More Who You?
Dan,
Don't worry about using 2.2. I have that same version, for the same reason, I got it when it was hot, and I am struggling with it as well.
When every thing in your box is recognized it is plain sailing. If however the installation stumbles over something you end up in ( endproduct of digestion ). This is no different in Windows, I have at least two boxes here where I cannot get Win9x installed because the installation just crashes (95) or hangs (98).
If you have unsupported hardware Windows is very likely to have a working default for it, for example standard 16 colour VGA. Which works but is not satisfactory and you cannot go in and tweak settings, you have to get the correct driver somehow.
With Linux things are a bit different. Linux itself (the kernel) is almost surely to work but maybe you don't get X windows running using the defaults. This can 'easily' be corrected from a command-line so even if the silly X-manager is too dumb to present some workable default you can pull one yourself. Of course if a stupid installation program insists on starting some X stuff at boot up even when X is not configured you have a problem. Back in (biowaste).
I installed Linux (first 1.3 and later 2.2 from Caldera) on Hinja without problem, well almost. Now with Aria I have a problem. The difference : Hinja has a well known graphic card (Matrox) while Aria has a nameless S3 based cheapskate board.
Don't give up easy is all I can say. And of course don't experiment on a production machine.
Regards,
Svenson
My response back to him is below:
Sjon,
Thanks for the email and stopping by the site. Your email list many good points.
But I haven't given up on Linux. I truly believe that Windows needs competition because it will force both Windows and Linux to improve. I just don't have a machine I can use it on right now. Kane, my production PC is hands off. And even though I talked about installing Win2000 on it on Feb 17, I probably won't actually do that ("Never be the first in something new nor the last in something old...").
Keiki, my wife's (She Who Cannot Be Denied) PC had Linux, but she wanted it back. This after only using it for about six months. Some people just are not grateful for what I do (grin).
And finally, Mo'opuna, is kind of in limbo right now. I could use it I guess as a Linux box, but I think the parts that are in it would probably cause all kinds of problems. So maybe I should buy new parts and build a new one! Yes, that sound like fun. Now if only I can find some money to do that. Any ideas? Other than robbing a bank of course...
But I do plan, when Linux 2.4 with USB (way cool) support comes out I will get a copy and try again. Now if StarOffice or WordPerfect for Linux can get their acts together...
Aloha,
And now back to an earlier topic. John has some thoughts on "helping your fellow man". He writes:
Hi Dan
Use what ever reference material you want to aid in you discussion of your topics of choice. I find it just adds to the character of the page as well as tells me a bit about yourself.
As for the "helping your fellow man" bit I have the following to add. In some other countries the people we are trying to help are in the situation they are because the industrialized nations either took over their countries economy or their government wants to be more powerful in the world so forces the western economic model upon the country ( I realize this does not explain all circumstances, but it sets things up for the point I want to make). This has caused peoples that where once nomads etc. into what is a foreign lifestyle for them. This change in social structure is not easy to take and the social structure they are used to does not mix well with what is being forced upon them. Take for instance a once nomadic people who are forced into farming. As nomads it did not matter where they chose to defecate as they were not in the same place for long. Now they still defecate 20 feet from what once was a camp but is now a permanent home. The water gets fowled, and they do not understand what the big deal is when the aid workers tell them that they must go some distance form their home, dig a hole and only defecate in the hole.
What this all boils down to is that my point is that many peoples will never move beyond their current situation ( which may not be of their choosing ) till they can learn to adapt to the new situation which is very difficult to do. It may not be these people fault the they are in the position they are in, but until they can start to help themselves, all the help we can give them does very little for them. This I realize is very harsh, but it is a part of the reality of the world we live in.
Old world ways rarely work in an modern world, the old must make way for the new. Thus merely feeding the starving is not enough. More weight must be put on helping the people adapt to new ways of life and supporting themselves. I try to support education in all forms, but do not support feeding a starving man without providing a way for him help himself from starving or poisoning his own fresh water supply.
I probably have opened a dozen more points of debate trying to express a point of view.
Now that I think for a moment I believe my point follows in line with the point that you and Brian both made that you do not give $5 to a beggar who says he wants to buy food when you know full well that he will buy booze or drugs. Oh well this has been burning in the back of my mind all day and I had to get it out. If it does if nothing else it shows a view of what is happening in countries other than out own.
Regards
John
To which I replied:
John,
Thanks for the email. But I'm in what Dr. Pournelle calls "short shrift" mode right now. And in either case, I'm not sure I'm the most qualified person to respond. But I will note a few things below because you make some very important points.
I will echo what you say about the effects one culture can have on another when that culture is imposed on another. As always, there are both good and bad effects when that happens. And sometimes, the culture imposing the change does not even realize it is doing so. OTOH, many times it does and it is doing so on purpose. Leaving aside the debate on whether this is moral or not, everyone at least needs to be aware of the effects.
When these effects are made apparent, then as you state, the culture has some decisions to make. Do they try to adapt or do they try to resist, or do they try to flee, or do they just try to ignore the changes? The answer to that question varies as to the particular circumstances that the culture is in at the time. For example, these are the choices that faced the Hawai'ian nation when certain US businessmen decided that, with the force of US Marines, they would annex the islands and depose the sovereign queen. Some Hawai'ians advocated armed resistance. But in the end, the queen chose non-violent resistance and requested that the Congress and the President of the United States restore her kingdom. While there was some support by the President to do this, Congress did not. The rest, as they say is history.
The effects of that culture change is that we Hawai'ians have the worst health, are over represented in prisons, and under represented in the University of Hawai'i. OTOH, we are in the midst of a cultural revival which, if unchecked, will have far reaching effects of its own. But that is a story best left for another time.
Thanks again for your thoughts and understanding. You make some good points to ponder on.
Aloha
Isn't it great to live in a country in which the exchange of ideas is free and open? I am so impressed by the level of discourse that has occurred so far and am looking forward to more in the future. I hope it has been of some interest to my gentle readers. But, as is the case with some, you have thoughts on how to improve or correct my feeble attempt at writing, please feel free to let me know! As promised at the beginning of this quest, all emails will be responded to. And the check is in the mail. Objects are bigger than they appear. Your mileage may vary. The dog ate my diskette.
Have a Good Weekend