Shades of Dana
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Sander_Marechal Aug 27, 2008 10:16 AM EDT |
Hehehe :-) How do these people get to become Linux writers and editors but not touch the stuff? Shades of Dana here: http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/106385/index.html |
| tuxchick Aug 27, 2008 10:29 AM EDT |
And how does a person find a machine that won't boot from a CD? It's a five-year old Inspiron, which isn't that old as far as booting from CDs goes. Still, I think these 'ordinary mortals making the switch' stories are good. |
| tuxchick Aug 27, 2008 10:34 AM EDT |
BTW, not all Danas are dingbats. This is the site of my favorite Dana, who is a very talented satirist and artist, and she has big fun perpetrating Mac hoaxes which are eagerly swallowed by the gullible Mac hordes: http://www.danaquarium.com/article.php?story=200611211643322... Quoting: While the iPod is a solid if limited music player, it's an offering without the backing of Microsoft, and missing several killer features of the Redmond giant's new Zune music player. Fake Macs: http://www.danaquarium.com/gallery/vhacks |
| Sander_Marechal Aug 27, 2008 10:55 AM EDT |
Those Mac pics are great! Love the portrait monitors :-) |
| jdixon Aug 27, 2008 11:26 AM EDT |
> It's a five-year old Inspiron... Almost all Dell's of that vintage have the option on bootup to press F12 to get a boot menu, which inlcudes the option to boot off the CD. |
| theboomboomcars Aug 27, 2008 11:49 AM EDT |
I bought an inspiron in 2001 and it booted from a cd. Seems odd that his new one doesn't. Well at least he finally made the switch. |
| Steven_Rosenber Aug 27, 2008 1:42 PM EDT |
I actually thought the guy's article was pretty well-done. I don't know how long he's been writing about Linux, but I'll forget about that for the moment and give him the benefit of the doubt. Like Dana, he should just start downloading install CDs, live and otherwise, and experimenting a bit before deciding on anything. As far as booting from CD goes, I also think hitting F12 right after rebooting will allow him to boot from CD. The Dell isn't that old. Hell, I'm booting from CD on a 9-year-old Compaq. My 10-year-old white-box PC also boots from CD if you switch it to do so in the BIOS. But overall, the writer seemed pretty honest about the whole thing. He got wireless working, but not with WEP. He should probably know that WEP isn't worth much, and he could probably just open up his home network ... or get a PCMCIA card that supports WPA out of the box in Ubuntu. Hey, if anybody knows of such a card that's cheap and available, I'd like to know about it. So in that regard, I liked his article -- it was experiential and honest. He didn't like about being a Linux expert. He should know that saying BSD when not referring to all of the BSD-derived projects, is a bit nonspecific. He probably meant PC-BSD, which is big on giving away CDs at the shows. That uses KDE, and he just might like it, if he could only hit that F12 key to boot from the disc. Hopefully he'll keep going with Linux on the Dell and maybe on other machines. I'm a firm believer that hearing from writers at all stages in their discovery and use of technology is valuable. Hell, if a lack of knowledge was a prerequisite for writing about this stuff, I'd have many hundred fewer blog posts clogging the Web. |
| Scott_Ruecker Aug 27, 2008 2:28 PM EDT |
Steven, The thing is..that he has been in charge of a Linux News site for over a year and he has never used Linux on a daily basis?!?! I do not believe that I could do my job as well as I do, however well that can be construed, if I had not already been using Linux for some time. I do not think that anyone here would have taken me seriously if I didn't. |
| Bob_Robertson Aug 27, 2008 2:58 PM EDT |
I've often thought that "LinuxInsider" was a scam, a setup by MS for the purpose of doing bait-and-switch. Like, every article that SJVN wrote for them was very critical of Linux, F/OSS development, whatever. Yet when SJVN wrote anywhere else, even if there was something he didn't like, his article was supportive and positive of F/OSS. Even given the benefit of the doubt, how could the editorial policy of someone who didn't even use the product not give the impression that, well, the editor didn't use the product? |
