On Friday 25 November 2005 13:58, Xiaofan Chen wrote:
> > hmmm... i think it depends on how you set it up.. if you have a
> > thin-client like setup (say harddiskless), with computers booting off the
> I think NC is dead. Not so sure about the US$100 notebook thingy. I think
> it is doomed to fail. PC rules!

Nah, it's not dead yet.. they've just renamed it to thin-clients.. d: But 
through my observation of the current setup that we have over here, it seems 
a good concept.. boot from network, diskless, running software off a central 
cluster..

> > > Server 60,000 or more). It is said to be much cheaper than SUN and
> > > Digital Unix based solution.
> > hmm..  but cheaper than Linux??!! "Say It Isn't So!!"
> Not so sure here. One of my brother once worked for a company. The
> they moved to Linux and Open Office. All the unties and uncles complain
> a lot and they have to buy Windows and Office.

hehe.. that's the normal situation.. the key is to start 'aunties' and uncles 
off on something different.. it's not impossible..

> Redhat and Novell Linux are both more expensive than Windows. A Dell
> Linux desktop will also be more expensive than a Dell PC. Linux Desktop
> is fine and I am using it, but only at home.

hmm... i think it all depends on how you define "expensive".. most of my 
friends who have switched to linux.. didn't switch because it was "free" but 
switched because they got fed up of MS screwing them over.. for example, the 
most recent convert, had a few key files corrupted on FAT32, reinstalled 
windows, but his OEM installer didn't allow him to select NTFS for 
installation.. it automagically installed everything.. and another OEM 
installer from another brand wouldn't work on his machine.. so, he decided to 
install Linux instead.. and has taken 2 weeks to learn it up.. and is doing 
everything he needs on it now.. he even managed to get some of his custom 
software running on WINE.. impressive..

> > it is useful for spreading virii.. d:
> If the admins are doing the job, probably not. If Linux is as popular
> as Windows, then virus under Linux will be as many as Windows.

this is just FUD that is spread around.. the core architecture of Linux itself 
prevents much of the problems.. And if that's the case, most of the world's 
web servers run Linux + Apache.. Shouldn't there be more worms or such 
created to take these machines down?? not to mention that patching response 
times for open source software is much faster than for windows..

> Again, AJAX is just another buzz word. JavaScript and dynamic HTML has
> long been there. The IT guys are just doing all these again and again -->
> creating buzz word without changing the underlying things. I am not an
> IT guy so I may be wrong here.

you're not wrong.. AJAX is just a combination of jscripting and dhtml.. it 
just sounds cool...

> Gmail is not any good. With my S$58 per month 2Mbps cable modem
> connection, it is still not really fast. In terms of purchasing power, US$1
> = S$1 = Chinese RMB 1 = Euro 1.

hehe.. ever had a standard lunch cost you S$30?? easily costs RMB 30 in 
Beijing.. I'm now using a new scale called the "sandwich" cost.. as in, how 
many sandwiches (in the UK) does the cost of something equal to.. like a new 
pair of sweat pants may cost 10 sandwiches.. makes it all easier to swallow 
for me..

> By the way, I understand what "with meta" means. How many others
> know this?

heh.. from wiki: Metta is a Pali word meaning unconditional loving-kindness. 
Any theravadian buddhist should know this..

cheers..

with metta,
shawn tan.
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