7/16/02

A gentle breeze quietly blows across the arched gateway.

["Akili"] does a bit of maintenance on the muck server.

["Akili"] then tries to do something else through Tweakui, finds that it won't let him, and attempts to do it himself.

["Kimia"] decides she's had enough of the computer and the sweltering room. "Night."

["Akili"] waves. "G'night."

["Kimia"] has disconnected.

The hushed breath of air silently moves across the chilly shrubs.

["Akili"] grumbles. "Stupid thing."

["Akili"] thinks Microsoft_Windows is too smart for its own good.

["Calin"] quite agrees.

["Calin"] says, "The worst of course is the fact that it keeps track of files through name changes."

["Calin"] mutters something about the whole point of renaming a system file.

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "I was going to map my favorites link to my removable CF chip, so I could keep my IE bookmarks synched between my laptop and desktop. Come to find out that Windows refuses to let me associate the Favorites link to a removable drive. While I could try to convert my CF chip back to a non-removable drive, I don't care for that as much, as it limits certain things I can do. I even went into the registry and hardcoded the new path, but IE changes it back as soon as it's restarted."

["Calin"] sighs. "Never let there be any doubt about who owns your desktop."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "No freaking kidding."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "After having to use various computers, I really like the idea of keeping certain global things - like my e-mail box - on a central, portable media. This recent discovery is actively preventing me from doing that, though, and I really don't see why they had to set it up that way."

["Calin"] is equally enamoured of keeping his files on penguin, where he can map the share from work or home.

["Calin"] says, "Since I'm almost always on from work or home, it works about as well as a portable media."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "Between Microsoft and AOL, they seem bent to turn computers into appliances that can only do exactly what they want you to do with them, rather than use them to the degree they're capable of. Stupid, irritating corporations."

["Calin"] says, "I do still have seperate email boxes... but I have my client leave copies on the server until they've been cleared from the recycle bin."

["Calin"] says, "Well, yeah."

["Calin"] says, "There's never any question about who owns the TV signals."

"Why should computers be different?" asks ["Calin"].

["Akili"] nods. "I'll probably try to do something similar once I have the house networked. The CF chip is handy, but interfaces on desktops aren't very common."

The restful ["Kimia"] moves slowly over the cool grass.

["Calin"] says, "I dunno. I think if I used a laptop, or had more varied locations I connect from, the chip might be a better solution."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "I suppose it's a good thing the auto industry hasn't tried as hard as the software industry to do the same thing to cars."

["Calin"] says, "I'm not sure how they could."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "Well, I can use the chip on my laptop and my desktop, but I'm kinda stuck when I'm on gamer, since it has no interface, and isn't networked unless I drag my laptop out there... which kinda defeats the purpose."

["Calin"] says, "A car isn't the kind of thing you dumbly plant yourself in front of, like tv and computers."

["Calin"] nods.

["Calin"] says, "Well, Amy's usb hard disk is an answer then."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "Ten years ago, I wouldn't have considered a computer to be in the same vein as a TV."

["Calin"] says, "Neither would I."

["Calin"] says, "But vehicles are too dangerous to NOT let the driver have control."

["Akili"] chuckles. "Now, if only front-panel USB ports were standard, then I'd jump at that. My desktops are hard to get behind to plug in, though, due to the cats. I'd have to use extension cables and keep them tucked away."

["Calin"] says, "And I have mentioned my brother complaining about computer controlled cars..."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "Hmm... True."

["Calin"] says, "Cars that run like crap because the computer thinks you're going too fast, or it's been too long since an authorized technician serviced it."

["Akili"] chuckles softly. "In many ways, no different than desktops."

["Calin"] nods.

["Calin"] says, "At least there's a fair amount of competition with car manufacturers."

["Akili"] nods. "There is competition of sorts with computers - hardware, and some software - but not the OS."

["Calin"] says, "Not for the Average Idiot user."

["Calin"] says, "If you try hard enough, you can break away from it."

["Calin"] says, "But it does take effort."

["Calin"] says, "IE perfectly demonstrates how well it all works."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "The average idiot user is a pawn of marketing suggestion. They want a computer because they think it's a good idea to have one, not because they know what to do with it. People know what cars for for, but computers seem to remain mystical devices."

["Calin"] says, "Why would I install any other browser? Sure this one has some problems, but it's compatible with my OS, and it's already here..."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "Exactly. And I might as well use MSN, as it's already here, or AOL, because I get CDs every other day - if it's not already installed - and all of my idiot user friends use it too."

["Calin"] nods.

["Akili"] shakes his head, sighing. "Boy... if not for Linux, I'd wonder if there was any hope."

["Calin"] says, "And unless you're in tune with the tech world, AOL IS the Internet."

["Calin"] says, "Or at least it was until a few years ago."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "Uh-huh."