| tuxchick Aug 27, 2008 3:07 PM EDT |
Well Bob, unless it's something like Midol or Preparation H, that's certainly a fair question :) |
| rijelkentaurus Aug 27, 2008 3:08 PM EDT |
Shouldn't someone in charge of a tech "news"site -- Linux, MS, BSD, AIX, what-the-****-ever -- be able to figure out how to boot a computer from the CD, even if it means going into the BIOS to configure it to do so? Geez...this is like an editor for Hot Rod Magazine suddenly revealing that he rides a bike and doesn't even have his driver's license! Oi! "Please help, I don't understand how to put gasoline in the engine!!" |
| TxtEdMacs Aug 27, 2008 3:21 PM EDT |
R_&_R, If the editor is fired next week on some pretext we will know for sure your suspicions are correct. However, I had a recent experience where a Linux site with a better reputation suffers quietly from the same malady. rij ..., Quoting: ... I don't understand how to put gasoline in the engine!!" Not as simple as you make it out to be. The hot rod, does it have a carburetor or is it fuel injected? That's getting down to the nitty gritty and (some) editor/writer types are white glove people. Now if he didn't know about a fuel tank ... then I would be dubious. Txt. |
| rijelkentaurus Aug 27, 2008 5:01 PM EDT |
Not knowing how to change a PC to boot from CD in the BIOS, IMO, is like not knowing what a fuel tank is, if you are editing a tech publication. Certain creds are to be expected. |
| Scott_Ruecker Aug 27, 2008 5:23 PM EDT |
My point exactly rijelkentaurus, this guy has never gotten into his BIOS? COME ON!! It is nice to know that he woke up and realized that he Edits for a Tech website, a Linux related one at that even.. ugh Sorry, but I have little patience for someone who is clueless and then proves it to the world they're clueless.. |
| TxtEdMacs Aug 27, 2008 5:31 PM EDT |
rij... Under normal conditions, I would agree, however, I have seen worse from a longer lived more reputable (or so I thought) venue. I give this guy credit to at least try to become an experienced user. Yes it's a little late. Nonetheless, the more pertinent question is, how did he get into the position he has held for a year? No experience coming in and none required. I give him credit for lack of pretense, which has not been the case with some chest beaters I have encountered. Some behind the scenes do not live the life they proclaim so loudly. Indeed I have been up close seeing such a person have a change of heart with no real public statement to the fan base. Don't be overly harsh, this guy could entice a lot more Windows types than the more experienced Linux users. He understands the fears and doubts inexperienced computers users have when contemplating change. Txt. |
| NoDough Aug 27, 2008 5:44 PM EDT |
>> "...this guy has never gotten into his BIOS?" I'm theorizing that it's much worse than that. When I read this... >> "Only the Ubuntu discs gave me the option of installing a utility that let me boot from CD" ..it gave me the impression that he is attempting to "boot" the CDs by placing them in the drive with Windows running. Of course, I could be wrong. |
| tuxchick Aug 27, 2008 5:52 PM EDT |
NoDough, yeah, he could have been referring to Wubi. |
| Bob_Robertson Aug 27, 2008 5:55 PM EDT |
> he is attempting to "boot" the CDs by placing them in the drive with Windows running. Obviously he never heard of http://goodbye-microsoft.com/ |
| Scott_Ruecker Aug 28, 2008 1:21 AM EDT |
I come back after a while now and read my words and wish I had just kept my big mouth shut..looks like nothing more than badmouthing someone. No class in that. I'm Sorry. |
| Steven_Rosenber Aug 28, 2008 2:50 AM EDT |
Even if he's been editing a Linux site for a year without actually running Linux (although he must be somewhere, somehow, because he says he's familiar with KDE; can't figure that one out), at least he's "coming clean," as it were, and getting in groove. One more cliche and I'm over my limit ... OK, one more: We should all be eating our own dog food ... |
| tuxchick Aug 28, 2008 9:24 AM EDT |
It's OK Scott, everyone else said it for you. and they are right. |
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