condi: Hu is leading China. George: Now whaddya' asking me for? Condi: I'm telling you, Hu is leading China. George: Well, I'm asking you. Who is leading China? Condi: That's the man's name. George: That's who's name? Condi: Yes. George: Will you, or will you not, tell me the name of the new leader of China? Condi: Yes, sir. George: Yassir? Yassir Arafat is in China? I thought he's dead in the Middle East. Condi: That's correct. George: Then who is in China? Condi: Yes, sir. George: Yassir is in China? Condi: No, sir. George: Then who is? Condi: Yes, sir. George: Yassir? Condi: No, sir. George: Look Condi. I need to know the name of the new leader of China. Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone. Condi: Kofi? George: No, thanks. Condi: You want Kofi? George: No. Condi: You don't want Kofi. George: No. But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk. And then get me the U.N. Condi: Yes, sir. George: Not Yassir! The guy at the U.N. Condi: Kofi? George: Milk! Will you please make the call? Condi: And call who? George: Who is the guy at the U.N? Condi: Hu is the guy in China George: Will you stay out of China?! Condi: Yes, sir. George: And stay out of the Middle East! Just get me the guy at the U.N. Condi: Kofi. George: All right! With cream and two sugars.

I think Canada does something similar -- maybe a quota system? In some ways it's understandable, as cultures feel overwhelmed and local talent has a hard time getting visibility. On the other hand, you want to see the best talent. It's got to be a tough balance. I saw an interesting movie not long ago called "A Japanese Story", starring Toni Collette as an Australian woman leading a Japanese businessman around the outback. (I thought I was going to have to turn the projector upside-down in order to view it, but they must have built-in a "land down under" perspective translator.) (grin) Anyway, the point I just wanted to make there is that a lot of times just the fact that local talent has to go to Hollywood, combined with the fact that Hollywood is constantly searching for new ideas, often translates to a spreading and perpetuating of that local culture to an even wider arena. That's a good thing, I think. I know that doesn't really answer your question, but I thought I'd toss it out there anyhow.

I don't really have a great answer for your question, but what kinda stuff are you running into in VB that's holding you back in this area? It sounds like you might want to pop open the Visual Studio installer, since you have that already and plop in the J# and C# pieces, and play around with those. It would be an easy transition since you already (presumably) know the interface and the namespace pretty well.

"... and this room of the penthouse suite has both a virtual ceiling AND a virtual flo--- oh god nooooooooo!!!!!"

Thanks for the update. FWIW, I hope I wasn't too judgemental in this thread. I admit to my strong lean towards a presumption of bias in the media, but I do try to keep an open mind.

Better? There you go using that word again. To quote one of my favorite movies, I do not think it means what you think it does.

Whoa.

Yes, I'd like a 6-piece McNuggets with fries and a big orange. Oh. Er. Sorry.

So... why exactly do you guys keep voting for Labour?

I was an early Amiga user. Awesome computers in their day.

Found this on their about page: They're hiring, too: http://www.google.com/jobs/lunar_job.html (hehe)

Too cool. Google has expanded its map software to include THE MOON! http://moon.google.com/ (Hint: For an extra "treat", zoom all the way in.)

Tiny, stop using sex as a weapon! ;-) You need to find new friends, IMM.