by Matt | Jul 31, 2002 | Imported Entry
Lauren’s plane left TX this morning at 8:00 and should be here around 3:00. HUZAH! I can’t wait. It’s been two years since she’s been up to visit. Sure, we see each other at school obviously, but it’s still cool to have someone visit. I’m not quite sure what we’re going to be doing all week but I’ll think of something. I know that Friday we’re going to that Shaker Village. She had wanted to go last time and it’s “New England-ish” I suppose. We’re also going into Boston on Saturday to drop my folks off and will probably end up staying the whole day. I also wanted to catch a Red Sox game but I think they’re on a road trip. Lastly we’ve got to make a stop at Polly’s Pancake Parlor, obviously. If you’ve never been, you’re missing out. Best pancakes in the world. Alright, I’ve got to get cleaned up so I can go pick her up at the airport. Later.
by Matt | Jul 30, 2002 | Personal
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Like we didn’t see this coming. You called down the thunder, and now you’ve got it. Bring it to the field… bring it.
Oh, and for Chip: I found that random link to the comment about DOS attacks back at the RIAA. It’s a post on the Blues News Forums. Here, post 26.
by Matt | Jul 30, 2002 | Imported Entry
Not much going on yesterday. I spent a good portion of the day cleaning the house and I’ll definatly be doing more of the same today. Lauren’s flying in on Wednesday and it’s always nice to have a clean house for a guest.
I did get to hang out with Chip and Nick for a while though. I hadn’t seen Nick for most of the summer so it was good to catch up. The purpose of our get together was actually so that Chip could help Nick install FreeBSD on his laptop. Things went well until they found out that they needed some patches and couldn’t download them. They’re going over to Simpro this morning to remedy the situation. All this mention of FreeBSD, plus the allure of Gnome has got me thinking. I might just have to install it on my old machine in Savannah. I’ve always wanted to try it out and I think that might be the perfect option. Of course I’m completely clueless when it comes to anything BSD related so I’ll probably need to be on the phone with Chip while I’m doing it.
Alrighty. Time to get some serious cleaning done. A mere 28 hours until Lauren’s here and my room looks like a weapons test site. I also need to go get some food. I can’t very well entertain guests on tuna fish and hot pockets. Later.
by Matt | Jul 29, 2002 | Imported Entry
I should probably clarify my position on operation systems and software. Basically I don’t like most of them. The whole realm of computing is vastly overpriced and has been for years. A car steering wheel doesn’t cost more than the engine its steering so why should my OS cost more than say, my hard-drive. Even my hard drive and processor combined barely equals the cost of Windows XP Pro. Now, I do realize the serious amounts of overhead involved with actually making an operating system. There are major issues that need to be confronted along the way, testing that needs to be done, compatability issues, more testing, all sorts of things. And while I take all of those things into consideration I still can’t think of justification for such a hefty price tag, which at this point is my only beef with XP in general. It’s actually quite a nice OS, I really enjoy it. I also enjoy Halflife and it was only $50 when it came out. But I can hear you saying “a game is a tad bit less involved than an OS.” True, but my OS has more bugs, so which code was written better? The same rules apply for other applications as well. Adobe Photoshop is the perfect example of a program that shouldn’t be as expensive as it is. It’s the most popular graphics application in the world, millions of copies sold, huge fan base. So why is it MORE EXPENSIVE than the operating system it runs on? I dunno either. It’s certainly not more valuable and useful than the $300 OS or the $50 game. The whole issue is confusing and fustrating. I’m not usually one to sacrifice quality for a cheaper price, so I don’t mind paying more in most circumstances, but there is a limit to my rational ability to over-spend on software. Personally, games should be slightly cheaper than applications which in turn should be cheaper the OSs. I wouldn’t mind paying $100 for Photoshop and $150 for an OS. That seems reasonable given the tasks they proform. But I see no difference in usefulness (read: NOT quality) between Win95 that I got for free and WinXP. None. There haven’t been $300 worth of improvements in the ideas behind an OS, just in the quality of its execution of these ideas. If the OS was truely an evolved thing, then I might be willing to spend a little… but until my computer wakes me up in the morning, turns on the coffee maker and gets me the newspaper, it’s simply not worth that much money.
Note that I’m not taking swipes at the OS itself, merely it’s price tag.
by Matt | Jul 28, 2002 | Imported Entry
What I want to know is… when something like this is available FOR FREE, how does Microsoft get away with charging $300 for Windows XP? Seriously. It fits on a FLOPPY!!! We’re technically not even buying the operating system anymore either. We’re paying $300 for the “right to use” Windows. A right that can be taken away from us at Microsofts whim. Don’t believe me? Read your EULA for WinXP. It’s there.
As soon as I get my hands on a laptop, something like QNX, MenuetOS or FreeBSD is going on it and never coming off. Viva la Freeware!
Recent Comments