["Calin"] says, "Heck, when I first knew I wanted Internet access, I thought of AOL."

["Calin"] says, "I never used it because I knew better by the time I actually got around to getting online."

["Akili"] nods. "I had Prodigy_(ISP) at first, and only had AOL for a short time because Prodigy's internet portal was kind of pathetic. At least AOL supported Netscape. Then I scrapped them both for Netcom, etc."

["Calin"] nods.

["Calin"] says, "I'd really like to do something more useful to the anti-MS cause than just gripe about it... but I don't know what that would be."

["Calin"] says, "Spreading the Linux-Love is all well and good, but that won't do it."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "I guess it comes down to the fact that a good percentage of the population want to use their computers without understanding beyond the most basic of levels how they work... and the industry has jumped at the chance to make money off of those people, while keeping them at that user level to prevent them from ever wanting anything else."

["Calin"] nods.

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "Or being capable of using anything else, at least."

["Calin"] nods again.

A soft breath of air quietly moves across the cool bushes.

["Calin"] says, "While linux can be used to do pretty much anything windows can... even aside from being more complicated, it's a hassle because it's not already installed in people's computers and minds."

["Calin"] says, "It will take alot to get past the 'Oh I use it because it's there' mentality."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "Darned catch-22s. Many computer advances came about due to computers becoming widespead, which was good... unfortunately, things like Microsoft and AOL were the refuse that came along with it."

["Calin"] says, "I'm actually ok with AOL these days."

["Akili"] asks, "Really? What happened?"

["Calin"] says, "They bought netscape, and created/supported the Mozilla project."

["Akili"] asks, "They're involved with Mozilla, huh?"

["Calin"] says, "AOL owned the netscape code, but knew it was old and outdated, and couldn't compete. They also knew the Open software community was the best way to compete with MS."

["Calin"] says, "They're not just involved... they're almost like the parent of the project."

["Calin"] says, "It is open source, but many of the developers get a paycheck from AOL."

["Akili"] ponders this, and grudgingly ups AOL a few points. "Not that I'm going to suggest that people get AOL, but that does offset it somewhat."

["Calin"] says, "For a while I was irritated at what AOL did with Netscape stuff, but it seems that they went both ways. The aolish comercial way, and the open source freedom way."

["Calin"] says, "Yeah, I still think the service is for brain dead gimp-anzees, but my view of the company itself has gotten better."

["Akili"] chuckles, nodding. "Good way of putting it."

["Calin"] just made up the word gimp-anzees, and decides he really likes it.

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "I know Microsoft contributes to various causes, but that doesn't offset my irritation of them and their products."

["Calin"] says, "Yeah, they're contributions to noble causes don't include noble computer-related causes."

["Calin"] says, "Er, their."

["Akili"] nods. "Wouldn't want to damage the pedestal they're standing on, no."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "A common OS is good, since it makes development and support of nearly everything computer-related significantly easier... but doing that without having the company in charge of it becoming a major powerbroker, if not a monopolist, is something else again."

["Calin"] mumbles that a common unix-based OS would do no such thing.

["Calin"] says, "Most unix software can easily be compiled for any unix-based system, on almost any hardware platform."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "True. Linux is a good example of that, although it is more prone to being incompatible... but to be fair, Windows isn't always as compatible as they try to pretend they are."

["Calin"] says, "If the software isn't distributed in source, the developers usually provide multiple binaries for different systems."

["Akili"] nods. "Seti@Home is one example of that."

["Calin"] says, "Truth is, I've only seen one example of unix software that won't work on all unix systems."

["Calin"] says, "And that's the smbmount command, in the samba package."

["Calin"] says, "It apparently only works on linux."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "Huh."

["Calin"] says, "Other unixes need to use the smbclient tool, which functions like an ftp client."

["Calin"] says, "Aparently smbmount uses a linux kernel function that is unique among unixes."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "Anyway, I was thinking that with, for example, simpleclient, all I need is to give a windows user the exe, and perhaps a few libraries, and they're set. While it's sometimes that easy in linux, every so often there are supplemental packages you need to download and install first - like diald with its updated kernel requirement."

A soft breath of air moves quietly across the chilly plants.

["Calin"] says, "The kernel update doesn't need to be any more complicated than updating your directx." [

"Calin"] says, "If a nice interface was set up for it."

["Akili"] nods. "True."

["Calin"] says, "And the truth is, there are all kinds of nice interfaces in linux/unix."

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "I certainly wouldn't mind seeing linux become the standard, but that's a long, long way from happening."

["Calin"] says, "Unfortunately, the cross-compatibility doesn't extend to those."

["Calin"] says, "So people like me have to learn to do things the hard way, so as to be able to do it on all systems."

["Akili"] nods.

["Akili"] rumbles lightly, "Well, I think I'm off to bed. :)"